Kyle Whittingham’s plans, when he became Michigan’s head coach, were to build a team around quarterback Bryce Underwood, but the first big preseason spotlight has engulfed a defensive end who followed him from Utah. PFF released its Top 50 players for 2026, with John Henry Daley landing at No. 24 while Underwood did not appear on the list.

For a quarterback who was supposed to be the face of Whittingham’s new Michigan, missing that list is a clear message. PFF’s ranking shows which player they see as more ready to dominate in 2026, and this year it is the edge rusher from Utah, not the star QB.

This is not the first time Kyle Whittingham has seen a defensive player get more preseason praise than his quarterback. At Utah, he often talked about his pass rushers and linebackers before the season, even when the quarterback was the big-name recruit.

In big preseason lists and award talks, Utah’s defenders regularly made more noise than the QB room. That same pattern is showing up now at Michigan: the coach Whittingham brought from Utah is getting the early spotlight, not the quarterback he was hired to develop.

Daley arrived in Ann Arbor in January after a breakout 2025 at Utah, posting 48 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and an elite 93.4 pass-rush grade, per PFF. In contrast, Underwood entered 2025 as the nation’s top recruit but finished with a mixed freshman year. He threw for 2,428 yards and 11 touchdowns against nine interceptions in 13 games, with bright moments mixed with accuracy and decision-making questions that still follow him into 2026.

Despite the mixed results, Kyle Whittingham believes in his QB. The head coach even hired a dedicated QB coach and OC from Utah to maximize Underwood’s growth. But is the QB ready to make explosive plays this season? He’s worked with Jordan Palmer, who’s got experience working with NFL passers. In fact, Palmer helped many OSU QBs pave their path at the pro level. Yet doubt exists. “I don’t think Bryce Underwood can throw or play quarterback,” CFBL HoFer Eric Weddle said of Underwood.

As far as John Daley is concerned, his resume goes beyond PFF. ESPN also included him on its early top-100 players list after he tied for sixth nationally with 11.5 sacks and fourth with 17.5 tackles for loss in 2025. Kyle Whittingham has praised Daley’s motor and production before his late-season injury, making him a key piece in Michigan’s defensive turnaround plan.

“John Henry Daley, he’s a guy that has an incredible motor,” said Whittingham in February, as reported by Wolverines Wire. “He plays every snap as if it was his last. Tremendously talented young man. He was leading the nation in sacks last year before he went down with an injury.”

Will Henry Daley play for Michigan in 2026?

John Henry Daley has potential. But there is concern, too. The Michigan edge rusher’s 2025 season was cut short due to an Achilles injury. As a result, he not only missed two games last season but was also absent from Michigan’s 2026 spring practice. Therefore, throughout this offseason, his availability was put into question.

But ahead of the 2026 season, the new head coach gave an injury update. Estimating his return timeline, Whittingham said to ESPN, “If everything goes as planned, we’re hoping that on June 1 he can join the team in every activity we have. Just full-go with no limitations, that would be the ideal goal. That’s what we’re working towards.”

John Daley hit that timeline, and now he was ready for Michigan’s summer workout. Even the edge rusher is coming back with a better version. “I mean, physically, upper body-wise, I’m probably the best I’ve ever been in my life,” said Daley in March as reported by Maizebrew.com. Now, we will see his performance for the Wolverines when Michigan kicks off against WMU.