Former Five Star Recruit JT Daniels Medically Retires
After finishing his sixth year of college at his fourth school, JT Daniels is officially done playing football, medically retiring after getting too many concussions, ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported Friday.
Daniels was having the best season of his college career with Rice before it ended in early November. He had a career-high 21 touchdown passes and 2,443 passing yards, his second most in a season before he was injured. Luckily for him, he has plans beyond college that will keep him busy.
“I’m definitely excited to get into coaching, that’s for sure,” Daniels told ESPN. “I loved playing. I always knew one day I’d coach. I didn’t think it would come this soon. But one day, I knew that’s what I was going to be doing.“
Daniels was a highly sought-after recruit coming out of the famous Mater Dei football program. He ended up staying close to home by going to USC for his freshman year. After his first year, he proceeded to transfer to Georiga, West Virginia and eventually to Rice. Injuries along the way have prohibited him from reaching his full potential and his most recent one was the last straw.
“I’ve loved every stop I’ve been at and I’ve loved everywhere I’ve been,” he said. “I wouldn’t have changed any of it. A lot of super cool stuff.”
Because Daniels has transferred so many times and was a highly-ranked recruit, he has an upper hand for someone starting their coaching career at such a young age.
“That’s pretty diverse, I’ve played for a lot of guys,” he said. “There’s definitely a lot of guys I had good relationships with. All five times I was a recruit, from high school and college, there’s even more than just guys that I’ve played for. There’s guys I got to know through multiple recruiting processes.”
Interestingly enough, the coach he plays for now recruited him nearly a decade ago when Daniels was a freshman in high school.
“It’s a really great place to be and a great final one as well,” Daniels said regarding Rice. “Just getting to finally play for coach Bloom and offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo and finish it out in the offense I grew up with and established my football identity with when I was young.”
Daniels could very well get his first coaching opportunity at a mid-major or major Division I school. He was once an elite quarterback prospect and he has played under some very good coaches. At 23-years-old, the future looks bright as Daniels will be on the other side of the football world for the first time in his life.
