Notre Dame Football: Counting Down Notre Dame’s Starters: #5 DaVaris Daniels
Editor’s Note: DaVaris Daniels may be dismissed from the team. However, Junior Wide Receiver Chris Brown may jump right into the mix and replace Daniels if he is dismissed. And for what it is worth, Daniels’ father Phillip Daniels tweeted the following:
This year, Notre Dame’s Football team will be one of the youngest that Brian Kelly has ever had at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are making slight adjustments on Offense and Defense. The Defense will likely operate with three Cornerbacks most of the time. Here are Notre Dame’s players ranked 1-22, continuing with #5
Davaris Daniels – Senior – Wide Receiver
Though it might be hard for Notre Dame fans to think about we need to take a look back at the 2012 BCS Championship game. In that game there were a few Alabama defensive backs that got a proper introduction to DaVaris Daniels. He was the one of the bright points of a game that failed to live up to its hyped expectations. Finishing the game with 6 receptions and 115 yards, DaVaris showed the kind of game changing ability that Notre Dame has been missing since Michael Floyd graduated.
Daniels did not see the field until his Redshirt-Freshman season, a season in which he caught 31 passes for 490 yards 0 touchdowns. Still learning the real art of being a wide receiver on the college level Daniels was a great option for Golson to have opposite of Tj Jones. In 2013 Daniels made a vast improvement on his game all around despite losing his quarterback to a year long suspension. Totaling 745 yards on 49 receptions with 7 touchdowns DaVaris showed that he was one step away from being that dominate number one receiver for the Irish.
This season it will be time for Daniels to show that talent and take it to the next level. He will have his quarterback from his 2012 season which eneded with a 12-1 record. He missed the spring semester and spring practice after serving an academic suspension. Since returning back to Notre Dame this fall it has been noted that he has come back more dedicated and physical receiver. Stepping into the number one position he will lead a group of receivers that all have the potential to have big seasons. Look for Golson to make Daniels his go-to guy this season and rack up at least 1,000 receiving and double digit touchdowns. He has the ability to take a game over and he will on numerous occasions this year.