Amari Daniels, an SI99 Running Back, Lists Penn State in His Final Four
Amari Daniels, one of the nation's top running backs and a member of the SI99, has Penn State on his top-four list, which he soon plans to reduce to two. Daniels recently spoke with John Garcia Jr., SI's director of football recruiting, about his commitment process.
Daniels will graduate from Miami Central High in December and plans to enroll in January. He lists Penn State, Georgia, Texas A&M and Miami as his contenders.
"I'm focusing on my top four, Penn State, Georgia, Texas A&M and UM [Miami]," Daniels told Garcia Jr. "I've been focusing on them. Recruiting has been steady, but the dead period has been extended to January so I've been sitting back, watching football and seeing what the coaches have been telling me. Seeing if it matches what they're telling me and the system I would run in."
Daniels has accepted an invitation to play in the All-American Bowl, which is scheduled for January. SI All-American ranks Daniels as the nation's No. 5 running back.
Penn State has had some success recently recruiting Florida under running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider. The Lions also can use the successes of Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders, which were instrumental in helping to bring aboard Noah Cain from Florida's IMG Academy.
The 5-8, 190-pound Daniels projects as a "core weapon" in college because of his quickness, according to SI All-American's evaluation. Here's more about Daniels.
Frame: Tightly wound and compact frame. Very good definition throughout the body with tight torso and above-average thickness in thighs and hips.
Athleticism: Possesses quick feet to go along with good quickness to and through alleys. Very good wiggle in tight space and lateral agility on the second level to elude defenders. Slightly quicker than fast, but opens up stride in the open field and has enough long speed.
Instincts: Very good mental processing, vision and run instincts. Solid tempo in approach to the line of scrimmage and decisive to slash through holes to get to the second level. Good peripheral vision to locate backside alleys and possesses good awareness of second and third-level defenders. Fair creativity in the open field and flashes a stiff-arm to keep defenders away from his body when moving laterally and downfield.
Polish: Confident and competitive player who has been playing against excellent competition for several years. Will not be affected by adjustment to the speed of the college game. Yet Daniels must prove he can hold up in pass protection, as well as show he can threaten defenses as a receiver out of the backfield.
Bottom Line: Quick and elusive, Daniels also makes up for his lack of elite size with very good balance, agility and vision. He has the potential to be lethal on option routes vs. linebackers in the passing game out of the backfield if he can show consistent receiving skills. He may not become a bell-cow, every-down running back in college, but Daniels still projects as a core weapon to an offense as a lightning back.
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