Kyle Whittingham just landed a significant blow against a new Big Ten rival without his team even stepping onto the field. On Tuesday, the head coach and his program made a power play move by hiring a vital USC staffer who is described as “an up-and-coming superstar in the landscape.” She’s been everywhere from SoCal to North Texas and even interned with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Michigan is hiring Skylar Phan away from USC, where she served as the Trojans’ Director of Recruiting Strategy. Under her direction, they signed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2026, which saw a significant spike from No. 13 in 2025 and No. 17 in 2024. With this move, the recruiting machine behind the nation’s top class has officially changed zip codes.

For now, Skylar Phan’s exact title hasn’t been finalized publicly, but it’s not hard to imagine where the genius behind the top class in the country will fit in. Roles she could fill in Michigan include overseeing official and unofficial visits, crafting individualized recruiting strategies, and building relationships with top targets and their families. According to Zach Shaw of The Michigan Insider, that was her strength at USC.

In today’s hyper-competitive NIL era, a Director of Recruiting Strategy is the actual engine of a program. Phan isn’t just planning campus tours; she’s mapping out the psychological and logistical blueprints to land elite talent. Her ability to translate West Coast relationships into signed letters of intent makes her an irreplaceable asset.

Bringing Skylar Phan to Michigan doubles down on West Coast ties. Kyle Whittingham has deep recruiting roots out West, and the Wolverines have quietly expanded their national footprint to California, Utah, Texas, and the Midwest. 

Meanwhile, for USC, losing the architect behind your No. 1 class hurts, as continuity matters in recruiting. When a key figure leaves, there’s always a ripple effect, especially when she’s walking into a Big Ten powerhouse with resources, brand power, and playoff expectations.

Poaching a premier staff member isn’t just about upgrading your own building. It’s about destabilizing a direct conference rival. By pulling Phan away from Los Angeles, Michigan effectively kneecapped USC’s recruiting momentum right as the Trojans were finding their footing in the expanded Big Ten.

This is not good for Lincoln Riley who is already dealing with firing rumors as he enters a make or break year at USC. His trojans need to make a deep playoff run or the team management might just bite the buyout amount and send him packing.

Entering his fifth year, Riley holds a 35-18 overall record with a 2-2 bowl record. This is not so bad until you consider his 6-19 record against ranked teams. Riley is also 0-5 against top 10 opponents, with their 2024 season loss against Oregon that knocked them out of the playoffs.

Kyle Whittingham’s strategy right now is rebuilding the entire operation. And Phan’s hire comes just two weeks after he hired Dave Peloquin as GM to replace Sean Magee. The ink is barely dry on Phan’s contract, but her impact may already be felt as Michigan makes aggressive plays for the 2027 class.

How Kyle Whittingham plans to attack 2027

How aggressive Michigan staff will be with the 2027 class is up for anyone’s guess. But their recent developments hint that they’re going all in on it. Kyle Whittingham knows the West Coast, and Michigan has already targeted prospects in California and Utah. But the Wolverines are still investing heavily in-state. They’re even pushing into Ohio, where they have found success in the past, even if it rattles fans down south.

Earlier this week, Michigan offered 4-star safety Tristin Hughes, a former Syracuse commit. That offer reportedly shot the Wolverines near the top of his list.

Then, in a brazen act of recruiting invasion, they are going after another blue-chip prospect from the state of Ohio. There is a challenge there already as this prospect has already committed to Indiana.

That player is, 5-foot-10, 158-pound, Monsanna Torbert. He is a four-star athlete in the 2027 class from Cincinnati Princeton High School He can be either a cornerback or a wide receiver as he has skill sets for both positions. This aggressive push into Ohio to flip a player like Torbert, who is already committed to a conference rival, exemplifies the high-risk, high-reward approach Michigan is adopting with its new-look front office. The offer came from cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford, so he could see time on defense.

If Michigan wants to flip him, the path is to build the relationship, get him back to campus in the spring, and have an official visit in the summer. But even if they land him or not, Kyle Whittingham is making it clear that the Wolverines are casting a wide net and backing it up with infrastructure, which now includes top recruiters like Skylar Phan.