Gator Country

There was a combine in Jacksonville in March for some of the region’s best 2008 football prospects and the talent on hand was great. Among cornerbacks on hand, there were none better than Victor Daniels (5-8, 181) of Waycross (GA) Ware County. Daniels was all over the receivers, some who were the best in the nation, and he was constantly keeping them from catching the ball. Daniels will be a highly recruited prospect for the Florida Gators and other big time programs this year.

Waycross and Ware County have been under siege from recent forest fires, but according to Daniels he is safe and he wasn’t personally affected too much.

“I didn’t have to leave,” he said.  “The fires are under control now.”

The only smoke the coaches at Ware County want to see now is the vapor trail behind the speedy Daniels who is all over the field for his team.  Some colleges aren’t even sure where he will likely end up, but most see him creating havoc for opposing receivers.

“I play the game like Reggie Bush,” he said.  “I play tailback, slot receiver, and cornerback.  I played quarterback in my tenth grade year.  Colleges are recruiting me as an athlete but I think most want me to play cornerback. I just want to play football.”

The Gators haven’t offered yet, but they certainly know Daniels.  The Florida staff is recruiting him as a cornerback, a position where the Gators are not overly sure of what they have on hand with the current Gator roster.  Daniels is looking into Florida himself.

“I have a lot of interest in the Gators,” he said.  “It seems like a good school.  The coaches are pretty nice and I like the environment.

“I was up there a few weeks ago at a practice.  I know that defense is something I could play in.  The position is like something very similar that we play in high school.”

Gator wide receiver Justin Williams is from nearby Charlton County and a friend of Daniels.  While on campus Daniels met up with Williams and also spent some time with future Gator tailback Chris Rainey who spent a great deal of spring on the sideline at spring practices.

“I talked to Justin Williams and I knew Chris Rainey who I met at Friday Night Lights last year,” Daniels said.  “I was there and the Nike camp on the Gainesville campus.  I plan on being at Friday Night Lights again, I really liked how they put it together, it was real nice.”

It is wait and see for Daniels who doesn’t have any offers to date, but knows that a lot of schools are very interested in his ability to play football.  The Gators keep in contact with him a lot.

“They haven’t offered but they are really telling me they want me to come play cornerback,” Daniels said.

Right now it is a small group of out of state schools that have Daniel’s interest.  He believes his best options are away from his home state of Georgia.

“I am also interested in NC State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Auburn, that is just about it,” he said.  “I am trying to get out of Georgia.  I wouldn’t mind playing at the schools really.  I just want to get away.”

When the time comes there are a handful of factors he will base his decision on.  The recruiting process should be fun ride as he learns about the schools as much as they are learning about him.

“I am going to look at playing time, the coaching staff, somewhere I can fit in and just get along with people,” he said.  “I want to see the rate they put people in the pros and the graduation rate.”

Victor Daniels isn’t the prototype size that recruiters are looking for, but his ability on the field is undeniable.  Big time programs will no doubt be keeping tabs on Daniels this year and see just what kind of player he really is.  The Gators will be one of those programs.

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