A crucial addition was made by new Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham in January during the transfer portal window when he brought over All-American EDGE rusher John Henry Daley from Utah.
Prior to Daley’s arrival to the program from the West Coast, there were still a few unanswered questions about the Wolverines, even if his ties to Whittingham and his crew were clear.
Additionally, Daley started his trip schedule with a stop at Notre Dame before arriving in Ann Arbor, demonstrating that he was considering other universities as well.
Daley was originally scheduled to visit other schools, but after his trip to Ann Arbor, he decided that he wanted to be a Wolverine, and those visits never took place.
Daley characterized his experience to Michigan as a very spiritual one in an interview with Ethan McDowell of On3 from The Wolverine.
On being a Wolverine, Daley says
In his interview with The Wolverine, Daley stated, “Obviously, Michigan was on the list (of schools Daley was considering), and I had a lot of other schools as well. ” “I begged God to answer my prayer, saying, ‘Okay, I really want to receive an answer for this, so God, can you please answer my prayer? ’
If Michigan was meant to be, I mentioned a few specific things I want to see happen. And just as I had prayed the previous night, the following morning we received a call, and everything I had prayed for had come true. I was convinced that it was the perfect location.
Daley informed McDowell that his decision to join the Wolverines was based on very personal factors, but that he chose to commit to Michigan and end his recruitment after getting the answers he was looking for.
They were very, very excited to have me be a part of what they know they are building over here and what we will be able to achieve as a team this coming season, Daley said.
Daley, who was ranked as the ninth-best player in the country in the transfer portal, told The Wolverine that he is having a great start to his time in Ann Arbor and that he is enjoying various aspects of the city and the campus.
Daley said, “I’m really happy to be at Michigan. ” “It’s exactly what they say, and then some. ” It’s amazing.
The Michigan staff, which includes Lewis Powell, the defensive ends coach who previously coached Daley at Utah, is full of men who are delivering the right messages, according to Daley.
Our leaders are amazing; they go out there and take care of all the necessary tasks, said Daley. “It doesn’t matter if they like it or not. ” They’re doing it anyhow since that’s what they expect from us too.
Before being forced to sit out due to an injury at the end of the season, Daley racked up 48 total tackles last year, including 17. 5 tackles for loss and 11. 5 sacks.
To The Wolverine, he said that he considers his accomplishments from last season to be a solid basis upon which to build for 2026.
In my opinion, that’s the limit of what I’ll be capable of, not the sky,” Daley stated. “Naturally, I just need to keep working on my rehabilitation and doing whatever it takes, but I’ll be back, and I won’t be back to where I was, but I’ll be better than I’ve ever been. “
