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No problem with the guy being a stud, but unless he beats out Brad Smith, why would you play him? Also, Chase Patton ... he's gotta transfer at this point.
Confident? Yes, but Daniel also had an edge
By Graham Watson
Of the Post-Dispatch
08/29/2005
COLUMBIA, Mo. - There has been a noticeable swagger about freshman quarterback Chase Daniel from the moment he stepped on campus.
It's not a cocky swagger, but a confidence that rarely is seen in freshman athletes. It's a confidence to which his new Missouri teammates and coaches have gravitated.
"Chase has handled himself really well coming in because it's hard for a freshman to move up like that," running back Tony Temple said. "Also, to try to be a leader and not be cocky and everything; the same poise he uses outside of football with his friends he uses on the field, and I think that's what sets him apart."
Daniel is a winner. He proved it by losing just one game as starter at Southlake (Texas) Carroll High School, and he proved it Monday when coach Gary Pinkel announced that he had won the second-string quarterback position. Advertisement
"I've never seen a freshman like this since I've coached, including Brad," Pinkel said. "He was very well coached in high school; you can tell that. But he's also a very, very confident young man. Certainly, he'll tell you he doesn't have all the answers. I'm not trying to imply that, but it was very, very competitive between all those guys, and he won the job."
Daniel was notified of his move up the depth chart Friday, the day after the team closed scrimmage. In that scrimmage, Daniel said he went 11-of-13 and led the team's only two touchdown drives. His play in the scrimmage sealed the deal for the coaching staff.
Quarterbacks coach David Yost said Daniel drew attention to himself after the first couple of practices and scrimmage. From there, Yost said the coaching staff encouraged Daniel to go after the second-string spot because they wanted to see how he and the other quarterbacks responded to the competition.
Daniel said that Friday, the coaching staff told him that he'd had the best fall camp of all of the quarterbacks, that he will not redshirt and that he definitely will play.
It was a surprise to Daniel, who came into the season thinking he was going to be redshirted. Daniel's high school coach, Todd Dodge, said that he has been telling Daniel since January that he needed to be prepared to start. He said he didn't want Daniel to come into college with the mind-set that he would redshirt because sometimes it leads to lackadaisical play. That's why Dodge made it a point to emphasize making a full effort in fall camp.
"I wouldn't say I wasn't listening to him, but I just didn't believe him," Daniel said. "He said, 'Be in there and compete for the starter.' He said, 'I know Brad's the starter, but compete.' I followed his advice, but I really thought I was going to redshirt. But coach Dodge kept telling me to keep preparing."
Yost said Daniel came in trained to play college football better than any other freshman he had coached. He attributed that training to Dodge, who had been preparing Daniel for Division I football since he was in eighth grade.
But Daniel also had familiarity on his side.
Because Missouri runs a similar offense to that of Daniel's former high school, Daniel said that he came into this season knowing about 75 percent to 80 percent of the plays already in Missouri's playbook. Those plays are taught in Southlake as early as the seventh grade, and every team in Southlake, from middle school to varsity, uses the same playbook.
Daniel said that, with the exception of the reads, the plays weren't really that much different. He said that he thinks that has been the main factor for his success this season. Yost agrees.
Yost and other Missouri coaches, learned parts of Missouri's offense from Dodge. Dodge came to the university two summers ago and taught the offense to group of coaches around the state.
In an interview with the Post-Dispatch last October, Dodge said Daniel should have no trouble adjusting to Division I football, especially in Missouri's shotgun offense.
"I think Chase could be all-conference material in any conference he goes to," Dodge said. "I think he's in the line of Michael Bishop from Kansas State, and I think he's in the line of Brad Smith. He's got those kind of abilities. He was one point away from taking his team to a state championship in his first year starting. That's what Missouri saw in him; that's why they wanted him."
Although Pinkel and Yost said they were not sure where Daniel would fit in the lineup, Daniel might see action as soon as Saturday's game against Arkansas State at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
It's a challenge that a confident Daniel welcomes.
"I came in here wanting to get the job, of course, but I didn't think it would happen this quick," Daniel said. "Not many quarterbacks get the opportunity to come in as a backup and get to see the field. That's something that I am overjoyed about and have mixed feelings about.
"I can't wait to get on the field. This whole week, I've been on Cloud Nine; now; I've got to get on the field and show it."
Confident? Yes, but Daniel also had an edge
By Graham Watson
Of the Post-Dispatch
08/29/2005
COLUMBIA, Mo. - There has been a noticeable swagger about freshman quarterback Chase Daniel from the moment he stepped on campus.
It's not a cocky swagger, but a confidence that rarely is seen in freshman athletes. It's a confidence to which his new Missouri teammates and coaches have gravitated.
"Chase has handled himself really well coming in because it's hard for a freshman to move up like that," running back Tony Temple said. "Also, to try to be a leader and not be cocky and everything; the same poise he uses outside of football with his friends he uses on the field, and I think that's what sets him apart."
Daniel is a winner. He proved it by losing just one game as starter at Southlake (Texas) Carroll High School, and he proved it Monday when coach Gary Pinkel announced that he had won the second-string quarterback position. Advertisement
"I've never seen a freshman like this since I've coached, including Brad," Pinkel said. "He was very well coached in high school; you can tell that. But he's also a very, very confident young man. Certainly, he'll tell you he doesn't have all the answers. I'm not trying to imply that, but it was very, very competitive between all those guys, and he won the job."
Daniel was notified of his move up the depth chart Friday, the day after the team closed scrimmage. In that scrimmage, Daniel said he went 11-of-13 and led the team's only two touchdown drives. His play in the scrimmage sealed the deal for the coaching staff.
Quarterbacks coach David Yost said Daniel drew attention to himself after the first couple of practices and scrimmage. From there, Yost said the coaching staff encouraged Daniel to go after the second-string spot because they wanted to see how he and the other quarterbacks responded to the competition.
Daniel said that Friday, the coaching staff told him that he'd had the best fall camp of all of the quarterbacks, that he will not redshirt and that he definitely will play.
It was a surprise to Daniel, who came into the season thinking he was going to be redshirted. Daniel's high school coach, Todd Dodge, said that he has been telling Daniel since January that he needed to be prepared to start. He said he didn't want Daniel to come into college with the mind-set that he would redshirt because sometimes it leads to lackadaisical play. That's why Dodge made it a point to emphasize making a full effort in fall camp.
"I wouldn't say I wasn't listening to him, but I just didn't believe him," Daniel said. "He said, 'Be in there and compete for the starter.' He said, 'I know Brad's the starter, but compete.' I followed his advice, but I really thought I was going to redshirt. But coach Dodge kept telling me to keep preparing."
Yost said Daniel came in trained to play college football better than any other freshman he had coached. He attributed that training to Dodge, who had been preparing Daniel for Division I football since he was in eighth grade.
But Daniel also had familiarity on his side.
Because Missouri runs a similar offense to that of Daniel's former high school, Daniel said that he came into this season knowing about 75 percent to 80 percent of the plays already in Missouri's playbook. Those plays are taught in Southlake as early as the seventh grade, and every team in Southlake, from middle school to varsity, uses the same playbook.
Daniel said that, with the exception of the reads, the plays weren't really that much different. He said that he thinks that has been the main factor for his success this season. Yost agrees.
Yost and other Missouri coaches, learned parts of Missouri's offense from Dodge. Dodge came to the university two summers ago and taught the offense to group of coaches around the state.
In an interview with the Post-Dispatch last October, Dodge said Daniel should have no trouble adjusting to Division I football, especially in Missouri's shotgun offense.
"I think Chase could be all-conference material in any conference he goes to," Dodge said. "I think he's in the line of Michael Bishop from Kansas State, and I think he's in the line of Brad Smith. He's got those kind of abilities. He was one point away from taking his team to a state championship in his first year starting. That's what Missouri saw in him; that's why they wanted him."
Although Pinkel and Yost said they were not sure where Daniel would fit in the lineup, Daniel might see action as soon as Saturday's game against Arkansas State at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
It's a challenge that a confident Daniel welcomes.
"I came in here wanting to get the job, of course, but I didn't think it would happen this quick," Daniel said. "Not many quarterbacks get the opportunity to come in as a backup and get to see the field. That's something that I am overjoyed about and have mixed feelings about.
"I can't wait to get on the field. This whole week, I've been on Cloud Nine; now; I've got to get on the field and show it."
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