Transfer Portal? Kyle Whittingham is Focused on Winning Games at Michigan Now

Kyle Whittingham spoke about how he views the transfer portal.

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Freshman QB Tommy Carr shined in Michigan's spring game and he finally got a chance to see some action this past weekend against UTEP. Carr came into the game and went 2-2 for 23 yards and a 19-yard passing TD to fellow freshman Salesi Moa, along with rushing twice for 18 yards on the ground.

Carr is considered the future at Michigan, despite Bryce Underwood having at least one more year in Ann Arbor.

"We like Tommy and we've spoken highly of Tommy ever since last spring," said Whitingham on Monday. "I thought he came in and did a good job and really showed some explosion on that run and he can make you miss. When he carries the football, you saw the touch he was able to put on the ball to that touchdown pass to Moe in the end zone. So it was good to see him translate what he's been doing in practice to a game situation."

But with the transfer portal, things can change with a flip of a dime. Every year, the transfer portal grows to a higher number of entrants than the previous year, and it's a game of musical chairs for coaching staffs.

We saw Kyle Whittingham have to retain his own roster and worry about adding talent via the portal — which he struck gold with John Henry Daley, Jonah Lea'ea, Chris Bracy, and JJ Buchanan, among others.

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Despite the landscape of college football and the worry about the transfer portal, Whittingham isn't in the business of coddling players to keep them in Ann Arbor. The bottom line is if they can help Michigan win games now, they will see the field. If not, they will wait their turn and Whittingham will focus on the portal and retaining his roster down the road.

"As far as the transfer portal, I'm looking ahead. I mean, we'll start to really hone in on retention and what we think is going to be the landscape of the team as we get towards the end of the season, but that's still many weeks away," Whittingham said. "But I don't know if we need to treat players any differently than we always have going through the season.

"I mean, are you talking about like maybe coddling them a little bit and throwing them a bone here and there? I don't know, but you try to keep them all engaged and bottom line is, guys that can help you win, you want to get on the field and that's where we're at right now."

The new 5-for-5 helps

With players wanting to see the field as freshmen, the new 5-for-5 rule the NCAA introduced ahead of this season has helped coaches and players alike. Before, if coaches wanted to redshirt players, they could play up to four games, but if they played more than the four-game limit, then they had to redshirt.

Now, redshirts are out the window and players have five years of collegiate eligibility. Which allows coaches to get creative and gives them the freedom to play whoever they want, whenever they want. It also helps the players see a path to playing time and stick around.

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"Yeah, big time," Whittingham said on if the new 5-for-5 helps. "It's expanded the roster and made you not reluctant. Before, you're reluctant to put guys in because you want to stay under that four-game limit and don't waste a few snaps at the end of the game by putting them in and this and that. It has greatly enhanced your ability, especially on special teams.

"That's what really comes into play is you've got a much bigger pool of guys you can utilize to take roles on special teams.I think it's a great role. I think it's one of the best things the NCAA has done for a lot of years and I think that everybody has bigger rosters to, not bigger rosters, more availability in your roster to play guys."

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