TCU’s Noah Daniels feeling ‘real confident’ in 2020 after missing 2019 with an injury
TCU cornerback Noah Daniels is healthy and confident early on this season. That’s good news for the Horned Frogs.
Daniels, arguably the fastest player on the roster, has gotten off to a strong start after missing the 2019 season with an injury. Through two games, Daniels has three passes defensed and has made a seamless transition into the starting lineup.
Daniels hopes to build on that more when TCU hosts Kansas State on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
“I’m feeling real confident,” Daniels said this week. “All of that confidence came from fall camp and before the season knowing the work I put in and just going out and doing it. I know I’m able to do it, I’ve just got to make it happen. The confidence came from preparation.”
Daniels, a junior out of Clear Creek High School in League City, had three tackles and one pass breakup in the season-opening loss to Iowa State. He followed that up with three tackles, two pass breakups and one QB hurry against Texas last week.
One of the pass breakups came on a pass that looked like a possible touchdown from Sam Ehlinger to Brennan Eagles in the first half.
“At corner, you have to have extreme confidence because you never know when they’re going to throw at you,” Daniels said. “As far as the strip [to break up pass intended for Eagles], it was a double move and once I caught up I really just played his eyes and hands and waited for the ball to drop. Once I saw the ball, I instantly went for the rip before he could get possession.”
For TCU, it’s a positive to have a healthy and productive Daniels. This is a secondary that lost its two starting cornerbacks from last season, including first-round NFL Draft pick Jeff Gladney and Julius Lewis.
Daniels and sophomore Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson emerged as the starters in training camp, and are showing signs of promise given how they played at Texas. Ehlinger, who got off to a hot start in the first two games for the Longhorns, finished with 236 yards passing, completing less than half his attempts (17 for 36).
More importantly, the victory served as a confidence-booster for a TCU team that fell to Iowa State to open the season.
“I think it gave us a lot of confidence because Texas is a very good football team,” Daniels said. “We know what we need to get better on for Kansas State. I think it shows we can compete with anybody.”
For Daniels, simply being able to compete again is welcomed. He played in all 13 games as a redshirt freshman in 2018 before his injury-plagued 2019.
“When I first came back in fall camp, I was kind of nervous but after going through fall camp, I’ve seen that I’m able to still play the same way,” Daniels said. “That gave me confidence going into the season that I really don’t need to be scared. Just keep doing what I’m doing and not worry about re-injuring myself.”
