Utah's John Henry Daley provides clarity on his injury return timeline

Utes standout edge rusher cleared the air on his status for 2026 in a post to X

Utah Utes defensive end John Henry Daley (90) led the team with 11.5 sacks in 2025. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

It'll be a while before Utah defensive end John Henry Daley is back on the field again.

There appears to be, however, a misconception surrounding how long Daley will be out due to the injury he sustained during the Utes' home final against Kansas State.

Utah's leader in sacks used some false information spreading around online as an opportunity to clear the air on his expected timeline for recovery.

"I've been hearing this everywhere," Daley wrote in a post to X in response to a now-deleted post. "I will not be out for this next season... I'll be back in 6 months."

Funnily enough, Daley left the comment under a post from a Michigan fan account. The post featured a video highlight of Daley with text that read "Michigan NEEDS to be after Utah DE John Henry-Daley," and that Daley "would be a MASSIVE get for Michigan." The connection to the Wolverines, of course, comes from former Utah coach Kyle Whittingham taking over the Michigan head coaching gig following 21 seasons with the Utes.

There's been no official word whether Daley will enter the transfer portal when it opens Jan. 2, though there's an expectation that some Utah players and members of the coaching staff will inevitably follow Whittingham to Ann Arbor, Michigan, after the Utes' Las Vegas Bowl matchup against Nebraska.

Daley played a significant role in helping Utah remain competitive in the Big 12 title race throughout the regular season. The Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist and quarterfinalist for theLott IMPACT Trophy award led the country in tackles for loss (17.5) and was tied for No. 2 in sacks (11.5) when he went down with a leg injury against the Wildcats on Nov. 22. He was also third on the team in total tackles (48) and checked in as the only Utah player to force multiple fumbles through its first 11 games.

With Daley leading the charge, Utah was one of three Big 12 teams with 30 or more sacks through Week 13, ranking behind only Texas Tech (33) and Arizona State (31) in that category. The Utes were also No. 3 in the league in scoring defense — allowing 18.5 points per game — and opponent third down conversions, yielding just 31.2% successful attempts going into Week 14.

Daley's return to Salt Lake City for his redshirt junior season would be a big boost for the Utes' defensive line group. Especially when considering the fact his partner-in-crime on the other side of the front line, Logan Fano, is set to graduate and enter the 2026 NFL Draft at season's end.

I’ve been hearing this everywhere. I will not be out for this next season… I’ll be back in 6 months.

— John Henry Daley (@JohnHenryDaley1) December 29, 2025