Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Daniels Provides Answers In His Mountaineer Debut
September 06, 2022 05:06 PM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – There are some things still unknown about this year's West Virginia University football team, but the quarterback position is no longer among them.
Georgia transfer JT Daniels proved last Thursday night that he's capable of playing the position at a very high level.
Daniels withstood constant Pitt pressure to complete 23 of his 40 pass attempts for 214 yards and two touchdowns. Coach Neal Brown admitted Tuesday that six dropped passes for an additional 100 yards or more could have been added to his passing total, while eliminating his one interception.
"If you are sitting there looking at his stats and you put those six passes in with those yards, that's a 'wow' type game," Brown said.
It was a 'wow' type of game anyway, considering the amount of pressure Pitt put on him almost every time he dropped back to pass.
Daniels said earlier today that he was fully prepared for what he encountered.
"It's something I kind of knew going into the week," he explained. "The more teams have hurt (Pat) Narduzzi from the pocket the more he has sent five- and six-man pressures. That's not like an O-line thing. If you see me get hit a lot that game, it's because they have a really good front seven and they sent six.
"That means you have six one-on-one blocks, including your running back, so your quarterback is going to take hits. That's part of what he does philosophically and that's something that's a part of my position of what I've got to do," Daniels said.
Daniels' gutty performance certainly got the admiration and respect of his teammates.
"You don't see it much in practice - those are the things you have to wait for in a game, but he's got that X-factor," tight end Mike O'Laughlin said. "He will stay in the pocket and throw the football. It doesn't matter who is coming at his chinstrap, and that's a really great quality to have in a quarterback.
"You could tell in the fourth quarter when he was rolling out under pressure. His eyes were downfield looking to make a play. He didn't just go to his legs. You can see that side of him," O'Laughlin added.
Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell saw that for the half they were together at USC before Daniels got hurt, and he also saw it during the seven games he quarterbacked Georgia before an oblique injury ended his season.
The Bulldogs were 7-0 in those games, by the way.
"I thought JT played really well, and I was proud with the way he competed. I thought he gave us a chance to win and ultimately that's the quarterback's job," Harrell said, pointing out the adversity Daniels faced on West Virginia's final offensive series of the game.
On the last drive, he nearly overcame two false start penalties and two sacks, leading to a fourth and 17 play he nearly converted.
"He kept playing ball," Harrell marveled. "We came up a couple inches short on the pass."
"Until you play a game with somebody, you don't truly know, but I felt like he would be even keel," Brown said. "I didn't think a hit, a dropped pass or any kind of setback would bother him, and it didn't. I thought he was really good, in-game, being able to tell you what he saw, and that's not the case with every quarterback."
Brown was also pleased with Daniels' poise afterward answering questions following a disappointing loss to a bitter rival.
"I love the interview he did after the game, just talking about his teammates and his belief … I thought that was just powerful stuff," Brown said.
Harrell's definition of tough is overcoming adversity with great attitude and great effort. Daniels checked both of those boxes against the Panthers.
"He continued to stand in there after taking a couple of shots and never blinked or shied away from a hit," Harrell said. "Any good quarterback will tell you hits are a part of the game. You are going to take some hits, and the really good ones can take hits and continue to stay in there and continue to play, and that's what I thought JT did."
"I've played a lot football, so it's probably gotten easier over the years, but things move in general a little too fast to realize it," Daniels admitted. "During snap recognition and the whole process of doing my job, I don't even think about (getting hit). That doesn't even come to mind. You take a hit and you get back up."
Harrell's description of West Virginia's final offensive play matched exactly what Daniels saw from the field.
First Harrell: "They played two-man and it was fourth and 17; you don't get a lot of guys real open (in that situation). The ball was maybe six inches short and if it's six inches higher, we make the catch. We gave him a chance and came up a tad short. It's not an ideal situation with no timeouts and little time left.
Now Daniels: "Pitt, on long situations, is either a zone-pressure team – a five- or six-man pressure – and usually three-deep or they like two-man. So, I was going based on when I got the snap am I going to have to throw the ball to Bryce or KP (Kaden Prather), or are they playing two-man, and I am going to have to play off the safety?
"It ended up being two-man and one (safety) was too far off the hash, and I know Reese (Smith) is in a one-on-one with a guy who can't see the ball. I put it in a pretty good spot to where I wanted to. I wish I was five- to six-inches higher because you don't have too much space. You need to throw either a back-shoulder to Reese or a diving low ball. I wish it was six inches higher, and I think it would have been a safe catch. I loved the call. Reese ran a great route, and Bryce did a great job pulling off the safety, and we were just this close (putting his two fingers together)."
Daniels and Harrell have only been together now for six quarters of game action, but already you can see the synergy between the two.
When Daniels hit the transfer portal last spring and he saw a text message from Harrell, he said he immediately put West Virginia in his top three without knowing anything at all about the school.
"Me and Graham have always had a great relationship," he said. "I remember being asked if Graham had any effect on me choosing West Virginia and, yes, he had a huge effect.
"The good thing about (Harrell's) system is we generally have answers in all scenarios," Daniels said. "There are things that we talk about during the week that I will check versus specific looks, and I have full control over protection."
Daniels said both touchdown passes to Ford-Wheaton were checks he made on the field to his receiver. The first one came immediately after CJ Donaldson's long run to the Panther 10.
"We broke off an explosive play and we had not been explosive up to that point. There is a big momentum swing that you get and everybody on the offense feels it," Daniels pointed out. "We know they play a lot of press-man, and I don't think anybody can press Bryce or (Kaden Prather), so if I get a chance where I know it's one-on-one that's about as good a situation as I can ask for. It was the same thing on the second fade to Bryce. I will live and die by Bryce winning one-on-ones."
As for the environment last Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium, Daniels said it ranks right up there with Georgia-Auburn, USC-UCLA and USC-Notre Dame in terms of electric atmospheres.
"It was a fun one. That place was rocking," Daniels said. "There was a lot of noise from the West Virginia fans and a lot of noise from the Pitt fans. Rivalry games are always a cool atmosphere and I would put that game right up there.
"There are only so many times you get to play in front of that many people, and I think that's what makes college football so cool," he said.
Now, he's excited to experience the atmosphere for the first time at Milan Puskar Stadium this Saturday night against Kansas in the Big 12 opener for both. The Jayhawks had little trouble disposing Tennessee Tech 56-10 last Friday night in Lawrence.
Daniels said the team has had no problem turning the page to Kansas, which was tied with West Virginia in the third quarter of last year's game at Memorial Stadium.
"Something impressive about this team is once we watched the final play of Pitt, that's the last we talked about them. I haven't seen anybody that's in low spirits or thinking about last week. You put it to bed and you move on. Guys are locked on Kansas and are ready to play Kansas," he concluded.
Georgia transfer JT Daniels proved last Thursday night that he's capable of playing the position at a very high level.
Daniels withstood constant Pitt pressure to complete 23 of his 40 pass attempts for 214 yards and two touchdowns. Coach Neal Brown admitted Tuesday that six dropped passes for an additional 100 yards or more could have been added to his passing total, while eliminating his one interception.
"If you are sitting there looking at his stats and you put those six passes in with those yards, that's a 'wow' type game," Brown said.
It was a 'wow' type of game anyway, considering the amount of pressure Pitt put on him almost every time he dropped back to pass.
Daniels said earlier today that he was fully prepared for what he encountered.
"It's something I kind of knew going into the week," he explained. "The more teams have hurt (Pat) Narduzzi from the pocket the more he has sent five- and six-man pressures. That's not like an O-line thing. If you see me get hit a lot that game, it's because they have a really good front seven and they sent six.
"That means you have six one-on-one blocks, including your running back, so your quarterback is going to take hits. That's part of what he does philosophically and that's something that's a part of my position of what I've got to do," Daniels said.
Daniels' gutty performance certainly got the admiration and respect of his teammates.
"You don't see it much in practice - those are the things you have to wait for in a game, but he's got that X-factor," tight end Mike O'Laughlin said. "He will stay in the pocket and throw the football. It doesn't matter who is coming at his chinstrap, and that's a really great quality to have in a quarterback.
"You could tell in the fourth quarter when he was rolling out under pressure. His eyes were downfield looking to make a play. He didn't just go to his legs. You can see that side of him," O'Laughlin added.
Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell saw that for the half they were together at USC before Daniels got hurt, and he also saw it during the seven games he quarterbacked Georgia before an oblique injury ended his season.
The Bulldogs were 7-0 in those games, by the way.
"I thought JT played really well, and I was proud with the way he competed. I thought he gave us a chance to win and ultimately that's the quarterback's job," Harrell said, pointing out the adversity Daniels faced on West Virginia's final offensive series of the game.
On the last drive, he nearly overcame two false start penalties and two sacks, leading to a fourth and 17 play he nearly converted.
"He kept playing ball," Harrell marveled. "We came up a couple inches short on the pass."
"Until you play a game with somebody, you don't truly know, but I felt like he would be even keel," Brown said. "I didn't think a hit, a dropped pass or any kind of setback would bother him, and it didn't. I thought he was really good, in-game, being able to tell you what he saw, and that's not the case with every quarterback."
Brown was also pleased with Daniels' poise afterward answering questions following a disappointing loss to a bitter rival.
"I love the interview he did after the game, just talking about his teammates and his belief … I thought that was just powerful stuff," Brown said.
Harrell's definition of tough is overcoming adversity with great attitude and great effort. Daniels checked both of those boxes against the Panthers.
"He continued to stand in there after taking a couple of shots and never blinked or shied away from a hit," Harrell said. "Any good quarterback will tell you hits are a part of the game. You are going to take some hits, and the really good ones can take hits and continue to stay in there and continue to play, and that's what I thought JT did."
"I've played a lot football, so it's probably gotten easier over the years, but things move in general a little too fast to realize it," Daniels admitted. "During snap recognition and the whole process of doing my job, I don't even think about (getting hit). That doesn't even come to mind. You take a hit and you get back up."
Harrell's description of West Virginia's final offensive play matched exactly what Daniels saw from the field.
First Harrell: "They played two-man and it was fourth and 17; you don't get a lot of guys real open (in that situation). The ball was maybe six inches short and if it's six inches higher, we make the catch. We gave him a chance and came up a tad short. It's not an ideal situation with no timeouts and little time left.
Now Daniels: "Pitt, on long situations, is either a zone-pressure team – a five- or six-man pressure – and usually three-deep or they like two-man. So, I was going based on when I got the snap am I going to have to throw the ball to Bryce or KP (Kaden Prather), or are they playing two-man, and I am going to have to play off the safety?
"It ended up being two-man and one (safety) was too far off the hash, and I know Reese (Smith) is in a one-on-one with a guy who can't see the ball. I put it in a pretty good spot to where I wanted to. I wish I was five- to six-inches higher because you don't have too much space. You need to throw either a back-shoulder to Reese or a diving low ball. I wish it was six inches higher, and I think it would have been a safe catch. I loved the call. Reese ran a great route, and Bryce did a great job pulling off the safety, and we were just this close (putting his two fingers together)."
Daniels and Harrell have only been together now for six quarters of game action, but already you can see the synergy between the two.
When Daniels hit the transfer portal last spring and he saw a text message from Harrell, he said he immediately put West Virginia in his top three without knowing anything at all about the school.
"Me and Graham have always had a great relationship," he said. "I remember being asked if Graham had any effect on me choosing West Virginia and, yes, he had a huge effect.
"The good thing about (Harrell's) system is we generally have answers in all scenarios," Daniels said. "There are things that we talk about during the week that I will check versus specific looks, and I have full control over protection."
Daniels said both touchdown passes to Ford-Wheaton were checks he made on the field to his receiver. The first one came immediately after CJ Donaldson's long run to the Panther 10.
"We broke off an explosive play and we had not been explosive up to that point. There is a big momentum swing that you get and everybody on the offense feels it," Daniels pointed out. "We know they play a lot of press-man, and I don't think anybody can press Bryce or (Kaden Prather), so if I get a chance where I know it's one-on-one that's about as good a situation as I can ask for. It was the same thing on the second fade to Bryce. I will live and die by Bryce winning one-on-ones."
As for the environment last Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium, Daniels said it ranks right up there with Georgia-Auburn, USC-UCLA and USC-Notre Dame in terms of electric atmospheres.
"It was a fun one. That place was rocking," Daniels said. "There was a lot of noise from the West Virginia fans and a lot of noise from the Pitt fans. Rivalry games are always a cool atmosphere and I would put that game right up there.
"There are only so many times you get to play in front of that many people, and I think that's what makes college football so cool," he said.
Now, he's excited to experience the atmosphere for the first time at Milan Puskar Stadium this Saturday night against Kansas in the Big 12 opener for both. The Jayhawks had little trouble disposing Tennessee Tech 56-10 last Friday night in Lawrence.
Daniels said the team has had no problem turning the page to Kansas, which was tied with West Virginia in the third quarter of last year's game at Memorial Stadium.
"Something impressive about this team is once we watched the final play of Pitt, that's the last we talked about them. I haven't seen anybody that's in low spirits or thinking about last week. You put it to bed and you move on. Guys are locked on Kansas and are ready to play Kansas," he concluded.
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/ FootballTV Highlights: WVU 74, UCF 67
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