Everyone thought Michigan would sink in after Sherrone Moore’s firing, but Kyle Whittingham saved their fate. From retaining older players to managing portal chaos to bringing in talented Utah staff and restoring the culture, Whittingham changed the entire face of the program. That turnaround is giving hope to QB Bryce Underwood as he praises him and his style.

“I feel like it’s just a fresh start overall. It brings my guys, you know, brings us more together because now we’re more player-led,” Michigan QB Bryce Underwood said during the opening of the Boys & Girls Club at Michigan Central. “We’ve been through a little bit of adversity, some more to face, and something for us to be better at every single day.”

After Sherrone Moore’s firing, Michigan had to take a major roster hit. They saw more than 20 players entering the portal and moving to other teams. To make sure that doesn’t affect the roster building, Kyle Whittingham got his Utah players into the team, like cornerback Smith Snowden, tight end JJ Buchanan, and others.

Kyle Whittingham is a happy coach to have retained crucial names like Jordan Marshall and Andrew Sprague. This is a contrasting situation to what happened in the 2024-25 season. During the transfer cycle that season, hundreds of players left their programs due to changes in the coaching staff.

Let’s not forget about the coaching overhaul he made after Moore’s staff failed to produce results last season. Whittingham brought in defensive ends coach Lewis Powell, offensive line coach Jim Harding, and a quarterback coach specifically dedicated to Bryce Underwood, something that Moore couldn’t do. Then there’s offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who boasts a track record with dual-threat quarterbacks, and this hire justifies the hype surrounding Underwood this season.

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During Beck’s stint in New Mexico, Jason Beck helped QB Davon Dampier rank in the top-15 nationally in points. He amassed 188 points and threw for 2,768 yards in 2024. The Michigan faithful can expect Underwood to end his season with similar numbers, with the days of the Wolverines having no specialized QB development under Sherron Moore in the rearview.

But unlocking Bryce Underwood’s potential requires more than just a new playbook. It demands a complete cultural reset, which Whittingham is implementing based on three core principles he perfected at Utah: players’ toughness, accountability, and shared standards. Every staff member and player should simply move in just one direction. Even Whittingham stressed it.

“The new guys have bought into the fact that they need this team more than the team needs them,” Whittingham said. “That’s got to be the attitude of every player and coach in the program. If you have everyone pulling in the same direction … that’s what we’re looking for.”

He bought into his Utah-influenced member techniques, and one of them is naming team captains. At his former team, players used to vote for captains and leadership council members for fall camp to make sure the locker room remained intact, and he did the same with Michigan, making sure nothing came in the way of their championship glory.

What’s interesting is that Whittingham also made sure only the right ones stayed back at Michigan. He retained only running back coach Tony Alford, showing immense trust in his coaching. With that, he also made it pretty clear that no one is above the team, even if that comes to him. So, it remains to be seen if this effort turns out for the good or not, because with the cultural changes, Bryce Underwood is also feeling the hype.

Bryce Underwood gets major backing from ESPN

Even though Bryce Underwood’s freshman season saw major shakeups with coaching changes and facing a tough time making critical decisions on the field, he is still one of the top QBs in the nation. ESPN’s honor proves it perfectly, as they named Underwood as Michigan’s best returning player for the 2026 season in their too-early top 25 rankings.

Well, ESPN’s trust in him makes sense, as the former No. 1 recruit produced 2,820 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He took Michigan to a nine-win season despite being a freshman with no college experience. On top of that, his 6-4 and around 230-pound frame helps him to extend plays with his legs even more efficiently.

Now that they’ve already faced the pressure, with Kyle Whittingham already making efforts to improve his game, he can give Michigan a championship berth for which they have been waiting since 2023. With a culture of accountability now in place and a staff built to maximize his talent, the pressure is on Underwood to prove that his early praise for Whittingham was more than just words; it was the prelude to a championship run. What do you figure?