John Henry Daley, Wolverine

 

John Henry Daley (image via Twitter)

Utah defensive end John Henry Daley is transferring to Michigan.

Coming out of Alpine (UT) Lone Peak, Daley was a 3-star, the #45 athlete, and #613 overall in the 247 Composite. He started his career at BYU in 2023, making 3 tackles in three games and redshirting. He then transferred to Utah, where he made 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack in seven games in 2024. He followed that up this past season with a Walter Camp First Team All-America performance, making 48 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 pass breakup while playing in eleven games.

At 6'4" and 255 pounds, Daley tied for #5 nationally in tackles for loss (everyone tied with or above him played 12+ games) and #7 in sacks (same story). In other words, he was #3 in TFLs per game and #2 in sacks per game.

Daley has a lot of football in his bloodlines, including a brother who's a captain at Rice (after starting his career at BYU, too), a dad who played at BYU, and several uncles who played at BYU, including Taysom Hill.

Watching some of Utah this season and some highlights of Daley, I'm definitely curious to see if his playmaking ability translates to the Big Ten. Most of the wins I saw were where he just came off the ball like a rocket, attacked half a man, and was able to beat the tackle around the edge. There's not much nuance to his game. There's definitely a path to success with that approach, but he will have to face better tackles in the Big Ten. Furthermore, he is overcoming a lower body injury (rumored to be an Achilles issue), so his contribution may just depend on how quickly he can get back to full speed. Luckily, he has two seasons of eligibility remaining, so Michigan fans could potentially see him at full strength in 2027, too.

If Daley gets back to form in 2026, he is pretty clearly Michigan's best edge defender. Mix in some Dominic Nichols, Nate Marshall, Cam Brandt, etc., and it's a decent group of players.