Danny Kanell
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Daniel Kanell (born November 21, 1973) is a former professional
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) and
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
who is currently employed by
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...
, along with
Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports ...
and
SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sa ...
. He was formerly employed by
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%). Th ...
as an analyst and host on the ''
Russillo and Kanell ''The Ryen Russillo Show'' was a syndicated sports talk radio show hosted by Ryen Russillo. It was a part of ESPN Radio from 1 pm to 4pm, with all three hours also simulcasted on ESPNews. On April 26, 2017 Danny Kanell was let go by ESPN a ...
'' show on ESPN Radio. He was also the host of ESPNU's late-night sports and humor show UNITE before the show was canceled in June 2013. He would also appear on ESPN's new College Football Playoff Selection Show alongside
Rece Davis Rece Davis (born }) is an American sports television journalist for ESPN/ ABC. Davis works as an anchor on '' SportsCenter'' and serves as host of various other programs on the network, including '' College GameDay'' football road show and ba ...
, Joey Galloway, and
Kirk Herbstreit Kirk Edward Herbstreit (; born August 19, 1969) is an American sportscaster and former college football player. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's '' College GameDay'', a television program covering college football, and he also provides color ...
. His career with
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%). Th ...
ended on April 26, 2017.


College career

He attended Florida State University, where he played
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for four years. In 1992, as a freshman, Kanell won the job of backing up starter
Charlie Ward Charlie Ward Jr. (born October 12, 1970) is a former American professional basketball player. Ward was an exceptional football player as well, winning the Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien Award, and College Football National Championship while quart ...
, the team's first freshman backup since Chip Ferguson in 1985. After doing well in occasional backup play, he won the job again as a sophomore in 1993, despite increased competition. The team later moved to alternating between Kanell and fellow sophomore Jon Stark as backups, though Kanell was given the start when Florida State held out Ward against
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
due to bruised ribs and Kanell responded by completing 28 of 38 passes for 341 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions. Overall that year, he threw for 499 yards with 7 TD vs. 0 INT while backing up Ward, who won the Heisman Trophy,
Davey O'Brien Robert David O'Brien (June 22, 1917 – November 18, 1977) was an American football quarterback. He played college football at Texas Christian University (TCU) and professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagle ...
, Maxwell, and
Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...
Awards that year. In his junior year, he threw for 2,781 yards with 17 TD vs 13 INT on 380 pass attempts. He was a part of the famous Choke at Doak game against
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, where he led
Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
back from a 31-3 fourth quarter deficit to tie the game. He then beat Florida in the rematch at the Sugar Bowl dubbed the "Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter", finishing the year with a 10–1–1 record. In his senior year (1995), he threw for 2,957 yards with 32 TD vs 13 INT on 402 pass attempts. He led the team to a 10–2 record, including a win over Notre Dame in the 1996 Orange Bowl. He was given an "honorable mention" in the
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n list of his senior year. He was also the starting quarterback for Florida State's first loss to an ACC opponent, as the Virginia Cavaliers defeated Florida State 33-28 on November 2, 1995. While throwing for more than 450 yards during the game, Kanell also threw 3 interceptions and completed less than 50% of his passes. One of those interceptions was thrown at the Virginia 2 yard line late in the first half. During his career at the university he played in 35 games and completed 62.2% of his 851 pass attempts. He threw for 6,372 yards, 57
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s (at the time a school record) and 26
interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...
s over his four years as a
Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...
. He also ran for one touchdown and managed to catch one pass for a loss of three yards. In September 2012 Kanell was inducted into the Florida State Athletic Hall of Fame. Kanell also played
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
during his freshman and sophomore years, playing in seven games over the two seasons. He was drafted in the 25th round by the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
in the
1993 Major League Baseball Draft The 1993 Major League Baseball draft began with first round selections on June 3, 1993. Alex Rodriguez was selected first overall by the Seattle Mariners. Other notable draftees included Chris Carpenter, Torii Hunter, Jason Varitek, Scott Rol ...
.


Professional career

Kanell was drafted by the New York Giants in the fourth round (135th overall) in the 1996 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut later that season. The next season in New York, Kanell became the starter and played the last ten games of the 1997 season, leading the Giants to the NFC Eastern Division title. In those ten games he threw for 1,740 yards with eleven touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Giants played in the
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...
against the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
but lost 23–22. Kanell went 13/32 with 199 yards and one touchdown in that game. The following year, Kanell started all ten games he played in while throwing for 1,303 yards, eleven touchdowns and ten interceptions. With a record of 3–7 at that point, the Giants benched Kanell in favor of
Kent Graham Kent Douglas Graham (born November 1, 1968) is a former American football quarterback. Graham played quarterback at the University of Notre Dame before transferring to Ohio State University. After his college football career, Graham had a lengt ...
, who led the Giants to a 5–1 record down the stretch and an 8–8 finish. At the end of the season the Giants signed
Kerry Collins Kerry Michael Collins (born December 30, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, ...
from the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
and cut Kanell to make enough
salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...
room to pay Collins' salary. In the off season Kanell found a home with the Atlanta Falcons as a backup to their oft injured starting quarterback Chris Chandler. He played in Atlanta for two years, starting two games and playing in eight. As a Falcon he completed 99 of 200 attempted passes for a total of 1,117 yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions. At the end of the 2000 season he was cut by the Falcons and did not sign with another team. A year later, Kanell signed with the
New York Dragons The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division. The team was founded i ...
of the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
for the 2002 season, appearing in four games in Aaron Garcia's absence. Following that, he was signed during training camp by the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
. He made the roster as the third-string quarterback in Denver but was let go shortly through the season. Seven games into the season, starting quarterback
Jake Plummer Jason Steven "Jake" Plummer (born December 19, 1974) is a former professional American football player, a quarterback for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 1997 ...
and backup quarterback
Steve Beuerlein Stephen Taylor Beuerlein (born March 7, 1965) is a former American football quarterback, and is currently an NFL and college football analyst for CBS. High school career In his senior year, Beuerlein led Anaheim's Servite High School to the C ...
suffered foot and hand injuries, respectively. Kanell was recalled to the Broncos and started two games until Beuerlein and Plummer returned. He threw two touchdowns and five interceptions on 103 pass attempts. Kanell remained with the Broncos for one more year as the backup to Plummer. He never played, as Plummer became the first Broncos quarterback in franchise history to take every offensive snap. After the 2004 season, he was cut by the Broncos and was not picked up by another NFL team.


Baseball career

Kanell was drafted out of high school by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 19th round, and after his junior year at Florida State by the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
in the 25th round. However, he saw football as more important and signed with the New York Giants when he was drafted in 1996. During a layoff from football in 2001, Kanell returned to baseball, playing in the
minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...
for the Atlantic League's
Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...
. He played at first base,
third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
and
designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...
, hitting for a .237 average with one home run in 79 plate appearances for the Bears. Kanell said he wanted to eventually play for the Yankees, as he had grown up idolizing Yankees first baseman
Don Mattingly Donald Arthur Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed ...
.


Broadcasting career

Kanell was employed at
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%). Th ...
, during which he hosted ESPNU's, ''UNITE'' and served as color analyst for Friday Night college football games and college baseball. Kanell made several guest appearances on ESPN Radio's ''SVP (
Scott Van Pelt Scott Van Pelt (born ) is an American sportscaster and sports talk show host. He co-anchored the 11 p.m. edition of ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN, served as the co-host of '' SVP & Russillo'' alongside Ryen Russillo on ESPN Radio, and hosts various ...
) & Russillo''. It was announced that he would co-host The Russillo Show full-time after frequent guest appearances. Starting in September 2015, Kanell took on his role as co-host to the new show ''
Russillo and Kanell ''The Ryen Russillo Show'' was a syndicated sports talk radio show hosted by Ryen Russillo. It was a part of ESPN Radio from 1 pm to 4pm, with all three hours also simulcasted on ESPNews. On April 26, 2017 Danny Kanell was let go by ESPN a ...
''. On April 26, 2017, Kanell was among approximately 100 staffers let go by ESPN in a cost-cutting measure. On August 28, 2017, Kanell joined
Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports ...
as a college football analyst, and became the host of his own radio show on
SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sa ...
. In 2018, he began hosting ‘Dog Day Sports’ with Steve Torre on
Mad Dog Sports Radio Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ...
, SiriusXM channel 82.


See also

*
History of the New York Giants (1994-present) The New York Giants, an American football team which currently plays in the National Football League's National Football Conference, has a history dating back more than 80 seasons. The Giants have won 4 Super Bowls and drafted, Daniel Jones, in ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanell, Danny 1973 births Living people American football quarterbacks Atlanta Falcons players College football announcers Denver Broncos players Florida State Seminoles football players Florida State University alumni Newark Bears players New York Giants players Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida New York Dragons players Baseball players from Florida Florida State Seminoles baseball players