Talk about a rocket taking flight.
Mike Daniels, who this time a year ago was the head coach at Cincinnati-area prep program Princeton, has climbed all the way to Power 5 assistant coach in less than a year.
Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that Daniels, a former University of Cincinnati player with coaching experience at the prep and collegiate ranks, will be the new running backs coach for Geoff Collins’ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets’ coaching staff.
The addition of Daniels is another well-regarded move for Collins, who earlier this cycle snared former Broyles Award finalist Chip Long to run the Georgia Tech offense.
Daniels spent the 2021 season as the running backs coach on Maurice Linguist’s first Buffalo Bulls’ coaching staff. And Daniels’ impact was felt immediately for the Buffalo program.
Buffalo running back Kevin Marks Jr. has been tabbed to play in the college all-star game, the Hula Bowl, after being a key cog in a Bulls’ ground attack that amassed more than 2,300 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground.
The Bulls also got a breakout-campaign from Dylan McDuffie, who topped 1,000 rushing yards and finished with 11 touchdowns.
Daniels, a member of FootballScoop’s 2020-21 Minority Watch List, has past experience at Kennesaw State, a previous stint at Buffalo, as well as his alma mater, and among some of Georgia’s top prep programs.
The move for Collins to hire Daniels comes after Daniels a year ago was a finalist to join Luke Fickell’s Cincinnati staff, mulled other college and prep offers, and then joined the staff of the fast-rising Linguist, a first-time head coach who played at Baylor and garnered assistant coaching experience in the Big Ten, Big 12, Southeastern Conference and NFL.