Amid a flurry of coaching moves Thursday that involve the Utah and BYU staffs — thanks to Kyle Whittingham taking the Michigan head coaching position — is that the Utes are losing one of their most important position coaches.
Hours after CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported that Whittingham was adding Utah offensive coordinator Jason Beck, receivers coach Micah Simon, tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham and quarterbacks coach/analyst Koy Detmer Jr. at Michigan, Zenitz first reported that offensive line/assistant head coach Jim Harding is also headed to Ann Arbor.
Harding has been the Utes’ offensive line coach for the past 12 seasons, and he added assistant head coach duties in 2017.
Harding will also serve as assistant head coach, in addition to offensive line coach responsibilities, at Michigan, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported.
Michigan has yet to officially announce any of these moves, though Whittingham confirmed on ESPN’s “College GameDay” that Beck is joining him at the school.
During his tenure, Utah has had one of the top offensive lines in the country. This year, that included a group of five returning starters headlined by offensive tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, both of whom are projected first-round draft picks and have already declared for the 2026 NFL draft.
Fano was a unanimous All-American selection this season, becoming the first Utah offensive player to earn such honors.
In Harding’s time at the school, the Utes have been able to land several highly ranked offensive line recruits, such as Fano and Lomu.
Offensive tackle Kelvin Obot is a five-star rated signee in Utah’s 2026 class — he is the highest rated recruit in Utes history.
Denver Broncos All-Pro offensive tackle Garett Bolles was also a Harding protege and has been a starter in the NFL since he entered the league in 2017.