Six Burning Questions for Kyle Whittingham at Big Ten Media Days

Football is almost in the air. Soon the days of summer will be replaced by tailgates and anticipation of the next big play to happen for the Michigan Wolverines.

It’s a new era at Michigan this year with head coach Kyle Whittingham set to take the stage at Big Ten Media Days for the first time in the maize and blue.

There are plenty of questions to be asked of Whittingham, and while some may focus on the off-the-field drama that has plagued the program for multiple seasons, most of the focus should shift to football.

The on-field product is looking to improve on a nine-win season, but they face a much tougher schedule this year. As a result, they’ll need some players to step up, and some newcomers to acclimate quickly.

So what are the most important questions for Whittingham to answer? We have those right here.

What About Bryce?

As is usually the case for any program, all eyes are going to be on the quarterback when Bryce Underwood steps onto the field for the first time as a sophomore.

Underwood’s commitment during the winter of 2024 brought a lot of promise to a program that was dormant at the quarterback position in the wake of JJ McCarthy leaving for the NFL Draft.

His first season at the helm was very up-and-down. Underwood showed promise and talent that made him one of the top recruits in the country. He also made several mistakes down the stretch of the season, and there are questions about how much better he got from his first game until his last one against Texas.

Now, there is a new regime in town. Whittingham has not wavered one bit as to who their starting quarterback will be. Whittingham has been adamant that Underwood is the guy. Now, it’s a matter of how he looks under a new offensive coordinator, and most importantly, a dedicated quarterback coach.

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) looks to pass the ball during the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 18, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The latter is something that Whittingham has mentioned several times this offseason that Underwood did not have the luxury of a season ago. There may not be a more important coach on the roster for Whittingham’s first season at the helm than Koy Detmer Jr, who will be handling the quarterback duties.

Ultimately, Whittingham will get peppered with questions about his quarterback, but he has said all the right things thus far.

Pony Package?

While there is a lot of focus on the quarterback and who is going to be catching passes from him, there is no question as to what the strongest position group on the roster is going into 2026.

Jordan Marshall being the lead man in the backfield alone would make this group one of the best in the conference, and likely the best on the team.

Now, however, he’s joined by super freshman Savion Hiter, who committed to Michigan and is firmly in the mix to receive carries with the first team this fall.

Hiter is oozing with talent, and Marshall’s tough, physical running style fits in perfectly with the way Michigan likely wants to play on offense.

Is there a world where Michigan can see both players on the field at the same time? Hiter is gifted as a pass catcher, and the dual-threat ability with Underwood under center could make for some interesting misdirection in the run game if offensive coordinator Jason Beck decides to go that route.

Getting both Hiter and Marshall involved as much as possible is going to be paramount for Beck, so it will be interesting to see what Whittingham is thinking at this stage of the offseason.

Playmakers?

As Michigan has learned each of the last two years, an offense that can only excel in the run game is not going to go very far. Anyone can make whatever jokes they want about JJ McCarthy’s passing offense, but they were efficient and effective during his time as the starting quarterback.

The combination of Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren, Alex Orji, and Bryce Underwood have not been effective enough each of the last two years.

Part of the reason for that is the talent drain at wide receiver that has taken place. Last year, Michigan’s top two receivers were Donovan McCulley and Andrew Marsh. Marsh did not find his way onto the field consistently until later in the season, often ceding reps to the recently departed Semaj Morgan.

Even with Marsh having a solid freshman season, it was a far cry from the trio of Cornelius Johnson, Roman Wilson, and Colston Loveland that helped carry the team to a national championship just two years ago.

Andrew Marsh came up HUGE!pic.twitter.com/QSlJWmQvVW
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) November 15, 2025

Whether it’s at tight end or receiver, Michigan needs more from its supporting cast, and they went to work to surround Marsh this offseason.

JJ Buchannan has generated a lot of buzz since transferring from Utah, and he should make for a solid one-two punch at receiver.

One big question coming into the year is who will be the safety blanket at tight end? Michigan’s tight end room struggled last year with Marlin Klein missing most of the year due to a litany of lower body injuries. Now that he’s off to the NFL, someone will have to step up in that room.

OL Configuration?

Michigan’s offensive line looked like it was going to be in shambles after Whittingham took over and two of their top players entered the transfer portal.

Instead, both Jake Guarnera and Andrew Sprague returned to Ann Arbor for the 2026 season.

Guarnera is likely to be an anchor for the team on the interior, while Sprague competes at right tackle where he started a season ago.

Apart from that, there are some questions that need to be answered for Jim Harding’s crew. One big piece of news was that offensive lineman Andrew Babalola is fully recovered from his knee injury that knocked him out for the duration of his freshman season.

How is Michigan going to configure the guys on the interior? Is Evan Link, fully back from his injury, going to be one of the starters at guard? Those are all questions that appear to have relatively simple answers, but this position group is the lifeblood of Michigan’s program.

Whenever Michigan has been good, its offensive line has often been a driving force.

Getting their best five set in positions they are comfortable at will allow them to gel quickly. They’ll need to as they face a gauntlet of tough defensive fronts in conference play this season.

Pressure Points on Defense

Recently on the Rich Eisen Show, Whittingham noted that his team had some concerns about guys who had banked a lot of reps in the secondary and at linebacker.

There are some young players who could be set to emerge in those spots, along with some newcomers.

Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng appears to be in line to take over for one of the spots vacated by the departures of Jimmy Rolder and Cole Sullivan.

Owusu-Boateng does not lack talent, but he does lack experience as Rolder and Sullivan both played in front of him a season ago.

In the secondary, there is some returning experience with Jyaire Hill, Zeke Barry, and the long-awaited return of Rod Moore.

Of course in the event of injuries, there are questions about the depth behind them. Getting some insight from Whittingham about how his young, inexperienced players are progressing should be of great interest.

Someone New to Emerge?

Everyone loves a story that nobody else is talking about. One question from Whittingham might be who that player is.

Is there a linebacker that nobody is talking about who could surprise? What about an offensive skill player? Offensive lineman?

Andrew Marsh came up HUGE!pic.twitter.com/QSlJWmQvVW
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) November 15, 2025

Who are some guys the coaches are seeing make the biggest improvements going into fall camp.

Sometimes those guys make bigger leaps during practice and become bigger contributors as the season wears on.

This may not even end up being a question that Whittingham is asked, but perhaps he answers by bringing up someone unprompted. Usually if a player’s name is on the tip of the coach’s tongue, that can only mean good things.

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