The Michigan Wolverines have entered their second week of fall camp, with the season approaching faster and faster with every passing moment. There are numerous things to keep an eye on until the season kicks off on Sept. 5 against Western Michigan, with the health status of two of the Wolverines’ top defenders near — or at — the top of the list.
Sixth-year safety Rod Moore and senior edge rusher John Henry Daley will be paramount to Michigan’s defense in 2026. Moore elected to return for one final
season of eligibility following back-to-back unhealthy seasons and earning a sixth year of eligibility. Daley, meanwhile, transfers over from Utah after putting up an All-American season in 2025 where he compiled 48 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Both players are fully cleared for football activities, but they are still on “pitch counts,” as head coach Kyle Whittingham put it on Monday during his press conference. The reason for that — years of experience being a coach and seeing players rush through a recovery to get back on the football field.
“(Rod) and John are completely healthy,” Whittingham told the media. “Now, that being said, we as coaches are trying to bring them along slowly. They’re cleared. They’re cleared to do whatever the doctors say — ‘they’re yours.’ But too many times in my career, I’ve seen guys come back and overdo it early on and get chronic soreness and swelling, and we don’t want that to happen. And so they are on pitch counts, but it’s self-inflicted by the coaches, not because they can’t function. We just want to continue to ramp them up. Hopefully in a couple weeks, they’ll be able to practice everything.
“(I) love what we see with both those guys.”
Neither Moore nor Daley is being limited because they are still inured. Instead, the coaching staff is taking a cautious approach with two players who have dealt with significant injuries over the last year or so.
Moore, in particular, has endured a difficult stretch. The veteran safety missed the entire 2024 season after suffering a knee injury. He returned briefly in 2025, but then sat out the rest of the season and underwent yet another procedure to get things right. Whittingham said earlier this summer that Moore is feeling better than he has in two years, and the expectation is he will be a major piece of Michigan’s secondary this season.
Daley’s situation is slightly different. The Utah transfer is coming off a dominant 2025 season and is expected to be one of the most disruptive players on Michigan’s defensive line. He provides the Wolverines with a proven pass-rushing presence that they haven’t had since Aidan Hutchinson in 2021.
Ans that is exactly why the coaching staff has little reason to take unnecessary chances in August. Michigan still has 25 days before Week 1, giving Moore and Daley plenty of time to build toward a full workload during the season. Whittingham’s comments suggest the coaching staff is more interested in having both players at their best when the games actually count as opposed to going full speed during fall camp.
For Moore, the goal is likely to make sure his body responds well to the increased workload after missing so much time over the past two seasons. For Daley, it’s more so about getting acclimated to a new school and a new football program without pushing his body beyond what is necessary prior to the season starting.
And if everything goes according to plan, Michigan should have two of its most important defensive pieces ready to roll when Sept. 5 arrives. Considering what both players bring to the table, that’s exactly what the Wolverines need in Year 1 of the Whittingham era.
