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Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham discusses offensive coordinator Jason Beck hire, more on College GameDay

clayton-sayfieby: Clayton Sayfie01/01/26CSayf23

Appearing on ESPN’s College GameDay Thursday morning, Michigan Wolverines football head coach Kyle Whittingham confirmed reports that Utah offensive coordinator Jason Beck will follow him from Salt Lake City to Ann Arbor in the same role on his first staff at U-M.

The 45-year-old Beck is coming off a strong 2025 regular season at Utah, after being hired following stops as the coordinator at Syracuse (2023) and New Mexico (2024).

Coming off an 11-win season that culminated in Beck’s offense exploding for 44 points in a Las Vegas Bowl win over Nebraska, Utah ranked fifth nationally in scoring (41.1 points per game), fourth in total offense (482.9 yards per game), second in rushing offense (266.3 yards per game) and 82nd in passing offense (216.6 yards per game). While the passing offense rank isn’t all that impressive, it was better on a per-attempt basis, checking in tied 54th with 7.5 yards per pass.

“That’s huge for us, and Jason did such a great job for us this past season,” Whittingham said. “We were, what, fifth in the nation in total O and fourth in scoring O, second in rushing offense? He’s a guy that’s moved the football and scored points everywhere he’s been and is going to be a big plus having him there in Ann Arbor. And a bunch of other guys that have been on the staff at Utah are going to come with him.”

Beck brought quarterback Devon Dampier with him from New Mexico to Utah, and the signal-caller completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 2,490 yards and 24 touchdowns with 5 interceptions while taking 12 sacks, adding 835 rushing yards and 10 scores on 146 rush attempts in 12 games. He was named third-team All-Big 12 and the conference’s Newcomer of the Year in 2025.

Here’s what else Whittingham said on ESPN this morning:

On when he knew he could be the next Michigan head coach

Shoot, very shortly after I stepped down — maybe a day or two. There was some contact between myself and Michigan, and then things just started to progress and started to get deeper in the process. About a week later, it was a done deal, so it happened quickly.

On what he learned about the Michigan team through individual meetings

It was an incredible experience. These guys [are] a high-character group. They care about academics, they want to be at Michigan. And that was the real mission when I met with everybody individually is where they were mentally and what the plans were. I was amazed — there was not a bad guy in the bunch, literally.

And every guy that I visited with was excited to be at Michigan. Now, it doesn’t mean they’re all going to stay. You’ve got the transfer portal, and there’s going to be some activity there, I’m sure there. But I came away very impressed. It’s a great group of guys, when you talk about what a Michigan man is, they exemplify that.

On how his long career at Utah and in the game of football prepares him for taking this job at Michigan, and if it’s the perfect time for him to come to Ann Arbor

Well, I think so, and I’ve still got plenty of juice left in the tank and feel energetic. Michigan is a top-five job, in my opinion. There’s no question it’s a top-five job. At the place I was in my career when I stepped down at Utah, it would’ve taken a top-five job to lure me back into it. 

Michigan, steeped in tradition, terrific resources. It’s got a great opportunity for myself and the players there.

On how to keep his program’s chip on the shoulder from Utah to Michigan

It’s definitely a different dynamic, and you’re right, the level of the recruiting and the personnel, it’s all accelerated. But this is a place that has a national championship opportunity every single year, so that’s really the motivation for me to express to these players, to say, ‘Hey, it’s Michigan, and we should be in the hunt year in and year out.’ 

There’s no difference — the work is the work, and you’ve got to get it done, whether you’re at Utah, Michigan, wherever. If we’ve got guys that are committed, want to be there and want to go to work, then we’ve got a chance. 

On the first order of business to establish a tough, hard-nosed program at Michigan

Well, I think it starts in the weight room. The offseason program is so critical, and you’ve got to have the right guy running the strength program, which we feel we’re going to. That’s where a lot of the mental toughness and the work ethic and all that begins.

We break the year into four quarters. The first quarter of the year is winter conditioning, the second quarter is spring ball, the third quarter is summer conditioning and then fall camp is the fourth quarter. You’ve got to be ready to go after that, and you’ve got to win every quarter. That’s how we did it at Utah, and that’s what we’re going to do at Michigan.