Harding’s Daniels picks Iowa Hawkeyes

By Greg Gulas

sports @vindy.com

WARREN

There aren’t many players who stand head and shoulders above Warren Harding center James Daniels.

After agonizing the past month or so over which college he should select in order to pursue his academic and athletic careers, Iowa turned out to be the one school that stood both head and shoulders above the other two in the mix — Ohio State and Alabama.

Daniels will be reunited with his brother, LeShun Jr., who is heading into his sophomore season with the Hawkeyes. The brothers are the sons of LeShun Daniels Sr. and his wife Alicia, who are both Ohio State graduates.

“This was a very difficult decision and one that I kept going over and over in my mind the past couple of weeks,” LeShun Jr. said Thursday at the Raiders’ photo day, which took place in the school’s gymnasium. “After visiting the University of Alabama, I sat down with my mother and father and we wrote down the positives and negatives of all three programs.

“Iowa ended up having the most positives. I can tell you that this was the single most difficult decision of my short life.”

Daniels will graduate in January and then enroll at Iowa, where he will be able to go through spring drills with his new teammates.

“I wasn’t fully sure of my decision until the middle of last week. To me, Iowa’s player development was really amazing, however, I’m going to college to get my education and degree,” he said. “If the NFL doesn’t work out then I will have my degree to fall back on as I plan on study medicine or engineering.”

LeShun Sr., a 1997 OSU graduate who played in the Rose Bowl as a senior for former Buckeyes coach John Cooper, it was a bittersweet day.

“I was just talking with James last night about how great it is that we will be able to see both boys playing together on the same college team,” he said. “I played with my best friend [the late Korey Stringer] in college and now James will be playing with his brother and best friend as well.

“I’m a Buckeye through and through and while this might be a bittersweet moment, I’m set to start wearing my Iowa gear. I love seeing that name Daniels on the back of their shirts. I still have a 6-year-old so maybe he will go to Ohio State.”

Alicia Daniels called her son’s decision an excellent choice.

“We’ll continue to root for the Buckeyes, except when they play Iowa,” Alicia added. “It now makes it easier for us to go to one game instead of two in order to see our son’s play,” she said.

The 6-foot-4, 304-pound Daniels earned All-Ohio special mention as a junior in 2013. He is rated at .8631 according to 247Sports.com and is considered the 11th-ranked center recruit in the 2015 class.

“James has meant a great deal to our program; on and off the field,” said third-year Harding coach Steve Arnold. “He is a hard worker, talented, has a high IQ and it just doesn’t get any better than him on the offensive line.

“I will ride him a little bit this fall because he can still get better. Coach [Kirk] Ferentz’s forte is the offensive line and it is going to be very, very special when he gets to block for his brother. The entire family — mom, dad and sons — are all quality people.”