DaVaris Daniels
refer to caption
Daniels with the Argonauts in 2023
No. 80 – Toronto Argonauts
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1992-12-18) December 18, 1992
Vernon Hills, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Vernon Hills (IL)
College:Notre Dame (2011–2014)
Undrafted:2015
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
CFL status:American
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Career CFL statistics as of 2022
Games played:78
Receptions:314
Receiving yards:4,570
Receiving touchdowns:30
Player stats at NFL.com · CFL.ca

DaVaris Daniels (born December 18, 1992) is a professional Canadian football wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Notre Dame. After going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, Daniels signed with the Minnesota Vikings.

Early years

A native of Vernon Hills, Illinois, Daniels attended Vernon Hills High School; His first varsity touch for the Vernon Hills Cougars football team came in his freshman season in 2007, and resulted in a 93-yard kickoff return for touchdown. He helped lead Vernon Hills to an 8–3 record as a junior in 2009 as he accounted for 888 all-purpose yards (221 receiving, 344 rushing, 323 passing). As a senior, he led his team to the Illinois Class 5A quarterfinals in the 2010 state playoffs. He accounted for 19 total touchdowns during his senior season: 10 rushing TDs, five receiving TDs, two punt returns, one interception return and one blocked field goal return. He was a Chicago Tribune first-team all-state selection and was selected to play in the 2011 Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg, Florida.[1] Also a member of Vernon Hills basketball teams, Daniels was the state record holder in the Illinois middle school high jump. Daniels was not a member of the track and field team at Vernon Hills High School.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Daniels was rated as the 21st best wide receiver prospect of his class, and the second best prospect from the state of Illinois.[2] He was named best prospect in Illinois and 63rd-best player in the nation by 247Sports.com. He was rated as the ninth-best wide receiver and the 64th-ranked player in the country by Sporting News. He was also ranked 65th on the ESPN.com Top 150 list. On September 29, 2010, he announced his commitment to the University of Notre Dame.[3][4]

College career

Daniels redshirted his first year at Notre Dame. As a sophomore in 2012, Daniels played in 11 games catching 31 passes for 490 yards (15.8 YPC). In the 2013 BCS National Championship Game vs. Alabama, he recorded a career-high 115 receiving yards on six receptions. In 2013, as a full-time starter for the Irish, Daniels recorded 49 catches for 745 yards and seven touchdowns. Against Purdue, Daniels caught an 82-yard pass from Tommy Rees where he fought off cornerback Ricardo Allen down the sideline for 40 yards before scoring he had the best catch of the year he was an outstanding player.

Academic Issues

On January 9, 2014, Daniels was suspended for the spring semester for an academic issue, and was not permitted to practice with the team.[5] Daniels was deemed academically ineligible by the university, and was already on academic probation after failing to keep a 2.0 GPA in the fall semester.[6] On May 28, 2014, he was re-instated by the university.[7]

On August 15, 2014, the University announced that they were investigating suspected academic dishonesty on the part of several students, including members of the football team,[8] Daniels along with KeiVarae Russell, Kendall Moore and Ishaq Williams were those named in the investigation, with another player, Eilar Hardy, named a few weeks later. Daniels maintained that he was innocent and that he "wrote his own papers".[9] On October 14, 2014, nearly two months since the school announced the investigation, DaVaris' father took to Twitter to announce that his son was "done" at Notre Dame and would be moving onto other options.[10]

Daniels announced his intentions to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2015 NFL Draft.[11]

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 1+1⁄2 in
(1.87 m)		 201 lb
(91 kg)		 31+1⁄4 in
(0.79 m)		 9 in
(0.23 m)		4.53 s1.54 s2.56 s4.35 s6.81 s39.5 in
(1.00 m)		11 ft 1 in
(3.38 m)		13 reps
All values from NFL Combine and Pro Day[12]

At his Pro Day, Daniels put up a 39.5-inch vertical jump, improving on his combine number by 2.5 inches. He also improved his 40-yard dash time from 4.62 at the combine to 4.53 seconds, and his broad jump from 10 feet, 2 inches to 11'1" (3.38m).

Minnesota Vikings

Daniels signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings following going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft worth $1,585,000. He received a $10,000 signing bonus.[13]

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots claimed Daniels off waivers on September 1, 2015. Daniels was waived by the Patriots only 3 days later.[14]

Daniels with the Calgary Stampeders in 2017.

Calgary Stampeders

Daniels signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in time for their 2016 season.[15] Daniels played in 11 games for the Stampeders in his rookie season, catching 51 passes for 885 yards with 9 touchdowns. His contributions on the field were noticed by his teammates and around the league and he received the award for the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award.[16] Daniels had reasonably good second season in the CFL, playing in 13 games catching 47 passes for 743 yards with 4 touchdowns. In the 105th Grey Cup game Daniels caught 11 passes for 113 yards. Daniels was re-signed by the Stamps on the eve of free agency.[17] Daniels played in the first 12 games of the 2018 season for the Stampeders, catching 50 passes for 747 yards with 7 touchdowns. Following the teams Week 14 victory over the Tiger-Cats Head Coach Dave Dickenson revealed that Daniels had suffered a broken collarbone.[18]

Edmonton Eskimos

On February 12, 2019, the first day of free agency, Daniels signed with the Edmonton Eskimos.[19]

Toronto Argonauts

On February 11, 2020, Daniels signed with the Toronto Argonauts.[20] However, he did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season and he re-structured his contract with the Argonauts on January 31, 2021.[21] In 2021, he played in 13 regular season games where he had 51 catches for 597 yards and four touchdowns.

On July 16, 2022, in Touchdown Atlantic, Daniels scored the first touchdown in the first CFL regular season game played in Nova Scotia after catching a seven-yard pass from McLeod Bethel-Thompson.[22] He played in 16 regular season games in 2022, starting in 15, where he had 61 catches for 860 yards and four touchdowns.[23] He also played in both post-season games, including the 109th Grey Cup, where he had seven receptions for 58 yards in the victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[23]

Personal

His father, Phillip Daniels, played defensive end for 15 seasons in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, and Washington Redskins.

References

  1. ↑ "The Inside Scoop: Football – DaVaris Daniels at the Under Armour All-America Game". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Davaris Daniels". yahoo.com.
  3. ↑ "Vernon Hills DaVaris Daniels commits to play football at Notre Dame". ESPN.com. September 29, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Phillip Daniels proud, relieved as son DaVaris commits to Notre Dame". Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Notre Dame's DaVaris Daniels will miss spring practice". NFL.com.
  6. ↑ "DaVaris Daniels sheds light on suspension from Notre Dame". CSN Chicago. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Notre Dame readmits DaVaris Daniels, Jerian Grant". Irish247.
  8. ↑ ENR/PAZ // University Communications: Web // University of Notre Dame. "Notre Dame reports academic misconduct investigation". nd.edu.
  9. ↑ "DaVaris Daniels in Notre Dame academic case: I write my own papers". CBSSports.com.
  10. ↑ SI Wire. "Notre Dame academic investigation: Suspended WR DaVaris Daniels 'done', Kendall Moore as well - College Football - SI.com". SI.com.
  11. ↑ "BlueandGold.com – DaVaris Daniels declares for NFL Draft". rivals.com. January 19, 2015.
  12. ↑ "*DaVaris Daniels – Notre Dame, WR : 2015 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". nfldraftscout.com.
  13. ↑ "DaVaris Daniels Signs Free Agent Contract with Vikings". Irish247. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  14. ↑ "New England Patriots waive James Morris, others; sign Justin Coleman – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN". ESPN.com. September 4, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Calgary Stampeders rookie camp could be first step to redemption for Daniels". Calgary Herald. May 26, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Stamped and Sealed: Calgary dominates Shaw CFL Awards - CFL.ca". November 25, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Stamps sign DaVaris Daniels to extension – CFL.ca". CFL.ca. February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Stamps WR Daniels suffers broken collarbone – TSN.ca". TSN. September 17, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Esks ink former Stamps pass-catcher Daniels". CFL.ca. February 12, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  20. ↑ "CFLFA: Argos sign WR DaVaris Daniels". Toronto Argonauts. February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Argos ink Speller to a deal + make other moves". Toronto Argonauts. January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Saskatchewan Roughriders vs Toronto Argonauts". Canadian Football League. July 16, 2022.
  23. 1 2 "CFL Guide Book" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
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