RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Last month at Big Ten media days, Michigan football head coach Kyle Whittingham had said it may take two or three years before his newfound team could reach its potential. Now, 14 practices into fall camp, he's revising his statement.
On Friday, Whittingham said that he likes what he has a bit more, especially from a depth perspective. Where he didn't think he perhaps had the players, he now feels like he has a deeper team than he envisioned before fall camp had started. Now, he's starting to feel like this is a team that could do damage as soon as this year.
"The reason for that statement was a little bit of a shortage of depth at certain spots, but that has started," Whittingham said. "There's been guys starting to come to the table there. Channing Goodwin, as I mentioned; Shamari Earls, corner; Mason Curtis, safety. Guys are starting to elevate their play and feeling much better about things than back when I made that statement."
So, those players mentioned aside, why does he feel better about his team? Looking at specific position groups, the ones that he was cautious about in spring, Whittingham feels that they've come along nicely this camp, making him feel like he very well could have a bona fide contender on his hands.
"The young linebackers didn't have many reps accrued at all -- have really started to step up in making plays and functioning like a Big Ten linebacker unit should function," Whittingham said. "Still trying to find corner five, six, and seven. We feel a little good about the top four, but there's some jockeying for position on that. We mentioned the tight ends; that each one brings a different skill set. It's not really a depth chart there. It's just who does what best and how can we utilize each guy to maximize what he does best."
One thing the 21-year head coach from Utah likes is that he doesn't feel like he's inheriting a bare cupboard as some previous first-year Michigan football head coaches have. Whittingham says that he wouldn't be surprised if many of the standouts on his team elevate their game so much that they're getting accolades that many aren't currently predicting.
"A lot of really good players -- what you need to win in the Big Ten is a lot of really good players," Whittingham said. "Like I mentioned, there was a little bit of depth concern at some spots and still is to a certain point. Like I said, we've made up some ground in that regard. But we've got some really good football players, legitimate all-conference, potential all-conference guys. So I think it's Michigan. It's pretty much what you'd expect at Michigan."
We'll get our first real look at Whittingham's Wolverines come September 5, when Michigan football hosts Western Michigan for the season opener at The Big House.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham revises Michigan football expectations for 2026
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