'11 IL WR DaVaris Daniels (Signed Notre Dame LOI)

[Sherm Sticky]

Has become a star!

 

[Riddickulous]

MONSTER

 

[irishff1014]

Has become a star!

I think he did that against Bama

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

Worried about him going pro after this year.

 

[KPENN]

Worried about him going pro after this year.

Doubt it.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

MONSTAR

FIFY

 

[BMT]

He keeps this up all year and he should go. Still pretty stalked at WR

 

[BMT]

Tuitt might well be back!

 

[stlnd01]

Dude's a ballplayer. But early to the draft? I don't know. Is he really a top-three rounds talent?

 

[CanadalovesND]

Dude's a ballplayer. But early to the draft? I don't know. Is he really a top-three rounds talent?

Way too early to speculate right now. He may become a top-three round talent though.

ND players the last few years always improve their stock by sticking around for either their true senior year or 5th year. He should do the same, at least one more season.

 

[ulukinatme]

He's a serious play maker. You could tell last year that it was only the beginning. He looked like he was holding his own against Alabama last year while other guys struggled. I don't think he would go to the draft this year, and I sure hope he doesn't. My only concern is if teams start keying on him more...TJ, Niklas, and whoever else would need to step up to makeup the difference in catches/yards.

 

[NDhoosier]

Doubt it.

I am starting to get a little worried to be honest. Right now, I think he returns, but if he keeps getting 2 TDs a game and having 100+ yards every game, his stock will rise pretty quickly.

 

[Corry]

I think he's gone, if DeAndra Hopkins can go in 1st round so can DD.

 

[Luckylucci]

Whether he can become a 1st rounder remains to be seen but that is a terrible comparison. Hopkins had 154 rec. 2300+ yds. and 23 td's in two years. Could Daniels get there of course but he isn't currently.

 

[Corry]

Whether he can become a 1st rounder remains to be seen but that is a terrible comparison. Hopkins had 154 rec. 2300+ yds. and 23 td's in two years. Could Daniels get there of course but he isn't currently.

Stats don't get you drafted in the 1st round, talent does. DD>Hopkins

 

[Luckylucci]

Haha, I'm sure your getting calls from GM's on the regular for your talent evaluation skills. He's had three good games and I'm on the bandwagon but if you really think NFL GM's are calling him a 1st rounder currently then puff puff pass my friend.

 

[Corry]

Haha, I'm sure your getting calls from GM's on the regular for your talent evaluation skills. He's had three good games and I'm on the bandwagon but if you really think NFL GM's are calling him a 1st rounder currently then puff puff pass my friend.

Don't get mad at me because you made a poor statement. Stats have nothing to do with where you get drafted and to say so ignorant. DD is 6'3 and runs a sub 4.5 forty, and you can plainly see he has great hands. Look at what he did against Dee Millner last year. I really don't feel like going back forth, we'll find out next year. Cheers my friend.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Worried about him going pro after this year.

I thought the same thing more and more since the season started. He has the measurables and skills and would be showcased a lot more in a more open offense. I love Rees, but with a gun slinger back there he could be among the best in CFB.

Stats don't get you drafted in the 1st round, talent does. DD>Hopkins

Stats will help you draw more attention, but yes DD>Hopkins

 

[pkt77242]

I thought the same thing more and more since the season started. He has the measurables and skills and would be showcased a lot more in a more open offense. I love Rees, but with a gun slinger back there he could be among the best in CFB.



Stats will help you draw more attention, but yes DD>Hopkins

Did you just see Hopkins back to back great sideline catches to win the game for the Texans. DD might become better than Hopkins but he isn't right now.

 

[NDhoosier]

Haha, I'm sure your getting calls from GM's on the regular for your talent evaluation skills. He's had three good games and I'm on the bandwagon but if you really think NFL GM's are calling him a 1st rounder currently then puff puff pass my friend.

he has had more than 3 good games bro... seriously, where have you been? Heck, he dominated the NCG and he was on the losing team.

 

[ulukinatme]

Boom

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

Boom

The Sound of Silence is playing in that defender's mind.

 

[PANDFAN]

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Two months ago, DaVaris Daniels had an idea to help develop chemistry. He invited a handful of teammates, and a former teammate, over to his house in Vernon Hills, Ill., a little more than two hours northwest of Notre Dame. They spent a weekend working out at his alma mater, Vernon Hills, and at nearby Lake Forest, Tommy Rees' high school.

Fellow wideouts Chris Brown and C.J. Prosise were there. So, too, were running backs Amir Carlisle and George Atkinson III. And they had suspended quarterback Everett Golson throwing them balls, since those connections might very well resume next season.

"Just build chemistry, keep it," Daniels said. "Last year we had a pretty tight team, so that was kind of my main thing, was just to keep everybody close and keep what we had last season and continue into this season."

[+] EnlargeDaVaris Daniels
AP Photo/Michael Conroy
DaVaris Daniels committed to getting better this offseason. The results are showing already.
This was one way Daniels, Notre Dame's leading receiver, matured into the type of offensive linchpin the Irish were seeking after saying goodbye to first-round picks Michael Floyd and Tyler Eifert in consecutive years. Others on the checklist included fine-tuning route-running, becoming a better blocker and bringing a consistent work ethic to the field every single day.

Early returns have been positive, with Daniels hauling in two fourth-quarter touchdown passes on consecutive plays last week in a tight win at Purdue. He has 17 receptions this season for team bests of 299 yards and four touchdowns, or four more than he scored during last year's redshirt freshman campaign, his first year of college action. That season concluded with a national title-game rout courtesy of Alabama and its top-ranked defense, though it also served as something of a coming-out party for the 6-foot-1½, 203-pound receiver.

Daniels had six catches for a game-high 115 yards against the Crimson Tide. But whatever that did for his confidence paled in comparison to the humiliation of a 42-14 defeat.

So he went back to work. Being able to run a 4.5 40 and leap upward of 40 inches was one thing; harnessing those gifts into production was still quite another.

There were the summer workouts with teammates back home. There was rooming with Rees during camp, the nightly picking of his starting quarterback's brain about where to be on certain routes and how to make their timing more crisp. He learned how to use his hands better off the snap, making life harder for the corners matched up with him daily in practice.

All of this in the name of fulfilling all of that untapped potential.

"He's two-quarters of the way," coach Brian Kelly said. "He needs to be four-quarters of the way."

He is aware. KeiVarae Russell recalls Daniels telling him a year ago about his desire to become one of Notre Dame's greatest receivers ever.

"I was like, 'I don't doubt you. I think you will,' " the sophomore cornerback said. "So far it's shown. You can see it's totally different from last year. Last year he didn't even have one touchdown. He played a great role last year but didn't have one single touchdown. He has four in three games. You can see the difference. That shows."

His quarterback, having gone to high school just 10 miles away, knew the kind of athlete he was getting when Daniels came aboard two years ago.

"I remember playing him in a summer league basketball game the summer going into my senior year," Rees said. "We actually won, but he had, like, a tip-slam over a guy, and it was just kind of, 'Not many guys could be out here doing that.' "

In the past two years, Daniels' father, former NFL defensive lineman Phillip Daniels, had seen a mindset that belied that athleticism. Playing in a wing-T offense in high school and adjusting to a redshirt year in college slowed the learning curve some.

Now, Phillip says, DaVaris simply isn't thinking so much anymore. Mastering the basics of the craft has turned one of the nation's top prep receivers into a guy who could very well be on his way to becoming one of the nation's elite college wideouts.

"He had to learn little things as a receiver," Phillip Daniels said. "I think because he's learning all that stuff, and learning the plays and how to play the position, it's slowing down for him. It's not running through his mind at 100 miles per hour, and he can play football."

 

[Wild Bill]

Kid's got all the tools. Looked like a boss on that TD catch against Purdue - speed, hands, agility and power were all on display. I wouldn't be surprised if he was wearing a C on his chest next year.

 

[Luckylucci]

he has had more than 3 good games bro... seriously, where have you been? Heck, he dominated the NCG and he was on the losing team.

Forgot about this discussion. First of all I love DD and think he is an incredible talent and we are starting to see that but the fact remains he hasn't had that many good games. He has 3 games over 100 yds receiving. He has 6 games over 50yds. Has only scored a TD in 2 games. He has 4 tds in his career. If you look at a game log I would consider good as Purdue, Temple, and Alabama thats 3. You could make a case for Purdue and Pittsburgh last year but they would be stretches. He had 70 and 86 yds. respectively with no TDs. He did ball out in the NCG game but that counts as ONE game. Could he end up being better than Hopkins absolutely, I'm not doubting that in fact over the next two years I expect that. However, to say he's better than Hopkins right now who just last weekend was fantastic in the NFL is a little silly.

 

[ulukinatme]

Forgot about this discussion. First of all I love DD and think he is an incredible talent and we are starting to see that but the fact remains he hasn't had that many good games. He has 3 games over 100 yds receiving. He has 6 games over 50yds. Has only scored a TD in 2 games. He has 4 tds in his career. If you look at a game log I would consider good as Purdue, Temple, and Alabama thats 3. You could make a case for Purdue and Pittsburgh last year but they would be stretches. He had 70 and 86 yds. respectively with no TDs. He did ball out in the NCG game but that counts as ONE game. Could he end up being better than Hopkins absolutely, I'm not doubting that in fact over the next two years I expect that. However, to say he's better than Hopkins right now who just last weekend was fantastic in the NFL is a little silly.

This may all be true, but he's only played one full year so far, and he was injured for part of last year. He was a bright spot in an Alabama game that was mostly dismal. He also beat out guys like Neal for a starting position despite Neal being a little higher rated. He says he wants to be one of the greatest ND receivers ever. I have no doubt he can do it, the kid is driven. Alabama was just his coming out party.

 

[Luckylucci]

Yes, Davaris Daniels looks like he'll be one of the better receivers in ND history. But he's not yet and not even close so lets watch him kick some butt this year and have this conversation at the end of the year.

 

[rtrn2glory]

he's a legit talent and if he continues to improve should have no problem playing on Sundays

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

"I remember playing him in a summer league basketball game the summer going into my senior year," Rees said. "We actually won, but he had, like, a tip-slam over a guy, and it was just kind of, 'Not many guys could be out here doing that.' "

How often did DaVaris have tip slams? Geez.

For those of you who haven't seen. Still a personal favorite.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4m0C9Fd_Ig0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Emcee77]

Good gawd. Just moderately athletic there.