TCU cornerback Noah Daniels ready to rebound from another ‘frustrating’ season
Frustrating is the word TCU cornerback Noah Daniels chose to describe his injury-plagued 2021 football season.
“I’d go through practice, I’d warm up and then I’d get to the game and my knee was feeling stiff on me,” Daniels said. “It was very frustrating ‘cause I really wanted to be out there but I didn’t want to put my team in harm’s way if I wasn’t able to go as hard as I’m supposed to go. I just kind of had to fall back a little bit. It was very frustrating. It should be good this year.”
So far, so good as he is going through spring practices and preparing for the 2022 season with the first-team defense. If Daniels is healthy and available in the fall, that bodes well for a TCU defense that is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2021 season.
Daniels is regarded as a NFL-caliber talent with his speed — he has been timed running a 4.27-second 40-yard dash, per TCU — but has been limited by injuries in recent years.
Daniels saw limited action in six games last season, finishing with six tackles. He played in only four games in 2020 and missed the entire 2019 season with an injury. Again, though, Daniels has the natural skill set to become an elite-level cornerback when healthy.
“I feel really good,” he said. “My biggest thing last year, the reason I missed a lot of games, structurally it was good but the overall strength wasn’t there. Ever since we got around this new strength staff and our offseason training and stuff, it’s gotten a lot better.
“My deceleration has gotten a lot better. I’m honestly feeling really good, very close to 100% if not almost there. This spring, I just want to get back to where I was.”
A healthy Daniels should help TCU’s defense get back to where it was, too. The Frogs finished 119th out of 130 teams in total defense last season. That’s part of the reason the school and longtime coach Gary Patterson parted ways in the middle of it.
Now TCU is entering a new era with defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie installing a 3-3-5 scheme after two-plus decades running Patterson’s 4-2-5 defense.
Count Daniels among the players who are enjoying the transition to a new defense, calling the process “easier than I expected.”
“Obviously the defense is a lot different (being more zone heavy) but, as far as the coaching style, it’s very similar,” Daniels said. “My position coach is very similar to the last position coach from a technical aspect. It really wasn’t that hard to adjust honestly.
“And honestly it’s been fun. I’ve been here four or five years and it feels good to do something different. I have a lot of fun out there doing different things I really wasn’t able to do in the last defense, learning different things, so it’s just really been fun.”
Daniels also raved about the energy early on in spring practices. With practices being open to fans, there is more buzz surrounding the program.
A number of folks were on hand to watch Saturday’s practice and more are expected to attend the next 12 practices this spring, capped by the spring game Friday, April 22 at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
“The energy from my opinion is up there,” Daniels said. “We have a lot of fun, especially on defense. We fly around. We make plays. We all celebrate. Everybody is having fun. Everybody really wants to be out there.”
