Pair of Michigan Football Players Named Top 10 Big Ten Transfer Portal Commits

During the transfer portal window in college football in January, new Michigan football head coach Kyle Whittingham was tasked with bringing in players from the portal essentially as soon as he took the job due to the timing of when he was hired.

Even though the Wolverines had to set a coaching staff in place in a hurry and get right on player retention and looking at potential portal additions in a hurry, Michigan still ended up with a good haul of new players that should play key roles on the 2026 team.

Of course, it helps that Whittingham was already coaching at Utah, a place he spent two decades at. In total, Whittingham and his staff brought five former Utes to Ann Arbor. Two of them were named top 10 Big Ten portal commits in defensive end John Henry Daley (No. 1) and defensive back Smith Snowden (No. 10).

Top Big Ten Transfer Portal Commits‼️https://t.co/twx2zKAZZ8 pic.twitter.com/xYhiobQJkl
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) February 11, 2026

Both had tremendous seasons at Utah last year and are expected to make major impacts for the Wolverines in 2026.

Snowden at Utah

In three seasons as a Ute, Snowden appeared in 35 career games, making 23 starts.

This past season, Snowden started all 12 regular season games for Utah on defense, plus twice on offense (one at WR and one at RB) on his way to a Second Team All-Big 12 selection.

He led the cornerback room with 37 tackles, including two tackles for loss, while recording a team-best 11 passes defended with 9 PBUs and two interceptions. The 11 passes defended landed him in a tie for fourth-most in the conference.

Smith Snowden tackles — Oct 11, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils wide receiver Malik McClain (12) is tackled by Utah Utes cornerback Smith Snowden (2) during the third quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

In a victory over Kansas State in 2025, Snowden made a career-best seven tackles in a comeback win over the Wildcats.

Snowden will have one year of college eligibility remaining.

Henry Daley at Utah

At Utah, Henry Daley was tied for the FBS lead with 17.5 tackles for loss and ranked second in the country in sacks with 11.5 this past season at the time of his injury, which caused him to miss the last couple games of the year.

His 2025 season totals included 48 tackles (17.5 TFL, 11.5 sacks) in addition to one PBU and two forced fumbles.

Henrry Daley was also voted to the All-America team (Walter Camp First Team, AFCA Second Team, AP Second Team), voted All-Big 12 First Team by the league’s coaches and named a Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist and a quarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy.

Sep 13, 2025; Laramie, Wyoming, USA; Utah Utes defensive end John Henry Daley (90) celebrates his sack in the first quarter against the Wyoming Cowboys at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

He has two years of college eligibility remaining .