By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mike Daniels walked off the Nippert Stadium practice field at 11:30 a.m. Friday. On his second day of football practice at the University of Cincinnati, he already had been on the go since 6 a.m. And his day was just beginning.

It would be nearly 10 p.m. before he was finished with his responsibilities. With a 10:30 curfew, that doesn't leave a lot of free time.

"It's a lot different," said Daniels, The Enquirer/Channel 9 Prep Football Player of the Year in 2002. "In high school, you were done by 1 o'clock in the afternoon and we had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves."

As it is for most freshmen during the first days of fall camp, everything seems a bit foreign to Daniels, the Princeton High School product who led the area in passing with 2,569 yards last year and finished second among Division I players in rushing with 1,387 yards.

The best prep quarterback in town last year is now a college freshman wide receiver, struggling to learn a new position at a new level.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," Daniels said, "but it can also be frustrating when you've got seniors who know the system. They know how to do things better than you. You know you'll end up being better than them one day, but right now you're not, and it's frustrating."

Daniels may not be the most celebrated of UC's incoming recruits, but he's certainly one of the most interesting. At 5 feet 7, 185 pounds, he was considered too small to play quarterback on the Division I-A level by most schools, although he said Bowling Green offered him a chance to play that position. But he chose UC, even if it meant moving to wide receiver.

Now he's not only learning a new position, he's adjusting to the fact that he's no longer the focal point of everything his team does on offense, as he was at Princeton. The UC coaching staff envisions him as a kick returner and a slot receiver. In time, after he learns his new position, he might get to play a little quarterback.

But for now, he's one of a slew of newcomers trying to earn some playing time. It's too early to determine how much he'll play this season, but his quickness and elusiveness are attributes offensive coaches love.

"He can make plays," said Rusty Burns, UC's offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. "He's not a linear guy who's going to be outside, but he's a quick guy. He's got instant speed. His first two steps are faster than anything. You can see it. He's explosive. He's a guy you just try to throw a bubble screen (to), try to get him the ball and let him take it."

Daniels arrives at UC loaded with expectations after a high school career that had longtime prep coaches calling him the best player they had seen in Cincinnati.

"I know I have a little more expectations than some people because of what I did in high school," Daniels said. "But they can't really expect too much of me until I get some repetitions under my belt."

But then Daniels has always thrived on a challenge. He has a built-in will to excel that may stem from his small stature.

"During grade school, I was average size," he said. "But then everybody else started shooting up, and I was staying where I was. I knew I was going to be small, but I didn't know I was going to be that small compared to the average college size.

"I'm always getting underestimated. That's how I always prevail. They think, 'He's small. He can't do nothing.' But then when the game comes, they see me running the ball all across the field and they're like, 'He's pretty good.' "

That's what the UC coaching staff is eager to see.

"He's just a raw talent," Burns said. "He's strong and he's quick. We've just got to smooth him out and he'll get better and better. He's just a guy who has an uncanny ability to make you miss. It's not that he's faster than everybody else. He really isn't. But he's quicker than anything I've ever seen."