Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This rep has the latest with 4-star New Jersey OT Nyier Daniels. He ranks as the nation’s No. 11 OT and the No. 160 overall prospect for 2024 on the 247Sports Composite ratings. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as the nation’s No. 13 and the No. 160 overall recruit.
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Nyier Daniels just made his college decision between Florida State, Georgia, Rutgers and Texas.
He’s going to be a ‘Dawg.
The 6-foot-8-plus, 370-pound rising senior from Bergen Catholic in New Jersey now becomes one of the largest recruits in Georgia football history. Amarius Mims might have been right at the same height, but he was nowhere near as heavy when he was in high school.
This is one of those commitments where the visual needs to flash high on the page. Daniels is so massive that sometimes the photos he posts on social media can’t get his whole frame in the picture.
Why was it Georgia?
“I really like coach [Stacy] Searels and coach Kirby [Smart] at Georgia,” he said. “With the two times that I got to go up there, I got time to spend with them and their families. Just to see who they are really like as a person. Then with the players there as well. Just getting to see if the shoe fits. I like how they work and also their coaching skills.”
“With the linemen and the first-round draft picks and the defensive tackles and offensive tackles, that’s coach Kirby and coach Searels and all the other line coaches doing work. [Offensive line assistant) Coach Manrey [Saint-Armour] and all. That’s a lot of good they are doing.”
The main thing to focus on here is his size. While Daniels can move very well at his current weight of 370 pounds, the plan is for him to shed about 40 pounds.
“I’m trying to get down to 330,” he said.
If he gets down to 330 in the SEC, he’s going to climb to the second level like he’s a Ferrari. He’s going to manage his portions and burn more calories than he consumes.
The light switched on here when he got his first offer from Syracuse during his sophomore year. Penn State came the same day.
Daniels is a people mover. Plan and simple. He does that very well.
Check out his impressive junior film below. Watch the way he gets to the second level and eats up grass in space despite his massive frame.
Getting to know Nyier Daniels
That height runs in the family. His mother stands 5 feet, 9 inches and his father is just an inch shorter than he is. He mentioned a grandfather at the 6-foot-6 mark, too.
His favorite part of football will warm the hearts of DawgNation. Georgia line coach Stacy Searels has to love this outlook.
“I like run blocking,” he said. “I like making a man quit. Just diving through somebody’s facemask and putting them on the floor. That’s the most fun part.”
Why did the ‘Dawgs say they wanted him in this class?
“They say there are not too many humans like me and the way I play with my footwork,” Daniels said. “There is always room for improvement and development. Not saying that I am already pretty much there at all, but I have everything a lineman needs at my size. That can be worked on. Not saying I am perfect.”
He does have the perfect nickname already for a Georgia OL. His friends and teammates call him “Pain Train” and that just fits right in with the philosophy set by Searels.
The biggest part of this decision to choose Georgia was likely development.
“College is just a bus stop,” he said. “Bergen Catholic was a bus stop for me for development. To develop me into then being that college ball player. When I get to college, they are going to develop me into being that NFL player. That’s a huge part of all this.”
The next step was the educational opportunity. He is grateful for everyone that has poured into him so far.
“I’ve got a whole long list,” he said. “So long I’ve got to keep it nice and simple. My Mom. My Dad. All my coaches that I go to. Where it comes down to Pro Edge where I get my footwork in. TNT where I get my lifting in. Coach Dave. Our school strength and coach. Then coach Vito (Campanile] and Carl Seitz at Bergen Catholic. Coach Seitz is my O-line coach. That’s all that it took.”
There was a moment in his official visit that stuck in his mind.
“There’s that moment in their presentation where they make you walk on the field,” he said. “They have a presentation for you on that jumbo screen. It is not a long deal, but it is a good worthy video of watching and going ‘Wow this is how Georgia really does it’ and what they have done in the past and all the way up until now of just being a Georgia Bulldog.”
Searels left him with a clear message.
“What Searels told me was that he loves big guys,” Daniels said. “That and he did something in his presentation of all the first-rounders that he has coached in the past all the way up until now. I also did get to go to a practice and I got to see his coaching skills. I got to sit in a meeting room with him and when they studied their plays before they go out to practice and they did their installs.”
He was attracted to positive people and a strong healthy football community. That’s why Florida State and home state Rutgers and Texas made up his final group.
Daniels will be able to enroll early out of Bergen Catholic. That’s what he is planning to do to take advantage of that six months of early development over the guys that come in during the summertime. Georgia cornerbacks coach Fran Brown has really opened up the New Jersey pipeline of late.
He was also important for the ‘Dawgs here in winning this recruitment.
“When I was a freshman visiting Rutgers he was there at Rutgers,” Daniels said. “We built a great relationship and he told me where I was going to be in a couple of years if I kept up the hard work which I certainly did and his words came true.”
“I also have a lot of faith in Coach Fran and I never let his words go over my head.”
Nyier Daniels to Georgia football: What this means for DawgNation
The Daniels’ decision to commit to Georgia football today carries with it a lot of momentum. His non-binding verbal pledge to the ‘Dawgs today makes him the fourth All-American and top 175 overall prospect to choose Georgia over the last week.
He’s the third offensive lineman in that circuit. He becomes the 25th public commitment to the Georgia class that is ranked No. 1 in the nation across all the major recruiting services.
The Bergen Catholic standout is the nation’s No. 163 overall recruit (247Sports Composite) and the 18th-highest-rated commitment in the Georgia class.
Think about that for a second. The date is July 7. Georgia already has 18 prospects committed to its 2024 class which rank among the nation’s top 175 overall prospects for this cycle. That’s more than 10 percent of the nation’s top 175 recruits.
Ohio State has the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class for the 2024 cycle on the 247Sports Composite. The Buckeyes currently have 10 commitments from prospects ranked among the nation’s top 175 overall recruits.
They even needed commitments from the nation’s No. 169 and 174 overall prospects to get into double digits with UGA.
The ‘Dawgs only signed 16 recruits which ranked that highly in the entire 2023 class. That figure for the 2022 cycle was 16 for the 2022 signing class.
The chief difference here is the balance on both sides of the ball. Take a look at this quick glance:
- Top 175 commits (2024): 18 (10 Offense, 8 Defense)
- Top 175 signees (2023): 16 (5 Offense, 11 Defense)
- Top 175 signees (2022): 16 (4 offense, 12 Defense)
- Top 175 signees (2021): 12 (5 offense, 7 Defense)
Daniels also becomes the fifth OL in the Georgia class. Look for the ‘Dawgs to take at least one more OL in this class with big decisions from key 2024 targets Marques Easley (July 8), Fletcher Westphal (July 10) and Casey Poe (July 12) looming up ahead.
This stretch of the summer was a key period for the ‘Dawgs as they saw seven of their main OL targets set to make their commitments. The ‘Dawgs have now added Michael Uini (June 30), Daniel Calhoun (July 5) and now Daniels to that group.
It must also be noted that the ‘Dawgs have found great success of late with players from the Northeast, including offensive linemen. The story here on Daniels does both look and sound like the recruitments that Georgia was able to win for the late Devin Willock and fifth-year senior starting guard Xavier Truss.
Both were big men from private schools in the Northeast. Both had the ability to play either tackle or guard. It took them about a season and a half to get ready for the SEC, but once they did they were ready to roll.
Physics with these very large young men takes over after a while. They have the mass and size to wear down defenders and their length affords them the ability to lock out speed rushers.
Nyier Daniels: What motivates this young man to be great
He wants to go to the NFL
“Then I will start opening up my own businesses,” he said. “Getting more passive income.”
Daniels initially wanted to study mechanical engineering but feels like a business major will be more aligned with his goals and the demands of his time as a college football player.
The newly-minted UGA commitment is thankful to head coach Vito Campanile at Bergen Catholic for this moment today.
“Coach Vito has got this phrase called ‘Trust the process’ and I’ve been following coach Vito’s words and his wise wisdom. He’s been doing this for a long time. He has had a lot of great players. That’s one of the reasons why I came to Bergen Catholic as well. I’ve just been doing everything that Vito has been saying and what I can do on my behalf to be great and that’s what led to it.”
When he arrived at Bergen Catholic, he was a much different sight. His max bench press was 185 pounds. He struggled to get that. He could barely do a squat.
“I was just a tall and poor ol’ goofy and lanky kid,” Daniels said. “Who didn’t take anything seriously until it was time to step up around my sophomore or junior year. I just got in that gym and quickly developed and made that quick turnaround and got on that field.”
Daniels said he was at the 6-foot-4 and the 225-pound mark when Campanile broke out his chisel and started crafting a future All-American OL.
He can bench press over 300 pounds and squat 500 pounds.
SENTELL’S INTEL
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