Central’s dominant running back tradition marches on with Texas A&M-bound Amari Daniels
Sometimes one play — even in practice — encapsulates what a player is all about.
Longtime recruiting analyst Charles Fishbein saw such a moment in recent years when observing Miami Central running back Amari Daniels during practice.
“I remember one of [Central’s] offensive coaches told one of their linebackers, ‘Hey listen, I’m gonna have Amari come block you on this play so get ready,’” said Fishbein, the director of Elite Scouting Service. “Then he told Amari to go do his thing. They start the play and I swear Amari almost broke the kid in half. I was like, OK, this tells you something about this kid. The [linebacker] knew it was coming and still couldn’t do anything about it. He has that old school mentality where he knows it’s you or me and he’s going through you.”
Defenders have often paid such a price when trying to slow down the diminutive, yet powerful 5-8 Daniels over the past four years.
Daniels, who on Wednesday signed a letter of intent with national power Texas A&M, has joined the storied legacy of Central running backs that includes Dalvin Cook, Elvis Peacock, Devonta Freeman, Willis McGahee and Joe Yearby.
But Daniels, who has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in each of the Rockets’ four playoff games, wants to make one more impact when he tries to lead Central to its second consecutive Class 6A state title on Friday against Lake Minneola at 1 p.m. in Tallahassee.
“Here at Central, we like to call ourselves ‘Running Back High’ so if you’re the top back, it can help you get to the next level,” Central coach Roland Smith said. “Amari isn’t a big back but he packs a big wallop when he hits. He’s got big, strong legs and he’s hard to bring down on first contact.”
As a freshman, Daniels quickly showed off his skills putting up big numbers against some of the country’s elite competition such as Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) and IMG Academy.
And he did so despite Central sharing its backfield among Daniels and four other running backs that season.
Daniels transferred to Jackson where his father, Scott, coached during his sophomore season but returned to the Rockets last season.
In the state final against Pensacola Escambia, Daniels was one of three tailbacks to rush for over 100 yards in a 62-27 rout. But this season, Daniels has been Central’s workhorse.
Among his playoff highlights were a 112-yard, two-touchdown performance against Fort Myers Dunbar and a 111-yard output last week capped by a 51-yard fourth quarter touchdown against Bradenton Palmetto, which stacked the box in an attempt to limit Central’s running game.
The effort backfired as it opened up the Rockets’ passing attack and allowed Keyone Jenkins to throw six touchdown passes in a 47-20 victory.
Daniels signed with the Aggies on Wednesday along with teammate Yulkeith Brown, a four-star recruit ranked 20th nationally among athletes per 247Sports.com.
With Isaiah Spiller heading into his junior season in 2021, Daniels will join the Aggies’ wave of underclassmen who will compete to become the featured back over the next few years.
“He reminds me of [former Carol City tailback] Nay’quan Wright because he’s a similar hard runner,” longtime recruiting analyst Larry Blustein said. “He’s got great acceleration and can catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s what Tyrone Moss used to be from his waist to his calves you might as well not try to tackle him there because you’ll just bounce off.
“He’s a big time runner that’s going to take the SEC by storm.”
Boys’ basketball
▪ Braddock 60, Varela 48: Braddock: Torres 18, Gonzalez 9, Santos 9, Paz 9, Willams 6, Perez 4, Sanchez 3, Bensallam 2. Varela: Morante 16, Fernandez 8, Vera 7, Lacaci 6, Costa 5, Witt 3, Angulo 2, Summers 1. Braddock: 3’s- Torres 4, Williams, 1, Paz, 1, Sanchez 1. Braddock Rebounds: Santos 10, Perez 7, Paz 5. Braddock Asst: Paz 4, Gonzalez 4, Santos 3. Braddock Steals: Paz 5, Santos 3, Gonzalez 2.
Girls’ basketball
▪ Krop (3-1) 60, Mater Lakes 55: Lindsey Weingard 28 points, 5 steals, 5 assists, 8 three-pointers (ties school record); Lauryn Hornstein 14 points, 5 assists; Emmy Mills 11 points, 10 rebounds; Neyida Michel 11 rebounds.
Mater Lakes was led by Kalia Harington with 20 points and Kaylee Llanos with 16 points.
Krop GBB 3-1
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 2:22 PM.