Tennessee redshirt junior punter Trevor Daniel stood before the media following Wednesday’s practice with confidence. He has a bright future that very well may include future All-SEC honors and potentially a professional opportunity as a punter in a couple years.
It was a much different story a few years ago.
He was an unknown walk-on from Dickson, Tenn. And while being a walk-on is inherently challenging, being a walk-on punter makes you among the most obscure in college football. You’re on the team – barely. UT snatched his former number (25) and gave it to the more highly-regarded incoming freshman kicker Aaron Medley a few years back, leaving Daniel with the unorthodox No. 93 for a punter. Even worse, Daniel wasn’t even wanted around the team the summer of 2014.
“After my freshman year, that summer, they didn’t invite me back for the summer,” Daniel said.
He considered quitting or transferring. That would’ve been understandable. But after some encouragement from his family, he got back to work on his own that summer.
“I was determined to work hard,” he said.
It paid off as Daniel rejoined the team in the fall of 2014.
Redshirt senior Matt Darr, who went on to have a strong season that following year, locked down the starting job. But Daniel, largely under the cloak of anonymity to most fans, claimed the backup role. The coaches – the same ones that didn’t include him in the summer workouts just a months before – started to take notice.
“It was awesome,” Daniel said. “I came back and I remember (former special teams coordinator) Coach (Mark) Elder saying, ‘Yeah, you’ve definitely been punting haven’t you?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I’ve been working hard.'”
Darr moved on following the 2014 season, eventually signing an undrafted free-agent deal with and making the Miami Dolphins. Daniel knew it could be his time. His status had already clearly changed. He was not only invited to stay around the team, he was getting some first-team reps in spring practice.
Competition still awaited him, however.
“I had a good spring, I knew I did, but I knew Tommy (Townsend) was coming in and Nate Renfro, and they were both great punters, and it wasn’t going to be easy, so I had to keep working hard,” he said.
Butch Jones never publicly anointed Daniel as the guy at punter heading into the opener against Bowling Green, only saying he would get the first opportunity.
Daniel got that first chance and never looked back. He made every punt of significance for the Vols in 2016, averaging a UT record (minimum 50 attempts) 45.7 yards per attempt. That was good for second in the SEC and eighth in the NCAA. Twenty-five of his 60 punts landed inside the 20. Twenty-two attempts went over 50 yards, including a long of 61.
This clutch punt against Georgia very well might’ve won the game, and helped save the season for the Vols:
The punt of the decade from Trevor Daniel. "Like it had eyes," – Gary Danielson https://t.co/esUaDFAm7E
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) October 12, 2015
So it’s understandable that Daniel has a whole new level of confidence. He knows he still has work to do also. He wasn’t satisfied with his hang time last year. He thinks he left the coverage team in a bad spot a few times in 2015.
He’ll keep working on the small details, but he’s a completely different person in a much different scenario than he was just a few years ago.
“I was young – I didn’t think I’d ever play honestly,” he said. “I just thought I’d be a scout (team) guy. I didn’t think I would be where I am today.”
Very few others did either.
