Michigan to add former Penn State coach to coaching staff in 2026

Kyle Whittingham is adding additional help for the Michigan WR corps.

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Kyle Whittingham is adding extra help for Michigan's wide receiver corps. On Thursday, it was announced that Utah's WR coach Micah Simon was coming with Whittingham and OC Jason Beck to coach the position. Later, it was revealed that Penn State WRs coach Marques Hagans is also coming over as the assistant WR coach.

Hagans was in his third season coaching the Nittany Lions' WRs, but after James Franklin was fired and Iowa State coach Matt Campbell came in to lead the program, he brought in his own staff. Now, Hagans and Simon will lead the Michigan WRs in hopes of producing a 1,000-yard playmaker in Ann Arbor once again.

More on Hagans

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Hagans was in his third season as the offensive recruiting coordinator and WR coach at Penn State. He is from Virginia and coached there for 11 years. He was the associate head coach with the Cavaliers in 2022.

Here are some tidbits on Hagans:

• In his first season in Happy Valley in 2023, Penn State's passing offense accumulated 30 touchdowns (T-16th nationally) and just two interceptions (fewest nationally).

• Penn State ranked second in the Big Ten with 54 receptions of 20 yards or more in 2024, 27 of which came from wide receivers.

• During his time at Virginia, Hagans coached 10 of the top 15 career receptions leaders in program history.

• Hagans mentored current Chicago Bears receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, the program’s all-time receptions leader with 250 catches. Zaccheaus’ 250 receptions currently sits sixth in ACC history.

• Zaccheaus also ranked second all-time at UVA with 2,753 career receiving yards at the time his career ended.

• Dontayvion Wicks was a fifth-round selection by Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL Draft.

• In 2022, Hagans guided Keytaon Thompson to third-team All-ACC honors after ranking 12th in the country in receptions per game (6.6) and 53rd in receiving yards per game (72.4) in a season shortened by injury.

• Hagans spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons at UVA as a graduate assistant, working with the offense.

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