Cam McDaniel (born September 20, 1991) is a former
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
.
Early life
McDaniel attended
Coppell High School in
Coppell, Texas
Coppell ( ) is a city in the northwest corner of Dallas County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a suburb of Dallas and a bedroom community in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 42,983 at the 2020 census. A small area in the ...
. In 2009, McDaniel rushed for over 1,200 yards and 20 touchdowns, while also catching 57 passes for seven touchdowns.
The next season, McDaniel ran for 1,906 yards and 32 touchdowns while recording 40 receptions for 492 yards and three touchdowns. He was eventually named second-team all-state running back by the Texas Associated Press Sports Editors Class 5A team, and ''
The Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
'' named him to the all-area team's second team. The ''
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company.
History
In May 1905, Amon G. Carter acc ...
'' awarded him MVP of District 7-5A.
With McDaniel, the Coppell Cowboys lost only total three games, and went undefeated in his senior year.
College career
During his junior year of high school, McDaniel was offered scholarships by eight schools:
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
,
Iowa State
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
,
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
,
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
,
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
and
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
.
In 2010, McDaniel was offered additional scholarships by
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
,
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...
. On November 30, McDaniel announced his commitment to
Notre Dame.
Notre Dame
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
stated that McDaniel was expected to serve as a
slot receiver.
In his freshman year, McDaniel served as a backup running back and on special teams, recording nine yards on three rushing attempts, while returning two kickoffs for 24 yards. In 2012, McDaniel played both running back and
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...
, while also playing special teams. He scored his first touchdown on October 6 against
Miami (FL)
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
; McDaniel also set a school record for most consecutive carries on a drive with nine. McDaniel ended the 2012 season with 125 yards rushing and a touchdown.
On October 19, 2013 against the
USC Trojans
The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...
, McDaniel ran for a career-high 92 yards. That same game, he lost his helmet during a run, and a photo taken of him with tousled hair and a "''
Zoolander
''Zoolander'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the '' VH1 Fashion Awards'' television ...
''-esque smirk" went
viral
Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents).
Viral may also refer to:
Viral behavior, or virality
Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example:
* Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...
as "Ridiculously Photogenic Football Player",
creating an
Internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
. McDaniel ended the 2013 season with 705 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
In his senior year, McDaniel was named a team captain.
He concluded the 2014 season with 278 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
College statistics
Professional career
2015 NFL Draft
McDaniel was not invited to the
NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...
, though he attended Notre Dame's Pro Day on March 31, 2015, one of eleven players to do so. McDaniel recorded a
three-cone drill
The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts. It is most commonly seen at the NFL Combine in p ...
time of 6.78 seconds, faster than all running backs invited to the Combine,
and would rank fifth among running backs in the last five Combines.
McDaniel was not drafted by any team in the
2015 NFL Draft
The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...
, but was offered a tryout with the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
.
Canadian Football League
McDaniel first latched on with the
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
for whom he played one game with in 2016. On May 11, 2017, McDaniel signed with the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
, and was active for 9 games. While McDaniel did not play, he was a part of the Argos team that won the
105th Grey Cup
The 105th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 2017, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario.
In a re-match of the 100th Grey Cup, the Argonauts won the game 27–24, winning their 17th cham ...
. Overall in his professional career, McDaniel played in 10 games, recording 8 rushes for 26 yards, in addition to catching 3 passes for 44 yards.
Personal life
McDaniel married high school sweetheart Stephani Sterrett on May 17, 2014.
McDaniel's father, Danny McDaniel, is the head football coach at
Prosper High School
Prosper High School is a class 6A public high school in Prosper, Texas, United States. It is part of Prosper Independent School District located in western Collin County, with a small portion of the district extending into Denton County. In addi ...
, and with his wife Diane, are producers for
AdvoCare
AdvoCare International, LLC is an American dietary supplement company. They are a direct sales company and a former multi-level marketing company that was charged with operating a pyramid scheme. The company, headquartered in Richardson, TX, wa ...
.
McDaniel's grandfather and great-grandfather were also head coaches at Prosper.
He has two brothers, Gavin and TJ both of whom also play running back; Gavin was a member of the
Washington Huskies
The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...
and
Azusa Pacific Cougars
The Azusa Pacific Cougars are the athletic teams that represent Azusa Pacific University, located in Azusa, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primar ...
, while TJ plays for the
SMU Mustangs
The SMU Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. The Mustangs were founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor, Rice, Texas, Texa ...
.
References
External links
Rivals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDaniel, Cam
Living people
1991 births
American football running backs
Canadian football running backs
American players of Canadian football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players
Montreal Alouettes players
Players of American football from Texas
People from Coppell, Texas
Toronto Argonauts players