John Henry Daley bided his time before making a splash — and is already drawing comparisons to a Utah football great

John Henry Daley had to bide his time for a year after transferring to Utah, but the wait has been well worth it.

The Ute sophomore has been filling up the stat sheet this season after winning the starting job, leading the nation in sacks with six and contributing 7.5 tackles for loss (tops in the Big 12 and second in the nation), 18 total tackles, a pass breakup and two forced fumbles.

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He’s not only been Utah’s most consistent defensive player — he leads the team with an 89 Pro Football Focus grade — but he’s provided plenty of game-changing plays through the first four games of the season.

In the season-opener against UCLA — Daley’s first start ever — the Alpine, Utah, native sacked quarterback Nico Iamaleava twice. A week later against Cal Poly, Daley registered a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss.

“I mean it was unbelievable being able to go into the Rose Bowl against UCLA and make my first collegiate start. I mean it was a dream come true,” Daley said.

Daley’s real coming out party as a force to be reckoned with came in Laramie in the Utes’ 31-6 win at Wyoming. As Utah’s offense struggled to finish drives, scoring just three points in the first half, Daley and the Ute defense kept them in the game.

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In the first quarter, Daley sacked Cowboy quarterback Kaden Anderson on 3rd-and-10 on the Utah 21-yard line to knock Wyoming out of field goal position, saving three points. A quarter later, with the Cowboys again in Ute territory, Daley forced Anderson to cough the ball up on a sack and Utah recovered the fumble.

Daley capped off his phenomenal day with a pass breakup.

Postgame, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham paid Daley a high compliment, comparing him to Ute great Hunter Dimick, who totaled 150 tackles (45 for loss) with 29.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in his four-year career.

If you’re being compared to Dimick, you’re doing something right — and Daley has been doing a lot right this season.

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He continued his impressive play against Texas Tech, leading the charge as Utah’s defense kept the Utes in it despite minimal support from their offense.

Daley made his mark near the end of the first quarter, right after Utah turned the ball over. With Texas Tech taking over with favorable field position near midfield, Daley would not be denied, powering through the block by Red Raider offensive tackle Howard Sampson. Sampson had his arm wrapped around Daley’s face, but it didn’t matter — Daley shed the block and rocked Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton, jarring the ball loose.

Though Texas Tech recovered the fumble, the play was a loss of 16 and put the Red Raiders behind the sticks, setting the stage for a three-and-out.

“He’s a tough kid. He just keeps coming at you. He’s a throwback guy. He’s old school. He’s just a grinder,” Whittingham said.

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Pro Football Focus grades Daley as the No. 10 pass rusher in the entire country (minimum 100 snaps), and he’s well on his way to becoming the next “Mayor of Sack Lake City.”

Before he shined at Utah, Daley was starring at Lone Peak High, where he totaled 136 tackles and 37 sacks, including a 22-sack senior season that saw him named to the Deseret News 6A All-State first team.

He signed with BYU out of high school, serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil before returning to Provo ahead of the 2023 season.

Utah recruited Daley to come to Salt Lake City, but the allure of playing with his brother Michael and following in the footsteps of his dad, Neal, was too much to pass up. In his freshman year at BYU, Daley played just 32 snaps while sitting behind starters Tyler Batty and Isaiah Bagnah and decided to enter the transfer portal in the offseason.

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“I wanted a change of scenery and came up to the University of Utah,” Daley said.

The draw of being coached by defensive ends coach Lewis Powell, who has sent eight players to the NFL, was strong.

“I just saw how many guys they were putting year in and year out to the league and the production and all these amazing players and plays that they were making and I wanted to be a part of that,” Daley said.

Ultimately, a spiritual experience guided Daley to Utah.

“Actually what led me here was actually super cool. A very spiritual experience that guided me here, and so I know that Utah’s the place for me,” Daley said.

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Like at BYU, when Daley showed up in Salt Lake City, he again had to wait his turn — this time behind starting defensive ends Logan Fano and Van Fillinger. Daley didn’t play much in 2024, though he registered his first collegiate sack against Southern Utah, but in Utah’s season finale against UCF, he got his first real taste of college football, playing 27 snaps and totaling three tackles and a quarterback hurry.

“It was great getting my feet wet, being able to get out there and make some plays. It was like my first real dose of college football with a couple drives, consistent drives and it was just amazing,” Daley said. “I mean that year, last year, had a lot of great defensive ends. I was just grateful I was part of that group.”

Through working with Powell last season and during spring and fall camp, Daley improved in all aspects of his game, especially his pass rush.

“I definitely feel like my pass rush has gotten much better. I think also just my overall knowledge of the game of certain formations, things to expect, being able to read offensive tackle stances and being able to go through the whole nine yards,” Daley said. “I feel like he’s helped my football IQ increase a ton. And also just confidence in what my abilities are.”

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Daley went through a very competitive spring and fall camp battle for the starting defensive end spot opposite Fano with Washington transfer Lance Holtzclaw, Paul Fitzgerald and freshman Kash Dillon.

Daley’s jump from his redshirt freshman to sophomore season was evident in spring and fall camp.

“How haven’t we seen him improve? He’s improved in every aspect of his game. He’s stronger. He’s a technician. I mean, he’s worked on his fundamentals and his techniques extremely hard,” Whittingham said. “He’s got really good pass rush skills as evidenced by, I think he’s still leading the nation in sacks. He’s a guy that has really, really polished up his game over the last year and really made himself into an exceptional player.”

As good as he’s been this season, Daley still feels like he’s still scratching the surface of what he can be as a player — after all, Wednesday’s game was just his fourth start of his career — and the prospect of even more improvement is tantalizing for Utah.

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“I feel like I can improve on everything in my game. I mean, this really is my first four games of college and so I’m still getting used to it, getting my feet wet,” Daley said. “I mean, I’ve been able to perform pretty well, but I know that I can do a lot better. So it’s definitely the floor, not the ceiling for me.”