One Michigan Football Transfer Named 'Best Fit' Among All Transfer Portal Entrants

Once Kyle Whittingham took over as the head coach of Michigan, the long-time Utah assistant brought over several coaches with him from the Utes. Most notably, Jason Beck, who will run the offense — but he wasn't the only one.

Offensive line coach Jim Harding, wide receivers coach Micah Simon, tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham, and defensive ends coach Lewis Powell all came with their head coach to Ann Arbor. Once some assistants came over, there were bound to be some Utah players to follow.

As of now, Michigan landed four former Utes: CB Smith Snowden, WR JJ Buchanan, DT Jonah Lea'ea, and edge rusher John Henry Daley. And according to ESPN, Daley is among the 15 players who have the best fit with their new program from the transfer portal cycle.

"Like the quarterbacks listed above, Daley is a proven scheme fit after following Kyle Whittingham from Utah to Ann Arbor. The redshirt sophomore earned All-Big 12 and All-America honors in 2025 for the Utes. With Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore moving on, Daley can fill the void as a proven edge defender who is stout at the point of attack against the run. His rugged, tough style fits the Michigan mentality. His position coach, Lewis Powell, also comes over from Utah, so Whittingham, Daley and Powell are all on the same page."

Utah edge rusher John Henry Daley — Ben Queen-Imagn Images

What Daley brings to Ann Arbor

The prized pass rusher will have two years of eligibility remaining and is very familiar with the defense that Michigan will run in 2026. While he starred with Utah this season, Daley began his career with BYU, under new defensive coordinator Jay Hill.

Daley was an All-American this season with Utah. Daley was tied for sixth in the nation with 11.5 sacks and was also tied for fourth in the country with 17.5 TFLs. Daley's season ended early due to an injury, but is expected to be fully healthy for next season.

The only concern Michigan fans will have regarding Daley is that injury. A non-contact injury is never a good thing, but the coaching staff feels confident he will make a full recovery. Assuming he is close to 100% when the season begins, the Wolverines have a clear top edge rusher in the conference.

Here are a few accolades from Daley this season:

All-America (Walter Camp First Team, AFCA Second Team, AP Second Team)
Voted All-Big 12 First Team by the league’s coaches.
Named a Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist and a quarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy.
Season totals included 48 tackles (17.5 TFL, 11.5 sacks) in addition to one PBU and two forced fumbles.
At the time of his injury, was tied for the FBS lead with 17.5 TFL and ranked second in the country with 11.5 sacks.

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