Pokes Pod: Kendal Daniels

Kendal Daniels is a breakout safety star for Cowboy football.

The rising redshirt sophomore started in 2022 as a freshman and is the guest on this week's Pokes Pod. He earned the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year award and was named to the FWAA Freshman All-America Team.

In the excerpt below, Kendal Daniels discusses his expectations entering the Cowboy football program and how that has changed over the past two years.

HOST: When you came to Oklahoma State, what were your expectations as far as playing time and starting?

DANIELS: I came in and thought I was just gonna be the guy, you know, high school kid coming in, thinking he was gonna be the guy.

And as soon as I stepped foot on campus, it all hit me just like, dang, really? You're really gonna redshirt this year? It was hard at first, but after a while, I just got used to it.

HOST: What did you learn about yourself during that redshirt year?

DANIELS: I feel like that helped me, like with all the accolades that I got in high school, it really humbled me just to know that you're not. Accolades can only do so much for you on the football field once you get to college.

HOST: Talking about accolades in high school, you redshirt. Your first year playing your freshman season, you have a breakout season for the Cowboys for the Big 12, freshman All-American, and Big 12 defensive player of the year as a freshman. How did that prepare you for a season like you had last season?

DANIELS: I feel like it really helped me just to realize that the game is different just sitting back and having to relearn football. Because it's a whole different game from high school to college, but I feel like it helped me.

I don't think I was ready for my freshman year. I really don't. I feel like I had to gain experience, you know, through playing time. So the first couple of games were kind of rough, just getting out there and going to play football because it was about two years off of football.

It's kind of weird just being back out there and making plays and just having fun.

HOST: How do you build on what you accomplished last season, entering 2023?

DANIELS: I feel like. It's not much of a build. It's kind of like a start-over, you know what I mean? Just 'cause in high school, I mean, I started getting offers when I was a sophomore, so everybody thought my head was going to get big.

Then I did good my junior year. Then I did good my senior year. So I feel like not as much as building on top of it and trying to keep up with myself from Asher, but like making a new name for myself, you know? I mean, it's not really. Everybody says that the accolades get to people's heads, but I mean, I've been getting accolades since I was a senior in high school.

So it's really not, it's not much of an aspect of getting the accolades. It's just going out there and helping my team win.

This transcript was edited for clarity. Listen to the rest of the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or watch it on OSU MAX.

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