Michigan saw a lot of new faces come to Ann Arbor when Kyle Whittingham was hired at Michigan, mainly Utah transfers. John Henry Daley was a big name to come over with Whittingham, and even coming off an injury last season, he already has the mentality of the Michigan defense down pat.
The defense has always been the shining light of Michigan's greatest teams, including the 2023 National Championship team. To be competitive in the Big Ten, having a physical defense that can play in the trenches is a must, and Whittingham brought some of his best guys over from Utah to help with that.
Daley will be a big part of the Michigan line up front, working to get to opposing quarterbacks, and while he is 100% healthy coming off a ruptured achilles tendon, Whittingham is being cautious by still limiting him in fall practices. That doesn't mean Daley isn't getting good work in with this defense and already has a good handle on how Michigan handles things on the line.
"Line up your guys, we are gonna line up our guys, and we are gonna win that battle every single time," Daley said. "We are gonna come in there and punch them in the face every single play."
John Henry Daley and Rod Moore’s segment on BTN this evening will have you ready to run through a brick wall right now.
— Matt Hartwell (@matthartwell_) August 13, 2026
Loving the confidence from this defense. pic.twitter.com/NiasE0cIDW
Even coming off injury, John Henry Daley can make an impact on Michigan's defense
Daley has a total of 12.5 sacks in his college career, but it should be known that 11.5 of those came in the 2025 season, his final one in Utah. Daley went down in the second-to-last game for the Utes in 2025 against Kansas State with an achilles tendon tear, but his rehab has gone well, and he is ready to get on the field, this time in the Maize and Blue.
Even with playing in only 11 games, Daley had the second most sacks in the Big 12 last season, behind only Texas Tech's David Bailey, who played in 14 games and had just three more sacks. Now, in the Big Ten, those types of numbers are what this Michigan defense needs to have an elite line up front.
Michigan is stacked in the secondary, Daley even said so himself, so his mindset for the guys upfront is to get to the quarterback and make life easier on the defensive backs, like Rod Moore, who is also coming back from injury this season.
Daley took a huge jump from his sophomore season at Utah to his junior season, going from just one sack to 11.5 in one year. Now, under the defensive excellence of Jay Hill, Daley could see another big jump, maybe even find himself leading the Big Ten in sacks this season, even coming off an injury.
Daley's numbers last season would have also ranked second in the Big Ten, only trailing Minnesota's Anthony Smith by one sack. With Michigan losing Derrick Moore, the Wolverines' sack leader last season, who had 1.5 fewer sacks than Daley, the Utah transfer can easily step into his role as a nightmare for opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks in the Big Ten.
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