Michigan injury updates on Rod Moore, John Henry Daley, Andrew Babalola

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The Michigan football program began spring practice on Tuesday, and the Wolverines will be without a few key players as things get started up.

Speaking with reporters for the first time since he was introduced in December down at the site of the Citrus Bowl, head coach Kyle Whittingham was asked about the injury statuses of safety Rod Moore, defensive end John Henry Daley and offensive lineman Andrew Babalola.

“Yeah, they probably will not be available for spring,” Whittingham said. “Maybe limited, one or two (of them) might have some limited action, but very limited. And so we’re just trying to get them to the season healthy. That’s the critical thing. They’re proven commodities, and we know what they can do, so make sure that we do what we have to do to ensure that we don’t have any setbacks.”

As it pertains to Daley, specifically, ESPN’s Heather Dinich reported on Tuesday that he is “out this spring as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles tendon, but is ‘working towards’ a full return on June 1.”

“If everything goes as planned, we’re hoping that on June 1 he can join the team in every activity we have,” Whittingham told Dinch. “Just full-go with no limitations, that would be the ideal goal. That’s what we’re working towards.”

Daley played a key role for Utah prior to his injury, racking up 11.5 sacks, 48 total tackles and 17.5 tackles for loss in 11 games en route to earning All-American honors. He was among the top rated players in the transfer portal this offseason and chose to follow Whittingham to Ann Arbor.

While it’s unfortunate Daley will be out for the entire spring, it’s reassuring to have a return date in mind and that he should be available for the start of the season. As Whittingham said, that’s really all that matters.

Meanwhile, Moore tore his ACL in the spring of 2024 and returned for a very brief period of time this past season, playing in six games and racking up one interception and six total tackles. His final game was in the loss at USC — he missed the rest of the season after re-aggravating his knee.

Finally, Babalola’s freshman season ended before it began, as he tore his ACL during fall camp and missed the entire season. He was rated as a five-star recruit in the 2025 class.

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