Michigan knew it struck gold the moment Kyle Whittingham landed in Ann Arbor. After building Utah into a perennial force over 21 seasons, Kyle Whittingham is bringing his proven track record of player development to Ann Arbor. He cherry-picked his assistants who can spot talent early and mold them into NFL stars. 

“Utah always had a knack for finding those diamonds in the rough, those three-star guys that were elite talents, just maybe a little bit overlooked,” Alex Markham from UteNation.com said after Michigan hired coaches from Utah who have successfully turned under-recruited prospects into NFL-Draft worthy picks. 

After landing Whittingham, Michigan kept the Utah connection strong by hiring key assistants like offensive line coach Jim Harding, quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr., offensive coordinator Jason Beck, and defensive ends coach Lewis Powell. Harding, in his 12th Utah season, joined Whittingham in Ann Arbor.

“It’s just his proven track record and how he is as a coach and the guys that can go to bat for him,” wrote Markham. “He is an electric recruiter that doesn’t do anything fancy. He just connects, and the guys love him, and you get in the film room with that guy, and the results speak for itself. Recruits are hooked.”

Harding had turned the Utes’ offensive line room into a league feeder. He sent six offensive linemen to the NFL Draft, including four starters from the 2016 class. Overall, 13 Harding-coached players made the jump to the league. One of them is Jackson Barton, who was a three-star offensive tackle coming out of high school. The Indianapolis Colts drafted him in the seventh round in 2019.

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The next coach in line to keep an eye on is Powell. Powell’s path back to Whittingham’s side was indirect; after a stint as a grad assistant at Utah, he coached at Hawaii before returning to the Utes’ staff in 2015, where he remained until joining Michigan.

“Electric with the Polynesian community, connections like crazy,” said Markham about Whittingham’s staff.

Since returning to Utah for his second stint, Powell has kept the NFL pipeline flowing. Eight Utes punched the NFL ticket under his watch, and six of them heard their names called on draft weekend.

With his staff turning Utah into an NFL factory, Whittingham’s impact speaks for itself. As either an assistant or head coach, 123 of his players have landed NFL contracts. Of them, 68 were selected in the NFL Draft, including 18 first- or second-rounders, plus 55 undrafted free agents.

Turning three-star recruits into NFL talent isn’t new. For instance, back in the 2020 NFL Draft, Utah wasn’t alone in winning with development over hype. From 2010 to 2020, Ohio State sent 14 three-star (or lower) recruits into Rounds 1-3, and Wisconsin followed with 13. Whittingham and Co. weren’t far behind at 10.

Whittingham’s philosophy of building from the ground up doesn’t just apply to developing overlooked players; it’s also the cornerstone of his new recruiting strategy, which starts with locking down local talent. 

Kyle Whittingham prioritizes in-state talent

For Whittingham, local talent is the top priority on the recruiting trail. The new head coach is on a mission to make Michigan’s in-state players feel valued. In this, he made his actions speak louder than words. 

He made a trip to Muskegon (Mich.) High and Detroit (Mich.) Country Day to meet Muskegon (Mich.) High’s edge rusher commit, Recarder Kitchen, and Detroit (Mich.) Country Day’s tight end, Anthony Cartwright III. It was the second time Whittingham made it to the high school just to make the players feel like a priority. This move touched the Country Day head coach, Dan McLean.

“A very impressive guy, just a real authentic guy,” he said about Whittingham. “He wasn’t trying to be somebody he wasn’t. I’m 67, and he’s 66. You’re not going to fool a lot of people.”

Hitting the high school recruiting trail, Whittingham got lucky to land a legacy recruit. Michigan added Liberty Christian defensive lineman three-star Ndi Etta to their 2026 recruiting class. He is the brother of the Wolverines’ defensive back Enow Etta. Now, it’s time to see how Whittingham’s winning tradition pays off in Ann Arbor.