Michigan’s kicking situation is officially up for grabs heading into Saturday’s game against Michigan State.
Kyle Whittingham said Monday morning that the Wolverines will sort out the job in practice, with the most accurate kicker earning the start in the rivalry matchup.
“Whoever is the better kicker in practice will kick in the game on Saturday,” Whittingham said.
The move comes after missed field goals in Michigan’s last game, and Whittingham made it clear the staff is not handing the role to anyone just yet. Instead, the Wolverines will let the kickers settle it on the field this week.
All three kickers will get work, though Whittingham identified two of them as the main competitors for the job.
Michigan is also changing how it evaluates them. In addition to the usual field-goal and extra-point periods during special teams work, the staff will now drop kicking chances into team drills. Coaches will stop offensive and defensive periods, call for a field goal and send the kicking unit out to operate in front of everyone.
Whittingham said Michigan has done that before in fall camp and spring practices, but not during the regular season.
“We’re going to expand that this week and give them a chance to kick in front of the whole team,” he said.
That setup adds a different kind of pressure. The kicker has to be ready when the call comes, get into place quickly and deliver with the full team watching. It also gives the coaches a better look at how the unit handles those live moments together.
Whittingham also said the staff checked whether the misses were caused by anything other than the kicks themselves. His review found the holds and laces were fine. He noted that the snap on the first attempt was a little off, but said nothing about the operation was egregious and that the timing matched how the unit is coached.
His bottom line was simple: the kicks were missed.
That is why Michigan is turning the job into a competition. The staff wants to see which kicker can be the most reliable when the reps are on the line this week.
The timing matters, too. Whittingham said Michigan is still chasing bowl eligibility, and with four regular-season games left, every scoring chance carries more weight. Saturday’s rivalry game raises the temperature, but the issue is bigger than just one opponent.
Michigan needs to know that when a drive reaches field-goal range, it can come away with points.
This week’s practice battle will decide who gets the next shot. Whether that answer sticks will depend on what happens when the lights come on Saturday.
In Other News...
Michigans Kicking Battle Just Got A Surprise Twist
Michigans search for stability on special teams just picked up an unexpected wrinkle. Ryan Jung, the kicking prospect committed to the Wolverines, is planning to reclassify to the 2027 recruiting class and arrive a year early, according to a report from Hayes Fawcett of On3.com. The move gives Michigan another name to plug into a kicking picture that has already been unsettled, with sophomore Trey Butkowski still working through struggles and the staff keeping the competition wide open.
Kerry Coombs appears to have played a real part in the decision, encouraging Jung to come in early and fight for a roster spot instead of waiting another year. For Michigan, that adds a fresh layer to a battle that already mattered, because kicking has a way of turning into a season-long storyline when it is not settled. Jungs timeline may have changed, but the bigger question is whether the early arrival can help the Wolverines find the kind of consistency they have been chasing. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Knows Exactly What Could Decide The Michigan State Rivalry
The rushing battle has become the clearest place to look in Michigans rivalry meeting with Michigan State, and the Wolverines know it. Players on the team pointed to the ground game as a major separator in a series where the team that wins the rushing battle has taken 49 of the last 57 matchups, a trend that fits the kind of physical, possession-by-possession game this one usually turns into.
Both offenses have had trouble getting much going on the ground this season, which makes short-yardage consistency even more important than usual. Michigans defense has done a strong job of limiting opponents rushing yards, and if that holds up again, it could tilt the game in the Wolverines favor before the bigger rivalry swings even have a chance to take over. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans Opener Forced An Early Frontcourt Test Before UConn
Michigans season opener against Oakland turned into an early frontcourt test when junior center Moustapha Thiam was held out because of illness shortly before tipoff. Coach Mike Boynton Jr. had to adjust on the fly, turning to redshirt sophomore Oscar Goodman in the starting lineup and mixing in smaller looks as the game unfolded.
For a team that expects Thiam to matter in the middle, the timing was less than ideal with Connecticut next on the schedule. The good news for Michigan is that Thiam is expected back for that one, but the opener still offered a reminder that the Wolverines may need a few different answers inside if the rotation gets stretched again. [Read more 🡒]