Kyle Whittingham’s rebuilding effort at Michigan just hit an early speed bump. After aggressively working the portal this offseason to build his roster, Whittingham is already down a quarterback who just arrived three months ago.

Michigan’s quarterback group faces a setback this spring. On3’s Josh Henschke confirms that LSU transfer Colin Hurley is no longer with the team. Hurley did join spring practices, but it is not clear exactly when he left. Bailing out of mid-spring practice, barely three months after arriving from Baton Rouge, shows just how quickly the quarterback math changed.

Hurley was one of several quarterbacks to transfer to Michigan this offseason. Now, after his move, Kyle Whittingham’s program has just one transfer QB, and that’s Colorado State transfer Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, who is not taking part in spring practice and will start practicing fully in the fall. What makes things worse is that Hurley had four more years of eligibility remaining. But now with his move, Michigan’s QB takes a major hit.

Originally a highly touted recruit who reclassified to the 2024 class at just 16 years old, Hurley spent his first two seasons at Louisiana State. Following Lane Kiffin’s recent arrival as the Tigers’ new head coach, Colin Hurley transferred to Michigan this winter looking for new company.

But it turns out even that’s not possible at Michigan anytime soon. Now, the clear reason for his exit is still not known, but it’s pretty clear that with Bryce Underwood and Fowler-Nicolosi, Hurley’s chances of getting more playtime or a starting position were tough. So, he might be planning to move to another team where he can start immediately.

As a freshman, Tommy Carr was competing with Hurley for the backup quarterback job behind Bryce Underwood during spring practice. On top of that, Kyle Whittingham was already pretty high on Carr’s performance.

“Tommy Carr is doing a nice job, I can tell you that,” Whittingham said. “He’s probably the one who stands out so far. Nothing’s been set in stone, obviously, but just based on what we’ve seen to this point, Tommy has looked like he’s got a good skill set.”

Even that’s a catch, as there’s only one transfer portal this year, with no spring transfer portal. That means there can be another reason behind Hurley’s move. Hurley’s path has been challenging; after redshirting in 2024 and seeing no game action at LSU, his career was further complicated by a serious car accident last year, making his quest for playing time at a program like Michigan all the more urgent.

He was found unresponsive but still breathing early in the morning during the spring. This was a scary moment for him and his family, but he made a massive comeback in April last year, but didn’t see any game action behind Garrett Nussmeier and Michael Van Buren. But he is not the only player Kyle Whittingham lost.

Kyle Whittingham’s 2027 class takes a hit

Michigan’s 2027 takes a major hit after it lost a key player. The team added one offensive lineman, but soon after, they lost him. Tristan Dare, a three-star offensive lineman from Texas, shared on social media that he is no longer committed to Michigan. This happened just over a week after he visited Ann Arbor and posted, “Great time in Ann Arbor!” with a photo of head coach Kyle Whittingham.

Dare’s decommitment likely stems from the complete coaching overhaul since he first pledged to Michigan. The head coach who recruited him, Sherrone Moore, and his position coach, Grant Newsome, are both gone, replaced by Kyle Whittingham and new offensive line coach Jim Harding, respectively.

Now, that’s a massive blow for Kyle Whittingham’s team as they lost a strong, 6 feet 3½ inches tall and weighing 290 pounds lineman. Even after losing Dare, Michigan is still building its 2027 recruiting class. The team added three new players in just one week, including four-star offensive lineman Sidney Rouleau from Texas.

Right now, Michigan has five players committed in this class, and it is ranked No. 21 in the country. This shows that the team is still doing well in recruiting. So, now let’s wait and see how Whittingham rebuilds the program.