Following a remarkable sophomore season, the newly recruited Michigan edge rusher faced a decision after Kyle Whittingham left for the Wolverines. Should he follow his head coach or look for another program? Ultimately, he landed at Ann Arbor. In a new interview, he revealed his choice wasn’t based on facilities or NIL, but on a specific sign he prayed for, a sign that arrived the very next morning.

“Obviously, Michigan was on the list, and I had a lot of other schools as well,” Daley told The Wolverine. “I said, ‘Okay, I really want to receive an answer for this, so God, can you please answer my prayer?’ I named a couple of specific things I want to see happen if it was meant to be Michigan. And sure enough, the next morning we got a call, and everything that I prayed about the night before—all of it—was answered that following morning, and I just knew that it was the right spot to be.”

The journey to Ann Arbor was a continuation of a story that had started in Salt Lake City. Daley broke out as a redshirt sophomore for an 11-2 Utah team, but his season ended abruptly on November 22 against Kansas State with a lower-body injury. Yet he was already looking ahead.

“Man, it’s going better than expected,” he said of his rehab. “Everybody’s blown away with the progress I’ve made so far. It’s been very, very encouraging on all fronts—better than I expected, better than the surgeon expected and we are flying along in the process. Got to be patient with this, can’t rush anything, but, at the same time, they want an aggressive approach to it, and I’m feeling great, walking just fine, doing everything great and just looking at the next steps now.”

Even amid uncertainty, Daley’s gratitude for Utah ran deep. “I’d like to thank my teammates, coaches, and Ute nation for the incredible support these past two seasons. The experiences I’ve had here will last a lifetime. Who I consider to be family has grown significantly, and I will always cherish those relationships.”

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You’d think the decision to follow Whittingham would be easy. However, once the portal opened on January 2, multiple programs showed interest in the First-team All-American edge rusher, who amassed 48 tackles (17.5 TFLs) and 11.5 sacks in 11 appearances last season.

Notre Dame even managed to have him at South Bend in the first week of January for an official visit. Marcus Freeman saw him as a “difference-maker” at the position. However, Michigan came through, and Daley committed to the Wolverines on January 8. Now in Michigan, Daley is finding a rhythm in a new environment under Whittingham.

“They told me that they know what they’re building over here and what we’re going to be able to accomplish as a team this next season, and they were super, super pumped to have me be a part of that,” he said.

Daley says that the coaching staff “do everything that needs to be done.” Working under Lewis Powell (DEs coach), who coached him at Utah, has also helped him feel at home. Powell stresses being “present every day” and paying attention to the little things, which Daley says has instilled confidence and helped him grow as a player. He’s pretty much impressed by Powell’s ability to develop edge rushers across “a variety of techniques and pass rushing styles” and mold them into professional-level talent.

Even as he recovers from last season’s injury, Daley feels energized and ahead of schedule. “I’ll be back, and I won’t be back to where I was, but I’ll be better than I’ve ever been.”

From Salt Lake to Ann Arbor

When Kyle Whittingham took the reins in Ann Arbor, he brought a whole chunk of Salt Lake City with him. He brought in Jason Beck to run the offense, but the list didn’t stop there. Jim Harding on the O-line, Micah Simon with the wideouts, Freddie Whittingham for tight ends, and Lewis Powell for the defensive ends all made the move.

And familiar faces from the roster followed too. The transfer portal opened, and several former Utes showed up. They have Smith Snowden in the secondary, JJ Buchanan on offense, Jonah Lea’ea inside the trenches, and of course, John Henry Daley on the edge.

Jonah Lea’ea’s visit the day after Daley made the commitment only deepened that sense of familiarity. The sophomore defensive tackle, who racked up 34 tackles and 2.5 TFLs in 2025, had already started making plays at Utah and was now bringing that energy to Michigan’s defensive front.

Then there is Smith Snowden, the versatile defensive back, who also found his way to Michigan. Snowden had logged snaps everywhere in the secondary in 2025, with 37 tackles, nine pass breakups, and an All-Big 12 honor.

Michigan’s defense had seen a lot of departures after last season, with Derrick Moore, T.J. Guy, Jaishawn Barham, Rayshaun Benny, Damon Payne Jr., and Tre Williams all moving on. Together with Daley, Lea’ea, and Buchanan, the transfers have created a mini-Utah defense reunion in Ann Arbor.