Daniels plans to
take his time
By Cliff Smith
3.20.10
Every recruit and recruitnik alike knows
how crazy college football recruiting
can become. For some it’s crazier than
others and for some the ‘crazy’ is what
makes the experience so much fun. Vernon
Hills (Illinois) wide receiver prospect
Davaris Daniels would be one of the
‘some’ on both counts.
“Some dude asked me ‘what's the one
talent that I have over all the rest of
the 2011 recruits’. I told him I was
probably the best poet in the 2011
class,” quipped Daniels when talking
about some of the off the wall things
that have happened during his
recruitment.
After talking with him for a while, it’s
obvious from those kind of comments that
Daniels is enjoying the madness and just
taking it all in stride. “Yeah, I'm not
trying to put anybody out there yet. I
mean, there's a few that kind of stand
out right now. A couple of them. But, I
don't want to rush into anything. Kind
of wait it out, you know?”
As for things that could help the cause
of an inquiring school, Daniels had this
to say: “I'm just looking for a good
coaching staff that I know can win, a
team that I could see myself fitting in
with, if they have a specific plan in
mind for me. That's pretty much it.”
Diving deeper into what that ‘specific
plan’ might include generated more
interesting thoughts from Daniels, “If
they’re talking about passing the ball a
lot, that’s cool and all, but…
Scheme-wise, it doesn’t matter much. I
just want to have an opportunity to get
in and win at the same time. If that
takes putting the ball in the running
backs hands, I'm fine.”
At this point, I must admit to being a
bit confused. This is the starting
quarterback for his high school team who
also happens to be receiving all kinds
of attention and offers to play wide
receiver at the major college level.
Aren’t guys like this supposed to be
looking for “spread” offenses and video
game like passing numbers?
“Yeah, but still, I mean eventually
running the ball opens things up for the
receivers, you know. Whatever it takes,”
insisted Daniels. Even if that means
cracking down to block defensive ends
and linebackers on occasion? “I mean,
I'm not there already to handle that on
that level. But, I see myself getting
there. I know it takes work.”
So is it safe to say all offers have
been to play wide receiver? “Purdue
talked some about quarterback. Notre
Dame and Arkansas want to use me for a
wildcat package. But that’s it. The rest
are all wide receiver.”
The rest includes schools that have
offered like Illinois, Iowa, Miami (FL),
Michigan, Oregon, and Wisconsin. In
addition to those offers, some schools
showing plenty of interest are Ohio
State, Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, and
Tennessee.
“I get a butt-load of Tennessee letters
every day,” said Daniels with a laugh.
“It's crazy how many letters they send.
Them, Alabama, Oklahoma sometimes like 7
letters a day each. Handwritten, all
kinds. Georgia’s supposed to offer some
time during the Spring.”
At a point, some recruits can become
numb to the attention and even take for
granted the effort schools have to
expend to build a relationship with
them. To that Daniels responds, “It
means a lot to me that an Arkansas or
Oklahoma wants to know about me. They
haven't really talked to me much but
it's good to know I'm reaching out to so
many places. Some schools kind of come
out of nowhere and it’ll surprise me.
But, still, my name is out there so I
can’t complain.”
As for the Buckeyes, most contact has
been of the digital variety. “I text OSU
all the time and I might catch one of
their spring practices with Evan. They
haven’t offered, but it’s going pretty
good with them.”
For those who don’t know, Evan is
Daniels’ teammate Evan Spencer. The two
of them have been friends since they
were little kids and have talked about
playing together in college. “I mean, we
hope so. We got a lot of the same offers
right now. Hopefully it comes down to
that. I mean it's not set in stone yet.
We're still just trying to wait it out
to see where we each end up.”
It’s clear that Daniels would welcome
the chance to continue to benefit from
their on-field chemistry, “I mean, Evan.
You can't say nothing else but try to
explain what kind of person Evan is.
He's almost like any other coach out
there. We just push each other to be the
best. I mean we just make a good team.”
Daniels also credits his dad for making
him a better player. His dad is current
Washington Redskin defensive end Phillip
Daniels. Of course having a father who
currently plays in the NFL exposes a
player to all kinds of coaching and
methods used at the highest level. The
funny thing is most of what he’s
developed thanks to his dad, has nothing
to do with professional techniques.
“No one knows, but my dad actually
played a little bit of QB in high
school. When they threw me in at QB this
year, I didn't really know too much
footwork and what I had to do. But he
made me so much better. Then
defensively, I played free safety and he
used to play linebacker. I mean he's
always helped me out on the field but he
does as much with me off the field. I
just appreciate everything he has to
offer,” said Daniels admiringly.
However his best attribute he can thank
his dad for is probably his speed. That
too has little to do with his dad’s
access to professional training. Asked
how much he takes after his dad (who is
currently listed at 6’6”/305 lbs on the
Redskins official site), Daniels
suppressed his laughter long enough to
say, “Not much I guess, but running from
butt whoopin’s is probably why I’m so
fast!”
When asked if the closeness he feels to
his dad or Evan will affect his
decision, Daniels makes it clear that it
won’t. “They know it’s my decision. I’m
the one that has to live with it so they
leave it in my hands. But I'm kind of
just relaxing, kind of waiting. It's not
a big deal, not yet.”
That leads to the questions of what
factors will affect his decision and
when one might come. “Distance won’t.
Not at all. Oh not at all. I got a lot
of family in the south and all over. So
it'd just be the same thing down there
or wherever. Leaving Chicago winters
behind wouldn’t be a bad thing,” he
admitted. “I imagine I’ll take all my
visits and figure out where’s best. Me
and Evan have talked about waiting a
little bit longer as far as narrowing it
down, maybe around October.”
One thing is for sure. Daniels won’t
have any trouble expressing him self
when decision time comes. I wondered if
he would have a verse or a rhyme to
announce his decision when he commits.
He just slyly said, “I’ll have to
practice one for you. I’ll work one out,
you’ll see.”
Looking forward to it, Double D…
67. Davaris Daniels
6'3", 190 / WR (11) / Vernon Hills (IL)
Early Projected Ranking: 5.9/
Discuss Davaris Daniels on ThaRinger.com message boards here:
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