Amari Daniels Discusses Recruitment, Dell McGee, and Georgia Football
It's well established that Georgia, even predating Kirby Smart, likes to bring in talented running back tandems in recruiting classes. Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall (2012), Sony Michel and Nick Chubb (2014), Elijah Holyfield and Brian Herrien (2016), Zamir White, and James Cook (2018), and Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards (2020) are all prime examples of this trend.
Currently, the Dawgs have Lovasea Carroll from IMG Academy by way of Warren County (GA) in the fold. With White and Cook expected to have big seasons and possibly head to the NFL, Dell McGee and the Georgia staff are actively pursuing prospects to complete the 2021 duo with Carroll.
That brings us to Amari Daniels. Daniels is a native of Miami, Florida and attends the perennial powerhouse that is Miami Central. In a recent conversation with Dawgs Daily on SI.com, Daniels simply explained, "We play some of the best competition in the country. Week in and week out. I think that if a college program is going win a national championship, you have to have south Florida guys, Georgia guys and you'll be good." Daniels gave this insight and much more on his recruitment and his mindset in our wide-ranging conversation.
When asked about his relationship with Georgia Running Back Coach Dell McGee, Daniels shared, "I've been talking to Coach McGee since I was in 8th grade. He's the one who offered me and I stayed in contact and now they've consistently been recruiting me. I've been up there a few times and I'm familiar with their coaches and their system."
In terms of the communication lately with McGee and UGA, Daniels described the interactions by saying, "It's been a lot of Zoom. A lot of showing me their system and explaining how they can build my stock and prepare me for the next level. The new OC showed me how he uses backs everywhere! He gets his guys in space and he gets his guys the ball."
The factors that will end up charting Daniels's course to his final destination are, in no particular order, playing time & development, what the school can do for him as a person and beyond football and his overall comfort level. Daniels is already recognizing that Georgia is uniquely positioned to help him establish a personal brand with the custom logo that has been added to his latest edits from UGA. "Their graphic department is the best in the business and it shows that they understand how to help me with a brand and they ask questions about me and get to know me as a person and about the things I like and what my interests are in the future," said Daniels.
The 4-Star running back also acknowledged that Georgia has a plan for Name, Image, and Likeness that is coming to the NCAA sooner rather than later.
From a playing time standpoint, Daniels is well aware that Georgia always has, "a stable of running backs" but also continued on to say, "but, everybody eats at Georgia." Daniels would gladly embrace playing special teams at Georgia in a similar fashion to fellow south Florida native Kenny McIntosh during his freshman campaign. "I'm a team guy. I want to play and have success, but I'm not a selfish guy. If a coach, Coach Smart, wants me to be the water boy, then that's what I'll do," Daniels replied.
The comfort level piece seems to be there as well. Obviously Daniels and Dell McGee have established a now long term relationship, but also the pipeline of south Florida standouts to Athens is strong. "There are a lot of south Florida guys up there. I've got relationships with a lot of them and I've talked a lot to James Cook, Divaad, Tyson Campbell, Tyrique Stevenson, and Kenny McIntosh. They all tell me how much they love it, how great the program is, and how they (UGA) can take you to the next level for life after football." Daniels alluded to the fact that the consistent message from all of them was encouraging and convincing. "You can't fool everybody. If something wasn't real, at least one of them would say something negative, but all of them love the program and talk it up, so that's really good," said Daniels.
SCOUTING REPORT
Amari Daniels certainly seems to have a mindset for greatness and he definitely has the skillset for it. Daniels is extremely agile, displaying the ability to cut and change direction with ease. Also, there is plenty of breakaway speed in his game. Daniels also has proven he can excel against tremendous competition at Miami Central.
The patience and vision that he shows against defenses of the highest caliber are very impressive. Georgia will be in this one until the very end. Miami, Nebraska, Texas A&M, and Penn State are all pursing Daniels very hard as well.
Georgia is recruiting backs like Donovan Edwards, LJ Johnson, and Gabe Ervin as well, and could even be a potential landing spot for Alabama transfer Chadarius Townsend, but the mutual interest between Georgia and Daniels is very strong and the red and black seem to check off quite a few boxes for the electric playmaker from south Florida.
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