The Michigan Wolverines have the inside track to land elite defensive transfer portal player thanks to Kyle Whittingham
An elite impact player could be following Kyle Whittingham to the Michigan Wolverines out of the transfer portal.
With the hire of Kyle Whittingham as head coach of the Michigan Wolverines officially official, he has already begun working on retaining the roster and building out his staff to focus on the Wolverines of 2026.
While we don’t know who will ultimately end up staying or going after Michigan’s bowl game, Whittingham has the pedigree and pull to restock talent across the college football landscape. One such player has just entered the transfer portal, and it’s one Whittingham is intimately familiar with.
John Henry Daley a Michigan man already?
Along with Whittingham, I have already reported that Utah defensive ends coach Lewis Powell is heavily rumored to be joining the Wolverines in a similar capacity. That’s two of Daley’s coaches heading up to Ann Arbor, so it’s not a surprise why he’s already being heavily linked to Michigan just a few short hours he elected to enter the transfer portal.
He’s a player the Wolverines should be happy taking. Daley was one of the most productive pass rushers in the country this season, boasting 47 pressures, 10 sacks, and a seemingly unbelievable 24.1% pass rush win rate. On3 rated him the top defensive player in the transfer portal for a reason.
With Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham off to the NFL and TJ Guy graduating, Michigan loses it’s top three pass rushers from this season, with very little proven production behind them. Daley could be a leader for the younger players in Dominic Nichols, Nate Marshall, Julius Holly, and Carter Meadows to lean on for advice and learn from technique-wise.
This is a match made in heaven for both sides, as Daley gets to reunite with his coaches under a tremendous scheme led by (likely) defensive coordinator Jay Hill with an opportunity to play under bigger lights in a deeper conference than he was at Utah, while Whittingham and the Wolverines add one of the best defensive talents (perhaps the best) defensive player in the portal at a crucial area of need. Win-win.
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