Kirk Herbstreit, a proud Ohio State alum and the voice of college football, pulled no punches while sharing his take on Kyle Whittingham and his role as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. The former quarterback has warned that Whittingham’s move from Utah to Michigan could undermine the blueprint that made him a legend, or it could lead to another legendary run as head coach.

Kyle Whittingham, during his time with the Utah Utes, always followed the mantra of signing under-recruited players. These players, filled with resentment for being left out, always had something to prove, which helped Whittingham to build a gritty and cohesive unit that overachieved, to say the least.

“At Utah, he’s recruiting kids that are one stars, two stars, and three stars. They show up mad at the world. Mad at the world that they were, ‘How dare I not be a 5-star?'” Kirk Herbstreit said on his YouTube channel. “He gets a collection of angry guys intentionally with a massive chip on their shoulder. It really worked for him.”

For Whittingham, signing the angry underdog players was like collecting rare coins, as he turned them into a relentless machine. The outcome? Three conference titles, two Pac-12 crowns, and a perfect 13-0 in 2008, capped by a Sugar Bowl demolition of Alabama.

However, when it comes to the culture in Michigan, the team is more focused on its championship formula, which is built on character, a team-first mentality, and dominance in the trenches.

Michigan is the heart of the Big 10 royalty, fresh off national titles, and is demanding the throne. And Kirk Herbstreit appears to have noticed the trap. “Now, it’s almost like the haves and have-nots. He’s now a half. So now he’s knocking on the doors of Bryce Underwoods of the world,” he further stated.

So, the real challenge for Kyle Whittingham, according to the former OSU quarterback, is to find a balance. He’ll have to adapt to the Michigan standards without diluting his identity. It’s not just about navigating five-star players like Bryce Underwood, but also navigating the culture of the new team Whittingham will be taking over.

“Can he keep his blue-collar lunch-pail chip-on-our-shoulder attitude recruiting 5-star, 4-star kind of guys? Or will he continue to recruit three-star kind of guys, sprinkle in some four and five stars, but not make that your foundation?” Herbstreit added.

“That’s going to be an interesting balancing act to see because when Michigan is Michigan. They’re winning with character, and they’re winning with team, and they’re winning with the line of scrimmage.”

Well, the pressure is undoubtedly on for Kyle Whittingham, but not everybody believes that he’ll struggle at Michigan. In fact, a former Ohio State head coach was so confident that Whittingham would be the right fit for Michigan that he guided him through the decision to join the Big 10 royalty.

OSU alum already expected Whittingham to join Michigan

Former OSU head coach Urban Meyer recently revealed that he was the one who pushed Kyle Whittingham to take the offer to become the head coach of Michigan. While he understands that the level of pressure on him will be higher than it was when he was coaching his previous team, Meyer believes Whittingham has a much greater chance of securing a national title with the Wolverines.

“Kyle, it’s a no-brainer. You can win a national title there. It’s a hard job. He’s going to be under scrutiny; he’s never been under before, never been under before at Utah, Urban Meyer said on the Wake Up Barstool podcast.

This is a blue-blood program. You can get any player you want. Have elite academics. You just got the challenges in recruiting that Northern schools have.”

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Whether it was the right decision or the wrong decision, we’ll find that out sooner rather than later. It will all start with Michigan’s Citrus Bowl showdown against the Texas Longhorns, so let us know what you think in the comments section below.