John Henry Daley on why he followed Kyle Whittingham to Michigan
· Yahoo Sports
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Perhaps one of the biggest votes of confidence that new Michigan football head coach Kyle Whittingham could have is having several of his players follow him from Utah to Ann Arbor. That's doubly true of the elder statesmen who have played for him for years.
Players like star edge rusher John Henry Daley could have remained in Salt Lake City, played for his former defensive coordinator in Morgan Scalley, and finished out his career where he started. But, instead, he chose to change locations entirely, all to follow the man who got him started in the first place.
Visit palladian.co.za for more information.
On Monday, Daley shared more about his decision to transfer from Utah to Michigan, noting that he has full faith in what Whittingham brings to the table and knows that he will get the best out of him and the team.
"I mean, you know what you get with Coach Whittingham, right? You know that you get discipline," Daley said. "You know that you get hard work, and we expect to win games, and that's something that I love. He's got a very old-school mindset in that we're going to come in, we're going to attack every single day, and we're going to be tough, and it's not always going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it. And that's something that I love that you don't find everywhere. And that's something I wanted to continue to be a part of."
Of course, it was a bit of a change for Daley to come to Ann Arbor. He noted that it's much colder, but he also raved about his new teammates and the Wolverines' facilities.
But the combination of what was already at Michigan, along with Whittingham, has Daley thinking much bigger than what he's been used to with the Utes.
"Obviously, the standard here is a national championship," Daley said. "You go outside, you see The Big House, see the 2023 national champions, and you're like, oh man, this is pretty exciting. And the whole fan base expects that. So you have expectations, and you want to be able to rise up to the occasion. And so that's definitely part of it."
Daley also has the continuity of having the same position coach in Lewis Powell, who followed Whittingham from Utah, as well. Though there's a different defensive coordinator (Jay Hill came aboard from BYU), Daley is particularly enthusiastic about what Powell brings to the table.
He went into further detail about his position coach, and even gave a bit of a recruiting pitch to go along with it.
"Coach Powell -- I would say to any recruit who's watching this, he's the best defensive end coach in the country," Daley said. "He goes in, I feel like he's very patient with guys, and he understands that everybody has a different way of playing the game. Now we all have our responsibilities that we need to go on the field, whether it's securing a specific gap in the run or pass rush, making sure that we're not doing what we're supposed to. But he coaches every guy and lets them be their own player. He doesn't say, 'Oh, well, this one mold every single guy has to fit into.' He kind of takes you where you are, and he just makes you better at what you're already good at doing. And he's been a fantastic guy.
"Honestly, I'm just so grateful that he's my coach. And yeah, very blessed."
It might be a while before fans get to see Daley in action, as he's still recovering from the Achilles rupture he had late last season. However, the annual spring game is still set to take place on April 18 at The Big House.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: John Henry Daley shares why he followed Kyle Whittingham to Michigan