Kendal Daniels ends successful 2022 season at Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Former Beggs High School football standout Kendal Daniels closed out his first full season at Oklahoma State University Tuesday night at the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
The postseason bowl game took place at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, and pitted Daniels’ Cowboys against Big 10 powerhouse Wisconsin.
Entering the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, Daniels, who saw playing time in three games in 2021 before being redshirted, was fourth overall on the team in total tackles with 69 (43 solo, 26 assisted) and second overall in interceptions with three. Daniels also had one forced fumble and three pass deflections in 12 games this season.
Daniels’ first career interception as a Cowboy came in the 2022 season opener - September 1 at home against Central Michigan. Daniels’ other interceptions this season came October 22 at home against Texas and Nov. 12 at home against Iowa State.
During his first 12 games in 2022, Daniels recorded a season-high 11 total tackles twice - Nov. 5 at Kansas (8 solo, 3 assist) and Sept. 1 vs Central Michigan (6 solo, 5 assist) - and also had one other double-digit total in tackles (10; 4 solo, 6 assisted) on November 12 against Iowa State, including an assisted tackle for loss on a 4th-and-1 play late in the fourth quarter that helped seal the Cowboys’ 20-14 win.
Because of his stellar defensive output against Iowa State, which included an interception and forced fumble, Daniels was awarded the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week.
A 2021 graduate of Beggs High School, Daniels originally committed to Texas A&M University, but changed his committment to Oklahoma State.
Daniels is one of two former Beggs football standouts on the Cowboys’ 2022 roster, joined by C.J. Brown, who is being redshirted this season - his first in Stillwater.
Other Oklahoma State players with local ties on the 2022 roster are redshirt sophomore cornerback Jordan Reagan (from Okmulgee) and redshirt sophomore defensive end Martin Sheared (played HS football at Morris). Reagan spent most of last year on special teams and has seen playing time this season at cornerback, while Sheared, a walk-on in 2020, has been part of the scout team the past two seasons.
Daniels was also a First Team selection to the 2022 Academic All-American Big 12 Football Team in 2022.
