David Daniel: Elite DB trainer and former Bulldog Glenn Ford has an NFL parallel in mind

Posted 2 months ago

Want to attack every day with the latest UGA football recruiting info? That’s what the Intel brings. This entry shares the thoughts of former Georgia defensive back Glenn Ford when it comes to 2021 Georgia commit David Daniel.

Glenn Ford was a four-year letterman and a three-year starter at defensive back for the University of Georgia. That came back during the Jim Donnan years from 1994-1998.

Ford is now the CEO of iDareU Academy in Atlanta. It specializes in training up the next generations of football talent. There is an emphasis on the defensive back specialty, but a typical iDareU workout will feature guys and veteran coaches that work all positions.

iDareU has been sending players to big-time schools across the nation for some time now. The program emphasizes academics and character development, but with another recognizable slogan on its website.

“We Build Monsters!”

The program is in its 14th year. Ford just recently spent the 2019 season coaching with the Cleveland Browns as part of The Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

That program, named after late Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh, provides NFL experience to talented minority college coaches, high school coaches and former players. Ford was one of four fellows with the Browns for the 2019 season. It was his second season participating in the program.

Ford knows a thing or two about monsters, including the NFL variety. That’s why his scouting report on 2021 Georgia DB commit David Daniel matters here.

Daniel also trains with iDareU Academy. It allows Ford to get an up-close look at Daniel’s current skill set and his future potential.

David Daniel-Georgia recruiting-Georgia football — *Woodstock High School safety David Daniel ranks as the nation’s No. 4 ATH and the No. 78 overall recruit on the 247Sports Composite rankings for 2021. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)*

When it comes to that, there’s a name that comes to mind when he sees Daniel. That would be former Alabama safety Ronnie Harrison.

“Ronnie Harrison,” Ford said. “All day. Same size. Same kind of build. Just as physical. That’s what I see. When you ask who I see, that’s the person that comes to my mind. He reminds me a lot of Ronnie Harrison. A lot.”

“Give him three years, man. Give him three years and he’ll be in and out of Georgia. That’s the type of future and potential I see with David.”

Daniel set a goal that he hopes to be at the 6-foot-3 mark and 205 pounds when he enrolls at UGA in January of 2021. He’s about an inch shy of that height and needs to put on another 10-15 pounds of lean muscle to reach that goal.

Do you see it? Check out Daniel’s junior tape and Harrison’s senior film in the two videos below.

Ford sees Daniel continuing to get better and better. He sees him growing into that safety role.

“Just within the last year to now, he’s just improved tremendously on his flexibility,” Ford said. “That was one of the things that coaches say and see is flexibility. The other thing is just learning the position. He switched from corner to safety and everything just falls in line with his body. His body movements are now so fluid. He can press and go. His eyes are getting good so. Just a total turnaround from when we started to now.”

Harrison was the nation’s No. 12 safety coming out of high school in the 2015 class. The 6-foot-3, 207-pounder played his high school football in Florida. He wound up a third-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2018 NFL Draft. Daniel also grew up in Florida.

What’s the position fit there? Is his best spot at free safety? Or at strong safety? Could he line up in the “Star” position as well?

“He’s really all three,” Ford said. “In Kirby’s system at Georgia and that Alabama system that they run there is some familiarity there with Harrison. David can really play all three of those positions. He can play both those safety spots because he is so physical and athletic and then the ‘Star’ position if need be. They are kind of going to a smaller guy in the ‘Star’ position now in football. But he could do it now. Especially in the red zone. David could also play that ‘Star’ spot.”