ESPN says John Henry Daley Michigan football's top non-QB playmaker

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Michigan football didn't have the most explosive transfer portal haul this offseason, but it did have a strategic one. And with four former Utah players joining the Wolverines, one stands out above the rest.

An All-American last year, edge rusher John Henry Daley burst onto the scene with 11.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss. But given that he ruptured his Achilles, ending his season and precluding him from spring ball this year, he isn't getting quite the hype he may have gotten otherwise. Even still, national analysts are excited to see what he'll do now with the maize and blue, assuming he returns to full strength.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg put together a list of the top non-quarterbacks entering 2026, and while Michigan's inclusion could have been wide receivers Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan, or even players like defensive back Jyaire Hill, Rittenberg went with Daley. Here's why:

After transferring from BYU to Utah, Daley had only four tackles (one sack) for the Utes in 2024, but coach Kyle Whittingham liked what he saw behind the scenes. Daley then transformed into one of the nation's most productive and disruptive edges last fall, leading the nation in sacks for a stretch and rising to No. 2 nationally before sustaining a ruptured Achilles tendon in a late November game against Kansas State.

Despite missing the stretch run, Daley still finished second nationally in sacks per game (1.05) and third in tackles for loss per game (1.59). He ranked fifth nationally in edge pressure percentage (19.6%) Daley accounted for more than one-third of Utah's sacks last season. He followed Whittingham to Michigan, where he's set to replace NFL second-round draft pick Derrick Moore as the Wolverines' primary pass rusher.

"He's as hard a worker as you'll find," Whittingham told ESPN. "What makes him so good is his get-off. That's the No. 1 factor in becoming a great edge rusher. He's got an exceptional get-off, great quickness, and he's relentless. He finds a way to get home and he'll just keep coming at you, snap after snap, and just wear you out."

There's more available over at ESPN. If Daley is as advertised, that would go a long way toward Michigan reclaiming the Big Ten and getting back into the College Football Playoff picture. Only three times in program history has a player in a winged helmet gotten more sacks than Daley did last year with the Utes: Aidan Hutchinson with 14 sacks in 14 games in 2021, David Bowens with 12 in 1996, and LaMarr Woodley with 12 in 2006.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: John Henry Daley is Michigan football's top threat per ESPN

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