Following head coach Kyle Whittingham, former Utah DE John Henry Daley came to Michigan in January after his breakout season with the Utes. But his first season with the Wolverines was in question due to his 2025 injury against Kansas State. While he met his target return date after six months of recovery, Whittingjan isn’t fully tension-free about his comeback.

“With him, you’ve got to slow him down,” said Whittingham in an interview with the Detroit Free Press. “You’ve gotta say, ‘Hey, don’t overdo it’ because an injury like that, if you come back too soon and push it too much, you can have chronic soreness, and it’s really difficult to get rid of. So you don’t want to just jump right in and do everything everyone else is doing because your body’s not ready for that.”

In November 2025, Henry Daley suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon, and following that, he went through surgery and intense physical therapy during his rehab process until May 2026. Then, on June 1, he was cleared to participate in all team activities with Michigan. However, the Wolverines will be precautious with the DE because there have been instances of re-injuries.

In 2017, NFL player Richard Sherman struggled with chronic Achilles tendon pain. The Seahawks tried to manage with targeted treatments and allowed him to play. However, the DB suffered from continuous physical hurdles. The new Michigan head coach clarified Daley has recovered and is available for summer conditioning workouts.

“He’s doing great,” said Whittingham. “As far as where he is in the rehab process and where he should be, he’s right on schedule, if not ahead of schedule. But still, you’ve got to be careful,” added Whittingham.

His return will boost the Wolverines’ defense this season, given his numbers from last season. In 2025, against West Virginia, he recorded a career-high 7 tackles. Then, before his injury against Kansas State, he performed a dominant first quarter with 4 tackles and 3.5 TFLs. Appearing in 11 games, the DE recorded 48 tackles and 11.5 sacks, ranking second in the country in sacks per game.

But the most intriguing fact is that he was named a consensus All-American despite having a season-ending injury. Interestingly, in 2026, he is projected to be Michigan’s starting edge rusher, and the junior is confident regarding his ability to convert talent into on-field success following his recovery.

Michigan’s transfer DE’s expectation

Following last season’s injury, Michigan DE John Henry Daley missed this season’s spring practice with the Wolverines. Despite that, he is confident about his comeback.

“Physically, upper-body wise, I’m probably the best I’ve ever been in my life,” said Daley in a media conference on March 30, as reported by the Detroit Free Press. “With regards to my injury, I’ve come along really well. Starting to jog and run right now. I’m feeling fantastic, and everybody is very optimistic about it.”

For Kyle Whittingham, Daley’s injury recovery is the only concern in 2026 because he knows the potential of the edge rusher dating back to his tenure at Utah. And Daley is planning to perform better this season after being cleared to resume team activities.

“I had a great year last year, but I feel like that’s really the floor, not the ceiling, and I plan on doing a lot better things going forward,” said Daley to the Detroit Free Press.

Even Michigan’s DB Smith Snowden, who also transferred from Utah, backed Daley’s confidence, stating, “Dude has a frickin motor. He can go. He’s recovering really well; the process is going great for him. I think once he gets healthy and just all the pieces come together, this is going to be a really good squad.”