Everything Kyle Whittingham said ahead of Michigan vs Iowa

Michigan football head coach Kyle Whittingham met with the media Monday following the Wolverines’ 52-17 win over UTEP and ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Iowa.

Whittingham discussed the challenge presented by Iowa’s defense, Bryce Underwood and the offense’s progress, Michigan’s turnover problems, the running back and wide receiver rotations, Tommy Carr’s development, Jay Hill’s defense and the start of Big Ten play.

Here is everything Whittingham said Monday.

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

You know, I’ve met him. I’ve crossed paths a few times, but nothing extensive. But, you know, he’s a traditional person. He’s a rock-solid football coach. I’ve known the guys down at Iowa for a lot of years. So, on film, good football team. Defense in particular is leading the nation in defense right now, both yards and in scoring. So, playing outstanding on that side of the ball like usual. It’s been their M.O. for years. Got some playmakers on offense, especially the receiver, explosive players. So that will be a very stiff test for us, no doubt about that.

Offensive progress

We definitely had the most production in the last game. Over 400 yards. Bryce obviously played his best game of the season. Running game was more of what we want it to be. Still not getting as much on the perimeter as we’d like. But it was good to see Savion and Jordan Marshall get on track a little bit. I think they both went over 60 yards. They’re right about 60 yards. Big days from Andrew Marsh and JJ. That was good to see Andrew break out and have the type of game that he’s very capable of having. A bunch of catches for over 100 yards. So I think offensively, if we continue on the path we’re on — made a bunch of first downs, scored a bunch of points — we realize obviously the degree of difficulty gets much higher this week. But I think it was a step forward for our offense when all is said and done.

Andrew Sprague update

Nothing different than last week. We don’t know anything more today. We will know more later today, we hope. But as of right now, I don’t know any more than we did Friday.

Finding consistent energy

Maybe that, partly. Somebody told me we are the youngest team in the Big Ten as far as age, like 20.8 years old or something like that. I was just told that. Don’t have a lot of those fourth- and fifth-year guys. We do definitely need to be more consistent with our enthusiasm, passion, energy. It seems to ebb and flow a little bit. We’ve had three really poor halves in that regard — the entire Western game and the first half of this last game. We’ve got to find a way to get that passion and energy at a high level from start to finish, week in and week out.

Offensive line growth

Well, I think they definitely played their best game this past week. They all graded out pretty darn good, especially when you think that we didn’t have one day of work with that configuration. Very proud of the way they came out and played. Evan Link at left tackle, having no reps during the week, and flipping Blake Frazier over to the right tackle spot. I think they’ve been coming along week by week. I expect they’re going to continue to get better as we continue to work with Coach Harding and get more familiar and comfortable with the offense. Going forward, we’ll just keep recruiting and doing things to try to improve the whole football team. That’s where we’re at with that.

Fixing the turnovers

Well, we emphasize it every single day. There’s nothing we can do more in that regard. We’re teaching it, we’re coaching it. The expectations are the same each day. We have put the ball on the ground six times in three games, which is way too excessive. We’ve got to continue to work on that. That’s a really slow start. This past Saturday was due to two of the first four possessions putting the ball on the ground and losing those fumbles. We’ve got to get that corrected. You can’t win a championship or even hope to be in the mix with that type of putting the ball on the ground that often.

Ferentz’s longevity

He seems to be very, very consistent and very committed to their approach. They recruit their type of guys. They know how they want to win. They’ve got the blueprint. I think the consistency year after year and the continuity year after year is what allows you to have a lengthy career like he’s had. He’s just done it the right way for a lot of years. They recruit the guys that fit their system, as well as the type of guys they’re looking for on and off the field.

Jordan Marshall’s running

I don’t think it’s the read option. Jordan is much better downhill than he is going to the perimeter. The wildcat is something that Jason Beck has always employed. It’s not something we just put in this year. I think that Jordan, first of all, he’s been slowed by a nagging injury. He’s not at 100%. That has a lot to do with that. Savion, I think you saw him take a step forward in this past game and be more of the back that we expect him to be. If we can keep those two running backs healthy and on an upward trajectory, then I think we can be able to have a run game that we can lean on very heavily.

Handling adversity better

We’re still working on the culture and getting things instilled that way and the expectations. When things get tough, that’s when you really need to rise up and up your game and not get a deer-in-the-headlights look type of thing. I think that we’re making progress in that regard. It’s just when things get hard and you get in difficult situations and face adversity, that’s when you need to really rise up with the emotion and the energy and not just put you in a funk, so to speak.

Matching opponent intensity

You want to play at the same level week in and week out regardless of your opponent. I think that our guys were definitely more excited about the challenge of Oklahoma, perhaps, than the other two games. Preaching that you’ve got to play at a certain level and not have the peaks and valleys. Leadership has a bunch to do with that. I think we’ve got really good leadership on this team, but we’re learning how to operate and what the expectations are. It’s a process. Like I said, it just doesn’t happen overnight.

Potential defensive slugfest

That’s how they’d like it. I think that’s their M.O. They need to shorten the game and beat you with defense and win it at the end. That’s kind of how they’ve done it, in my estimation, for a lot of years. We’re playing really good defense right now as well. It could very well come down to a low-scoring game, but as soon as you think that’s what you’re going to get, then you get a 38-35 game. Who knows? Based on the first three weeks, there’s a high likelihood of that.

WR3 competition

The more guys you can go to, the better. Right now, Salesi Moa is battling for that third spot. Channing Goodwin is in there as well. Who else have we got over there? Kendrick Bell is getting some time. It’s a jockeying position, so to speak, with three or four guys to get that third-most reps and wide receiver three spot. If we can get guys to step up and have another option or two in addition to JJ and Andrew, that just makes us better at football.

Big Ten outlook

We’ll find out. I can’t tell you exactly where we stand right now. I know that there’s some really good teams and we’ve got a bunch of ranked teams coming up on the schedule, which is fun. Starting with this week, it’s No. 18 versus No. 17, I think it is. The Big Ten is a quality league. It’s always going to have a bunch of ranked teams and challenging opponents. The gauntlet starts this week.

Tommy Carr’s development

First of all, we like Tommy and we’ve always spoken highly of Tommy ever since last spring. I thought he came in and did a good job and really showed some explosion on that run. He can make you miss when he carries the football. You saw the touch he was able to put on the ball and that touchdown pass to Moa in the end zone. It was good to see him translate what he’s been doing in practice to a game situation. As far as the transfer portal, I’m looking ahead. We’ll start to really hone in on retention and what we think is going to be the landscape of the team as we get towards the end of the season. That’s still many weeks away. I don’t know if we need to treat players any differently than we always have going through the season. You’re talking about maybe coddling them a little bit and throwing them a bone here and there. I don’t know. You try to keep them all engaged. Bottom line is, guys that can help you win, you want to get on the field.

Fumble specifics

A couple of times, a couple of the six were loose with the ball. The one, Savion, he had it locked up pretty good. The guy just put his hat right on it. It was a great defensive play. No excuses. As I mentioned, the team that won the championship last year in Indiana fumbled one time all year long. That’s incredible. I don’t know if anybody can replicate that. There’s a reason why you win championships, and taking care of the football is a really good start with it.

Jay Hill’s multiplicity

Yeah, I think without a doubt. Multiplicity is really the operative word there. He’s got a lot of different looks, both front-wise and just alignment-wise and then disguise-wise. He does a phenomenal job putting that all together. It’s got to be able to be assimilated by the defense. It can’t be too complicated or else we’re going to be blowing assignments and so forth. So I think Jay strikes an excellent balance with the complexity of the schemes and yet the simplicity when you teach it to the players. It certainly makes it tough on the QB. I think in all three games, the quarterback has had a difficult time deciphering what we’re in pre-snap, and he blitzes at you from all different angles. And so he’s doing a great job for us. And the players are executing. It all boils down to execution by the players, but they’ve really bought into what he’s providing.

Phil Parker’s defense

Observed, yes. I don’t believe we’ve ever met. I was asked that same question earlier today. I just know that they’re always outstanding on defense. He’s a four-down guy, quarters coverage behind it. Just plays sound, fundamentally and technique-sound football. They tackle well, they’re physical, and they’ve been doing it a lot of years. They know exactly what they’re trying to accomplish on defense. Right now, they’re doing it better than anyone in the country.

Marshall’s injury status

It’s a concern, but there’s never any excuses. If you’re out there, you’ve got to produce. If you’re not able to be out there, it’s next-man-up mentality. That guy’s got to produce. It’s just part of the game. For the whole rest of the season, guys are going to be bumped and bruised. You’ve just got to play through it. Deal with it as best you can.

Tight end room

That room is still a work in progress. It was good to get Hogan back. He brings some things to the table that the other guys don’t. It’s kind of a collection of guys that all have different skill sets. I thought Zack Marshall did some good things on Saturday as well. Having Hogan back, particularly in the throw game, he’s a target, another big catch-radius guy that Bryce can go to and runs good routes. It’s great to have him back, and we’re looking forward to Mason Bonner’s continuing progression and trying to get him a little more integrated as he’s ready for it.

Underwood’s ball security

Right. You don’t hit him in practice, but every time he tucks the ball in the line, you want high and tight, wrist above elbow, elbow tight, all the buzzwords you use for ball security. It’s something we’re constantly preaching, and not just Bryce, the entire offense. It’s something that is never not addressed. It’s addressed every practice. Every time there’s an issue with it, we point it out. Hopefully we can get that shored up.

New redshirt rule

Yeah, big time. It’s expanded the roster and made you not reluctant. Before, you were reluctant to put guys in. You said, hey, we want to stay under that four-game limit and don’t waste a few snaps at the end of the game by putting them in and this and that. It has greatly enhanced your ability, especially on special teams. That’s where it really comes into play. You’ve got a much bigger pool of guys you can utilize to take roles in special teams. I think it’s a great rule. I think it’s one of the best things the NCAA has done for a lot of years. I think that everybody has bigger rosters — not bigger rosters, but more availability in your roster to play guys.

Keeping freshmen engaged

Exactly, exactly. In the past, you’ve got a guy that’s in redshirt mode who knows he’s not playing. You get a little different performance, typically, out of those guys than the guys that are involved. With the new rule, everybody can be involved every single week, theoretically.

Attacking loaded boxes

Yeah, absolutely. The answer is yes on both counts. Sometimes we say, hey, you’re going to load the box and bring the safeties down to six or seven yards, we’re going to impose our will and run it anyway, regardless. Then Bryce does have opportunities. There’s outlets outside, the bubble screens and the things you can go to if the box is too heavy. We do have that capability. We want to establish the run. That’s always a key for us and opens up everything else. We did our best job of the year. We rushed for about 185 on Saturday, which is more what we’re after.

Downfield passing game

Yeah, it was better, but not still — we didn’t connect on the big 40-, 50-, 60-yard play. We did hit JJ for that skinny post for a touchdown and a few bigger balls that were a little more up the field. But the more you can stretch the defense, the more it loosens up the box. That helps your cause right there. But you’ve got to play to your strengths as well. Right now I think that Jason’s tailoring the throw game to the strengths of Andrew and JJ, their receiver 1 and 1A. So we’ll just continue to see how things evolve. We do have some guys with pretty good speed. Jaime Ffrench, he’s another guy that’s battling for that third wide receiver spot that really has the ability to stretch the defense. So we’ll just see how things progress as we go along.

Jake Guarnera’s play

Jake has played outstanding. He’s very consistent. In my opinion, one of the best centers in the Big Ten. We just need them to continue to impose their will on people and be physical. As I mentioned, last week was kind of helter-skelter with the crew that we had — not the crew, but the configuration that we had. And so I think we would have been better had we been able to practice a few days with those guys. But that wasn’t the case. Sometimes that stuff happens. But I think this whole line will continue to get better each week, and if they do, then our offense is going to continue to ascend as well. It all starts up front.