Mordecai McDaniel Fought His Way Back to Power Conference Football, Now He’s Ready to Prove He Belongs

STILLWATER — At one point, everyone was fighting to get Mordecai McDaniel on campus.

The list included Alabama, Notre Dame, Penn State, Oklahoma, LSU, Michigan and so many others.

The four-star recruit ranked as the 17th best corner in his recruiting class by 247Sports initially committed to Florida, where McDaniel played for Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Todd Grantham for two seasons until the program cut him during a coaching change.

With only 134 snaps played in his first two seasons, there wasn’t a line begging for McDaniel’s commitment this time. Instead, he ended up at Iowa Western Community College for two years.

“At JUCO, there are no handouts,” McDaniel said. “Your parents aren’t there. It’s just taking care of business, taking care of your schoolwork and performing on the field and keeping your body up.”

Oklahoma State’s new defensive line coach, Ryan Osborn, brought McDaniel back to the FBS ranks last season, where he served as the defensive coordinator.

“Coach Oz took a chance on me, taking me out of JUCO and just kept his faith in me at Charlotte and brought me over here too,” McDaniel said.

The Oklahoma State safety finished fourth in tackles (43) at Charlotte last season despite not playing too large a role until the end of the season. All four of his starts came during 49ers final five games.

He also finished fourth in pass breakups (four) despite only defending against 15 targets. All three players ahead of him saw at least 25 targets, and three other Charlotte players failed to record at least four pass breakups despite defending against 30-plus targets, according to Pro Football Focus.

“I just knew I could ball like I wanted to,” McDaniel said when asked what he took away from his time at Charlotte.

When Osborn left for Stillwater following the season, following him was a no-brainer. In fact, there are few people on the planet whom McDaniel trusts more than the former Florida graduate assistant who reminds him of Jack Black’s character in “Nacho Libre.”

“It just made it more of a family feeling (here in Stillwater),” McDaniel said. “So made me open up to the guys more and just talk and get to know my coaches a little bit more, too.”

Familiarity with some of the defensive coaches could give McDaniel a leg up when it comes to earning playing time this fall.

The safety said the defense felt exactly like what they ran under Grantham during his two seasons at Florida.

“It wasn’t a big shock to what plays he was running when we first started going over the install,” he said. “So it wasn’t too hard for me to catch on to the plays.”

That hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates.

“Very athletic, big hitter, just smart,” Oklahoma State safety Dylan Smith said of McDaniel. “He’s a great player. In my opinion.”

The playbook might be familiar, but McDaniel sounds determined that things will go differently than they did at Florida.

“Be selfless, be about yours and be about your business,” McDaniel said when asked what he wished he could tell his younger self.

At some point during his time away from the power conference level, especially during his two years at a junior college, McDaniel said he questioned whether his football career would work out.

That doesn’t appear to be the case these days. McDaniel said he learned a lot about himself during his unusual path to Stillwater.

“Just knowing myself and having confidence in myself,” McDaniel said. “That I could prove people wrong, including myself, and that I can do what I gotta do.”

The former four-star recruit is one of many competing for time on the back end of OSU’s defense this season, as he is one of four Oklahoma State safeties with 500-plus snaps at the FBS level. There’s also returning Cowboys Parker Robertson and David Kabongo and Miami transfer Zaquon Patterson, another former four-star, to contend with.

“It’s not really a motivation, just a mindset,” McDaniel said when asked how he handles the tough days. “No matter how you feel, no matter what you’re going through, you gotta show up.”

The safety elaborated further by saying, “That is just what the game requires.”