The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545685
86 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY CHRIS BALAS C ontrary to what many believed when John Henry Daley commit- ted to Michigan in January, his pledge wasn't an absolute cer- tainty. Yes, the Utah transfer and senior thought highly of Kyle Whitting- ham, his coach for two seasons after an initial year at BYU and a man who helped elevate his game to an eye-opening level. Daley had gone from an inconsequential 4 tackles in his first season at Utah in 2024 to an All-American in 2025 with 11.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in only 11 games before rupturing his Achilles tendon, and the support he'd gotten from his coach kept his spirits high. But the spiritual defensive end needed more than that to make another move. Before his early January visit, he made a list in his mind of things he needed to see or learn before he embarked on another chapter of his football journey. "Obviously, Michigan was on the list, and I had a lot of other schools, as well," Daley said before spring ball. "I said, 'OK, I really want to receive an answer for this, so God, can you please answer my prayer?' "I named a couple specific things I want to see happen if it was meant to be Michigan. Sure enough, the next morn- ing we got a call, and everything that I prayed about the night before, all of it was answered that following morning. I just knew that it was the right spot to be." 'Relentless' John Henry Daley Is Healing, Working And Ready To Win Daley posted 11.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in only 11 games before rupturing his Achilles tendon last season. PHOTO BY ANNA FUDER/UTAH ATHLETICS