The Wolverines just landed a huge target through the transfer portal, with former Utah defensive end John Henry Dailey transferring to Michigan State to reunite with head coach Kyle Whittingham and edge coach Lewis Powell.
Michigan beat out Notre Dame and LSU (two places he also visited) as well as BYU in this portal recruitment.
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Daley, a three-star high school recruit in the 2021 recruiting class, chose to attend BYU as a traditional recruit. After two years on a mission trip with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil, he arrived on campus and spent a redshirt season in 2023 before entering the transfer portal and heading to Utah in the offseason.
In 2024, Daly spent a season with the Utes that had little impact. He only completed 7 tackles and 1 sack in his first two years of college, but Daly made a breakthrough this season and was selected to the All-American second team and was selected to the Big 12 All-Conference first team. The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder totaled 48 tackles, 17.5 sacks, 11.5 sacks, two force fumbles and one pass deflection in 11 games in 2025.
Unfortunately, Daley’s season was abruptly cut short when he suffered a non-contact calf injury (reported to be a ruptured Achilles tendon) in the penultimate game of the regular season. While he may not be fully recovered by the time spring ball rolls around, he is expected to be fully recovered and ready for the 2026 season.
Despite the injuries, Dailey remains at the top of Pro Football Focus’ rankings this year. Dailey’s overall grade of 92.4 ranked fifth nationally behind David Bailey (Texas Tech, 93.6), Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami, 92.9), Michael Heldman (Central Michigan, 92.8) and Romello Height (Texas Tech, 92.6). Dailey ranks second nationally in pass-rushing grade (93.7), trailing only Bailey (93.9).
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With Derrick Moore and Jeshawn Barham entering the NFL Draft, defensive end becomes one of the Wolverines’ top needs in the portal this winter. You could consider checking that out now, although I certainly wouldn’t say no to another edge rusher coming through the portal if they wanted to come in. Regardless of what happens next, landing Daly is a huge move for Whittingham and gives defensive coordinator Jay Hill an immediate impact player at a premium position.
Daly – rated the No. 4 overall player in the portal by On3 and the No. 49 player in the portal by 247Sports – will have two years of college eligibility. He is the fifth player to transfer to Ann Arbor this winter, joining Pitt long snapper Nico Crawford, UNLV punter Cam Brown, Pitt kicker Trey Butkoski and Oklahoma running back Tyler Tatum.
Check out some of Daley’s best highlights at Utah in the video below.
