This local running back could have picked Clemson or Oregon. Here’s why he picked SMU

Southlake Carroll 3-star senior running back T.J. McDaniel passed up on Clemson, Oregon, Minnesota and Vanderbilt when he announced his commitment to SMU on July 31.

It was about staying close to home.

“I am home,” McDaniel said on Monday during Carroll’s first day of fall practice.

McDaniel also said it came down to SMU and San Diego State.

“It was about who I wanted to play for, what conference I wanted to play in and which coaches I wanted to coach me,” he said. “There were a lot of reasons and you commit when it feels right and it felt right.”

McDaniel praised four coaches on the SMU staff: head coach Sonny Dykes, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, running backs coach Chris Brasfield and strength and conditioning coach Kaz Kazadi.

“I’ll be around those four and they’re amazing,” McDaniel said. “Coach Kaz is the best strength coach in the nation. Coach Brasfield is a great Christian guy and loves God, and he lives up to the same morals and standards that I live up to. He’s going to make me better every single day. Coach Dykes is awesome and I’ve seen his history of coaching and he’s built teams up. They may struggle at first, but they start to win 8, 9, 10 games and he creates winning cultures.”

Lashlee was a standout high school quarterback in Arkansas, where he still holds multiple records. He later joined the coaching staff at Auburn, which went to two BCS National Championship games.

“Coach Lashlee has been there and done that, and he has a great plan for running backs that I want to be apart of,” McDaniel said. “He told me that he wanted to run the ball 40 times and as a running back, that stands out a lot. It’s like I can run the ball 30 times and rush for 2,000 yards and to be able to do that while staying close to home with my parents and family watching my games, it’s hard to beat.”

McDaniel rushed for 1,862 yards and 23 touchdowns last season as the Dragons went to the Class 6A Division II state quarterfinals. He was voted first-team all-district. He was also named honorable mention 6A all-state by The Associated Press and a Star-Telegram first-team all-star.

He rushed for 100 or more yards in nine games and surpassed 200 yards five times. He had one of the state’s best rushing performances of the season when he rushed for 316 yards and five touchdowns on only 16 carries in November against McKinney.

He is ranked as the No. 94 athlete in the nation and No. 144 overall player in the state, according to 247Sports.