Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham arrived in Ann Arbor on a tight schedule as he sought to hold the program together after former coach Sherrone Moore was fired in December, as the manic coaching carousel that had gripped college football died down. Whittingham managed to keep talented quarterback Bryce Underwood among other prospects.
After stopping an exodus from Ann Arbor, Whittingham has also hit the recruiting trail hard to keep previously committed prospects committed to the Wolverines.
Kyle Whittingham Put on Red Alert by Legacy Commit
The Wolverines snagged the commitment of interior offensive lineman Louis Esposito last year before the arrival of Whittingham in Ann Arbor. The three-star prospect, who is the son of former Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito, was heavily courted by both the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Purdue Boilermakers.
On Tuesday, On3 reporter Ethan McDowell revealed on X that despite his commitment to the Wolverines, Esposito had not ruled out taking visits with other college football programs.
“Michigan OL commit Louis Esposito will be back in Ann Arbor today for the first spring practice. He recently told Rivals that he’ll take a few visits elsewhere, but he will also spend a ton of time in A2 this spring,” McDowell tweeted.
The offensive lineman was the first commit in the Wolverines’ class of 2027 and is a three-star recruit according to 247Sports. Esposito will attend the Wolverines’ spring practices and the spring game in Ann Arbor on April 18.
The commit’s father departed Ann Arbor for the Baltimore Ravens defensive line job a month ago. The offensive lineman has visits scheduled with the Iowa Hawkeyes (March 26) and Notre Dame Fighting Irish (March 28).
Whittingham Hires College Football Recruiting Guru
After stabilizing the Wolverines after last season’s chaos, 247Sports reporter Zach Shaw revealed that Whittingham made an astute move by hiring recruiting guru Skylar Phan to round out his staff in Ann Arbor.
“The Wolverines are hiring Skylar Phan to their front office. Phan was previously Director of Recruiting Strategy for USC, where she helped the Trojans sign the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in the 2026 class, per 247Sports, compared to the No. 13 class in 2025 and No. 17 class in 2024,” Shaw tweeted.
“Prior to her time with USC, she spent the 2023 recruiting cycle serving as director of on-campus recruiting for Houston, then North Texas. She also interned with the Las Vegas Raiders as an operations assistant in 2022.”
According to On3, the Wolverines have the No. 11-ranked recruiting class in the country this year, with two five-star commits and 26 total commits. Whittingham has a long way to go to return Michigan to the top of the pile in terms of recruiting in the country.
