(Photo via Kahnen Daniels, twitter)
This is turning out to be quite a day for the Florida Gators on the recruiting trail. Barely an hour after basketball coach Todd Golden landed big man Micah Handlogten from Marshall, Billy Napier landed a big-time commit for his football program.
Consensus four-star running back Kahnen Daniels has committed to Florida. The 5’11, 190 lb running back out of West Point, MS, also had offers from Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M, Oregon, Mississippi, Mississippi State, and Cincinnati.
You can watch his high school highlight tape here.
As you can see on his tape, Daniels has some great vision, wiggle, and acceleration. The pure speed means that when he puts his foot into the ground and goes, few opponents of his in high school are going to catch him; he’s going to find the end zone. For me, it’s the ability too see that hole and be able to burst through it before it closes that makes him such a dangerous weapon.
Naturally, he’s going to have to bulk up a little bit to take the wear and tear of the SEC, although it does not seem as though he’s finished growing yet as a junior in high school. There’s also some question about how strong of a blocker he is, because as a high school wildcat quarterback and primary running back, he simply isn’t called on to do it a whole ton. If he can add a few pounds of muscle mass in Mark Hocke’s offseason program and prove his worth as a blocker, his future in Gainesville could be very bright.
Kahnen Daniels is the latest of a long list of running backs to recently commit to play for Billy Napier. Florida already has Chauncey Bowens in the fold for the class of 2024, and that was after he pulled in Tulane transfer Cam Carroll to complement Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson on the 2024 team. Assuming Florida’s offensive line can stay healthy, it’s clear that the Gators will place a heavy emphasis on the ground game this season.
Kahnen Daniels is the sixth commit of the 2024 class, joining Bowens, QB DJ Lagway, LB Adarius Hayes, LB Myles Graham, and safety Josiah Davis. The class is currently ranked 14th in the 247Sports Composite rankings in mid-April, with about 15-20 more slots to fill.
