Mike Daniels will enter his second season as the wide receivers coach at Kennesaw State. He was originally hired by head coach Brian Bohannon on February 3, 2014.
Daniels led the wide receivers to an impressive inaugural season, as the Owls’ offense averaged 136.8 receiving yards per game. The group totaled 79 receptions and 10 touchdown catches throughout a 6-5 campaign. The receivers also averaged 19.1 yards per catch on the season.
Under Daniels’ guidance, redshirt freshman Justin Sumpter flourished as Kennesaw State’s primary aerial target. He caught 26 passes for 525 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 20.2 yards a receptions to rank sixth in the country in yards per receptions. Sumpter had three catches of 46 or more yards, including a 69-yard TD receptions in the inaugural game at East Tennessee State.
Daniels also guided one of four seniors on the team, wide out P.J. Stone, to become KSU’s first graduate in program history. Stone earned Big South Conference All-Academic honors and graduated magna cum laude with a 3.75 GPA and majored in exercise science.
Daniels joined the KSU coaching staff after spending three seasons (2011-13) as running backs coach at Statesboro High School in Georgia. He spent the 2013 season as offensive coordinator. While coaching at Statesboro High, Daniels and the Blue Devils compiled a three-year record of 28-6 (.823) and advanced to the state playoffs each season.
Daniels’ coached one season (2010) at the University at Buffalo where he served as the Bulls’ running backs coach and academic liaison. He began his coaching career at Alcorn State where he worked as tight ends coach from December 2007 to June 2008.
Prior to arriving at Buffalo, Daniels was a graduate assistant/wide receivers coach at his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati. That season, the Bearcats went 12-0 in the regular season, captured the 2009 Big East Conference title and received a BCS Bowl berth to the 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Daniels was a four-year letterwinner at Cincinnati from 2003-07 where he was a triple threat as a wide receiver, running back and return man.
Daniels served as a team captain and earned the Jim Kelly Spirit Award in 2007 while playing for head coach Brian Kelly. He was a multiple-year honoree on the Bearcats Academic Honor Roll en route to earning his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 2007.
Daniels is married to Dr. Yelandra Daniels, whose father is former major league baseball player Lee May. May is in the Halls of Fame of both the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles.
