From Humble Beginnings – The Story of Gregory Daniels - Deezo's Blog

Deezo's Blog

From Humble Beginnings – The Story of Gregory Daniels

Posted on September 22, 2015 at 08:09 PM.

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Gregory Daniels comes from a football family.

His father, John Daniels II, played at San Diego State University as a defensive end until his career was ended due to injury and his grandfather, John Daniels, coached Escondido High School in the sixties. But being from a football family doesn’t mean everything was easy for Greg, after football his father had struggles finding a job until he landed a gig as a mechanic. His mother was a postal worker until she retired soon after finding out she was pregnant. They didn’t have much, but they had enough.

The Daniels family moved to Scottsdale AZ so Gregory could attend Notre Dame Prep HS. His grandparents were more than happy to pay for his tuition as long as he kept a high GPA. The NDP Saints were more interested in his football ability.

Daniels excelled at football from a young age and soon found himself the starter of The Saints varsity team as a freshman. Daniels led NDP to four years of great football and earned himself a National Gatorade Player of the Year Award and a Rivals.com 4 Star rating with offers from UCLA, USC, Stanford, Arizona State, and Notre Dame.

Daniels would eventually choose UCLA.

After a 6-8 season UCLA hired Jim Mora on December 10, 2011. Daniels and Mora led the Bruins to a 9-5 season followed by a second bowl game loss this time against Baylor in the Holiday Bowl. 2013 was a much better year for Daniels and UCLA. They finished the year at 10-3 and capped the season off with a 42-12 victory over Virginia Tech. For his senior year Daniels lead the Bruins to a second straight 10-3 record and a #10 rank in the AP and Coaches Polls. Daniels closed out his collegiate career with a 40-35 victory over Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl.

Now it’s time for the next step, Daniels will be entering the 2015 NFL Draft.

Many believe he’s overrated and could fall into the 3rd round even with his 1st round rating. One NFL scout begs to differ, “Kid played great under the circumstances (at UCLA). He has a strong arm, is mobile enough to avoid the rush, has great football knowledge, and poise you’d expect from a vet.”

With the Buccaneers almost a lock at selecting Jameis Winston, where will Heisman winner Marcus Mariota and Gregory Daniels fall? Tennessee Titans beat writer Jim Wyatt tweeted “@jwyattsports: Hard to see Mariota slipping just based on merit. Unfortunately, bad news for Daniels. #Titans #NFLDraft” Will Daniels fall to the mid/late first round? Teams like Cleveland and Houston could be landing spots if Washington doesn’t take him first.