Kyle Whittingham impressed with freshmen Salesi Moa, Savion Hiter after spring game

Michigan wide receiver Salesi Moa (12) walks up the tunnel after the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 18, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Michigan offense hasn’t been up to standard the last two seasons, but things have a chance to be much different this season under new head coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck.

Beck engineered a major turnaround at Utah last season, taking it from being one of the nation’s worst offenses in 2024 to a group that put up 41.3 points per game in 2025. It’ll be hard to produce another turnaround like that, but Michigan might have the tools to make it happen.

On Saturday, the Wolverines played their annual spring game and gave fans a glimpse of some things that could be different in the offense this season. We saw some of the traits of the spread offense Whittingham mentioned in his introductory press conference back in December, but perhaps more importantly, we saw two freshmen — wide receiver Salesi Moa and running back Savion Hiter — look rather comfortable.

Hiter was the one of two five-star recruits Michigan pulled in during the 2026 recruiting cycle, managing to hold onto his services even though he had committed to the program while Sherrone Moore was still the head coach. On Saturday, we saw a little bit of what he could do, as he had 10 carries for 44 yards for the Blue team. At 6-foot, 210 pounds, he boasts a college-ready frame and tree trunks for legs that should help him adapt well to the physicality of Big Ten football. Not to mention some burst that should manifest itself at some point this fall.

“I thought that Savion (Hiter) really showed that he’s an explosive back,” Whittingham told reporters after the game. “He’s a powerful back that’s gonna be a big factor for us this fall.”

While Jordan Marshall will enter the fall as the leader on the depth chart, Whittingham has repeatedly said great things about Hiter throughout the spring. It might not be a 50-50 split of the carries, but the youngster will definitely get his share of work in the new offense much like how Marshall and Justice Haynes were able to coexist last year.