Kyle Whittingham’s first move in the transfer portal as Michigan’s head coach won’t exactly light up social media or get fans buzzing about a return to glory. But it’s a necessary one. His first commitment, arriving on January 6, tells you everything about how far behind the eight-ball Michigan finds itself compared to programs like Penn State that have been aggressively stockpiling talent since day one.​

Michigan has secured its first transfer portal commitment under Kyle Whittingham in former Pitt long snapper Nico Crawford. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound specialist from Dublin, Ohio, has one season of eligibility remaining and brings the experience Michigan needs at a position most fans don’t think about until something goes catastrophically wrong on a field goal attempt. 

Crawford played in 37 career games with over 200 snaps logged across stops at three different programs. That veteran presence is something that special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs can lean on immediately. Crawford’s journey to Ann Arbor has been as nomadic as they come. He originally joined Illinois as a walk-on ahead of the 2022 season. But he redshirted without appearing in any games. He then transferred to Charlotte for 2023, where he played under former Michigan staffer Biff Poggi. 

That Michigan connection likely helped facilitate this move. It gave Crawford some familiarity with the program’s culture, even if Poggi is gone. Crawford then enrolled at Pitt in January 2024 and spent the two seasons snapping for the Panthers before hitting the portal when Michigan came calling. Coming out of high school, he was rated the nation’s No. 16 long snapper by Kohl’s Kicking, the gold standard for evaluating specialists.

The addition addresses a real need for Michigan, which lost starting long snapper Greg Tarr when his eligibility expired after the 2025 season. Crawford will compete for the starting job with Trent Middleton, who transferred in from UCLA prior to last season. It creates a legitimate competition at a position where continuity matters more than raw athleticism. 

Michigan also signed long snapper Colton Dermer as part of its 2026 high school recruiting class. It gives Coombs three viable options to evaluate during spring practice. In a normal offseason, landing a long snapper wouldn’t even merit a press release, but these aren’t normal times in Ann Arbor.​

Urban Meyer’s concern for Whittingham

Urban Meyer knows Kyle Whittingham as well as anyone. The two worked together at Utah from 2003 to 2004 before Meyer left for Florida, and Whittingham took over as head coach. Speaking on “The Triple Option” podcast, Meyer shared his primary concern about Whittingham’s transition to one of college football’s most scrutinized programs. 

“My only concern is Kyle has been at one spot for 30 years,” Meyer said. “The media scrutiny is nothing compared to what he’s getting ready to get hit in the face with now. This is one of the top five jobs out there. The scrutiny—no one really, I can’t remember where the media just jumps right over recruiting and all that. In Ann Arbor now, it’s every day. So, everything is going to be evaluated. Everything is going to be scrutinized, and I think that’s going to be a little different for Kyle.”

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The concern is legitimate when you consider that Whittingham is walking into a program still reeling from the Sherrone Moore scandal and desperately trying to stop the roster exodus through the transfer portal. 

The reality is that Whittingham’s laid-back Utah approach might not translate to a job where every recruiting visit gets dissected on social media. Whittingham’s slow start in the portal suggests Meyer’s concerns about the heightened pressure might already be materializing.