(Photo by WVU Athletics)
Coming out of high school, J.T. Daniels probably never envisioned his collegiate career going like this. The former 5-star had his USC stint end due to injury, and then his time with the Georgia Bulldogs came to a close after Stetson Bennett beat him out. Now, Daniels can likely add West Virginia to his long list of woes in college.
Today, Daniels was benched in favor of Garrett Greene. Now that Greene has led WVU to their first win over Oklahoma in the Big 12, we have likely seen the last of Daniels for 2022 – and possibly the last of him in the Gold and Blue.
For whatever reason, things just aren’t working out for Daniels in Morgantown. He started out strong, but has fallen off a cliff following a loss to Texas Tech. In the last two games against Iowa State and Oklahoma, Daniels has combined for 15 of 44 passing for 146 yards and one touchdown to two interceptions. Those aren’t bad numbers, those are miserably bad numbers.
There has been no word that he is playing hurt nor is there anything said to be hindering him. He’s just been off – plain and simple. Though it had seemed Morgantown would finally be the place that Daniels got things on track, it has crumbled. He is now likely back to square one.
This is honestly just heartbreaking. I do not know Daniels personally, but he just seems like a genuine guy. He was a five-star prospect coming out of high school, but you would’ve never guessed that by hearing him speak. He’s not a mess like Tate Martell was at Ohio State and Miami. Daniels is just a good guy trying to find his footing in the game of College Football.
He’s humble and cares about his teammates. You won’t find many people who do not want this guy to succeed. There is a chance that he could get things turned around at another college with one more year of eligibility, but his time is running out. I’m not sure another Power Five school would take a chance on him after it hasn’t worked out at 3 other schools.
Wherever this road takes Daniels next – whether it’s somewhere else or somehow him getting it turned around at WVU…I wish him nothing but the best. I’m rooting for him, but the writing on the wall may just be too much to overcome at this point.
Sadly, it may not have ever been meant for Daniels to be the star quarterback that everyone thought he would be.
