Wolverine Digest

Kyle Whittingham breaks down how he will have success recruiting at Michigan

The new Michigan head coach explains how he plans to find success recruiting across the country.
Justice Steiner|
Sep 27, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham celebrates with fans after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Sep 27, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham celebrates with fans after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines


On Sunday morning, Michigan football held a press conference in Orlando, Fla. to introduce Kyle Whittingham as the next head coach for the Wolverines.

Whittingham was asked about taking the job while not being a Midwest guy and the impact on recruiting. He explained how he would have success getting guys to come to Ann Arbor and how he felt the geographic aspect was overrated.

“Michigan is going to cast a wide net recruiting coast-to-coast,” Whittingham said. I’ve got a lot of contacts, particularly out west but also in Florida, Texas and we are going to have some coaches on the staff that have worked in the ACC and out this way in the Midwest.”

Kyle Whittingham
Sep 27, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham talks with West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez after the game at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

It seems Whittingham is very confident in his ability to bring top-level recruits to Michigan, despite being a west coast guy.

“I think that might be overrated a little bit, as far as geographically where you come from,” Whittingham said. “I can tell you right now that we will have a staff that is very diverse and has roots in many different places in the country.”

As it stands, Whittingham is inheriting the No. 11 recruiting class in the country via 247Sports with 24 total recruits, including two five-stars. 

“A school like Michigan is going to be able to recruit top athletes from the East Coast to the West Coast, so we have to be able to do it all,” said Whittingham.

To further prove his point of being a national brand, in the 2026 class, there is only one recruit who is from the state of Michigan, Tommy Carr, a four-star quarterback from Saline. The Wolverines already have recruits from out west as well, with athletes coming from California, Colorado and Arizona.

Michigan football
Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Look for Whittingham to expand on that, which should only help the program be able to create more pipelines across the United States.

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Justice Steiner
JUSTICE STEINER

A Battle Creek, Mich. native, Justice Steiner has been passionately involved in sports, currently as the sports information director at Davenport University, an NCAA Division II program, where he covers 12 sports. He also serves as the creative services director for the men's and women's baseball teams. Prior to DU, Steiner worked as a graduate assistant in the sports information office at the University of Louisville, working closely with the women's soccer, women's basketball, men's tennis and softball programs. While at Grand Valley State University, Steiner began his writing career at the Grand Valley Lanthorn. He graduated from GVSU with a degree in advertising and public relations.

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