South Carolina football recruiting profiles: Kendall Daniels
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his coaching staff have less than three weeks before National Signing Day. (Remember when recruits signed in February?) The Early Signing Period begins Wednesday, December 4th, and the majority of teams’ high school recruiting classes will be completed by the time the Early Signing Period ends on Friday, December 6th. In the weeks leading up to NSD, GamecockCentral will profile each player in the 2025 recruiting class. Today, we will look at safety Kendall Daniels.
Kendall Daniels (4-star, Safety, 6’3″, 195 pounds)
What the rankings say: 4-star in On3 industry rankings, No. 275 nationally, No. 6 in Virginia, No. 25 among all safeties; Kendall Daniels is a consensus 4-star prospect
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Kendall Daniels, a former high school teammate of current Gamecock Fred “JayR” Johnson, is a big, talented safety. Built very similarly to the current crop of South Carolina safeties, Daniels combines smooth athleticism, size, and football IQ and has the chance to become a big-time performer at the college level.
For his Maury High School squad, Daniels does a little bit of everything. He has played quarterback, running back, and receiver on offense, and he lines up everywhere other than the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball.
His experience playing all over has earned Daniels the reputation of being a smart player. When in zone coverage, he always seems to be in the right place at the right time. He also has a knack for separating would-be receivers from the football and does a good job of “staying home” instead of biting on play fakes. He also seems to enjoy stepping up in run support.
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On the back end of a defense, Daniels is really good with the ball in the air. Because he is typically in proper position and has good ball skills, deflections and interceptions are common when the ball is thrown his way.
Daniels also can play in the box or in the slot, two things that the South Carolina defensive staff often ask out of their safeties. He seems comfortable playing five yards from the ball or twenty yards past the line of scrimmage. No matter where he lines up, he is a hard-hitter whose physicality is obvious when you watch his film.
Daniels is one of three defensive back commitments in the Gamecocks’ 2025 class. Both Damarcus Leach and Chris Hatfield project as safeties but have corner experience, as well. Linebacker Jaquel Holman is undersized for the position, so safety could be in his future if he doesn’t get bigger. Daniels, though, seems to be the most physically-ready of the group.
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You can watch some of Daniels’ film below.
