Michigan Football: 'You Will Become Us, We Won't Become You' — Taking Longer Than Expected

Kyle Whittingham's introductory speech was great, but there are major concerns.

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The Michigan football program was in total disarray under Sherrone Moore. Following the Wolverines firing the second-year head coach, it became more and more noticeable how poor the culture was in Ann Arbor.

Kyle Whittingham likely wasn't many Michigan fans' first choice for head coach — especially since his name didn't get floated until later in the process. But one thing every fan could agree on was that he would bring a disciplined nature to Ann Arbor and that the culture would be in a good place.

And the quote from his introductory press conference had every Michigan fan excited.

"But the key there is the players that are here and understand what we want, what the culture is," Whittingham said during his opening press conference. "They're responsible to set the standard for the guys that are coming in.

"And another thing that I believe strongly in is that you will become us; we will not become you — as far as the players that are coming in. You will become us and do things the way that we do things."

Discpline hasn't been a strong suit

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It does appear that the team has more unity and the new coaching staff has the culture higher in Ann Arbor, but through four weeks of play, that hasn't translated into discipline. A concerning stat is that in 2024 and 2025 under Sherrone Moore, Michigan ranked No. 5 and No. 13 in the nation, respectively, for penalties per game. The Wolverines averaged 4 and 4.4 penalties per game in the two years under Moore.

The sample size is far from a full season, but in 2026, Michigan ranks No. 110 with eight penalties per game. The Wolverines also rank No. 114 with 72.3 penalty yards per game.

It's been every game, save for the UTEP game that featured fumble issues, that Michigan has self-destructed with egregious penalties. The latest one that everyone thinks of is Zeke Berry's late hit on Iowa wide receiver Tony Diaz on a crucial third down. That's just one of many, though. Jyaire Hill had a terrible penalty against Oklahoma — at least he later redeemed himself.

Might take longer than expected

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Michigan has had far too many illegal formation penalties on the offensive side of the ball, and really, after four weeks, there are no excuses there. If those play calls are that complicated, it might be time to go away from them, or put the personnel in the game that won't make those repeated mistakes.

But what's really egregious are the late hits and unsportsmanlike conduct. And, unfortunately, a lot of those are coming from the veterans on the team.

"I think we just play with so much, like a lot of energy," Rod Moore said of Michigan's penalties. "Sometimes you can't contain that. Maybe it's just letting your emotions get the best of yourself. And that's what happens when you have penalties like that. So, I mean, like I just told him, you've got to be smarter."

After Michigan suffered its first loss of the season under Kyle Whittingham, fans have lost the honeymoon feeling. It's time to produce and get these terrible mistakes under control.

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