In this age of college football, coaches are recruiting every day. And that's not just recruiting high school kids. Coaches are trying to retain their own roster with other programs and agents always trying to find ways to get star players into their programs.
That's not different at Michigan and with how badly the Wolverines are struggling on the offensive side of the ball — roster retention may come harder for Kyle Whittingham and the Wolverines. Speaking in an interview with Tina Nbuyen of WXYZ Detroit, Whittingham said he expects the Wolverines roster to have 50% new players in 2027.
"I wouldn't say it's a complete rebuild because we've got some talented players in the program, but you're always looking to upgrade rosters and recruit," said Whittingham. "Really, college football is 80% recruiting. If you're having success or failure, you can trace it all back to recruiting decisions, either good or bad.
"And so that's the number one job that we have every single day. We recruit every single day in some way, shape, or form. And we will spend, you know, we're spending a lot of hours evaluating and getting ready for this next recruiting cycle because you're going to lose — in this day and age in Power Four football, you count on losing about or turning over about half your team due to graduation and guys transferring.
"And so some are even more than that. Some are 80 or 90 players out of their hundred and whatever. I don't see us getting to that point, but we'll probably be 50% new guys next year."
More exits than last season?
Michigan has 120 players on its roster, and losing 50% would mean up to 60 players gone in Ann Arbor. What makes Whittingham's comments even worse is that, with the NCAA introducing a 5-for-5 rule, athletes can stay for five seasons.
Of course, there will be some juniors and seniors who want to leave early to entertain the NFL Draft. Cornerback Jyaire Hill is likely one of those seniors who will enter the draft. But Michigan has just 16 fifth-year players on its current roster.
Whittingham is expecting a potential 44 or more players to leave Michigan to either enter the NFL Draft or transfer.
Last season, after Sherrone Moore left and Whittingham's staff came into Ann Arbor, the Wolverines lost 27 players to the transfer portal. Unless Whittingham forgot about the new 5-for-5 rule or threw out a higher number than expected, that would mean Michigan likely loses more players to the portal under Whittingham than the Wolverines lost during their coaching transition last season.
Michigan currently has the 130th-ranked offense in the country. Players want to see improvement there and if they feel like the scheme, and play calling, aren't suitable for them, there will be plenty of other opportunities waiting for them.
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