Kendal Daniels finding his role in Brent Venables' defense

NORMAN — OU’s campus isn’t far away from Stillwater, but it was a whole new world for Kendal Daniels this spring.

The former Oklahoma State transfer was still finding his footing after he wrapped up his first spring with the Sooners back in April. Daniels spent three seasons with the Cowboys before transferring to the Sooners, and it took some time for him to learn his teammates and the new defensive schemes.

“I was kind of still figuring out my role,” Daniels told OUInsider Wednesday. “I was figuring (it) out, still meeting new people. I didn’t know everybody on the team. First time being coached by coach Brent Venables and seeing how he practices and adjusting to how he practices and trying to get the tendencies of what he wants to call and the plays, and adjusting, moving around everywhere on the field.

It’s a completely different story for Daniels through the first few practices of preseason camp. Though he’s only been in Norman a few months, he looks like a stalwart of the Sooners’ defense.

Daniels has been everywhere defensively since practices began last week. He’s regularly seeing snaps at cheetah, linebacker and safety, fighting for his spot atop the depth chart on multiple positions.

The summer was crucial for Daniels, both in terms of learning the defensive schemes and also connecting with his teammates.

“(During the) summer (I was) learning all the plays and meeting all the guys, spending weekends with guys, learning new people, meeting new people, learning everybody’s story. It’s felt more like I’ve been here for a long time.

“It’s been great being with the guys, Kip and Kobie, Owen Heinecke, Sammy (Omosigho), we’re all so tight… We joke about the games that we played against each other and we’ll watch film and everything. It’s so fun to know that’s what I was worried about coming into spring — how are these guys going to react to me coming from OSU? But it’s been really good.  Been way higher than my expectations. I think it’s gonna keep going up from here.”

Of course, his defensive versatility has also fit in well with Venables’ defense.

Daniels was put in multiple positions during his time with the Cowboys. In 2,298 snaps, he’s played 187 on the defensive line, 1,165 as a linebacker in the box, 448 at safety and 496 at corner, per Pro Football Focus. That’s made him an ideal fit for the cheetah position — a hybrid of linebacker and defensive back — but the Sooners have also put him as a traditional safety and linebacker.

“His ability to play all three positions is what he has shown,” Venables said. “So we’re excited about that… He’s done really well. He’s got a good skillset. Man, zone, pass rusher, A-gap fitter, things like that. He’s taking on blocks. So he sees things while inside.

“He’s super instinctive, very athletic, explosive tackler, good in space, excellent blitzer. He’s got really nice instincts now on the ball.”

It was a difficult transition from Oklahoma State to his former arch rival, but Venables has been crucial in helping Daniels feel settled. In addition to finding his place in the Sooners’ defense, Daniels has grown a lot with Venables’ coaching.

“I’m not even the same person,” Daniels said. “Being with coach V and just learning who I am and being around him, a guy like that and the way he coaches, he’s taken me from (to a higher place) already and I can already feel it.

“I wouldn’t say I wish I was a Sooner from the get, but I wish I was with coach Venables for way longer than I have been.”

Daniels’ versatility has stood out to his teammates, too.

“That dude’s huge,” OU cornerback Devon Jordan said. “Huge. Very physical. Very fast for his size. I feel like we can put him everywhere. He can go to linebacker, Cheetah, safety. Very versatile. You get a player like that, it’s crazy. He’s from Oklahoma, too, so it means more to him, too, as well.”

The Sooners recruited Daniels out of the transfer portal for his defensive versatility, and that’s been quickly apparent through the first few practices of preseason camp. Regardless of whether he starts, or where he plays, he’s going to be an asset on the field.

Daniels has definitely taken on the challenge.

“I feel like it’ll be perfect moving me around in different positions and making me learn different positions and learning everywhere, even the corners out on the field,” Daniels said. “If I learn the whole defense during installs, I can go play any position. So I feel like moving around (will) be fun and just showcase what I can do, because other players play a lot of positions, too.

“So all of us moving around and doing other things, I feel like that will disrupt offenses.”

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