Another article about Cam that briefly mentions race. The comment section is a different story though.
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McDaniel wins player of the year award in Texas 5Afootball</h1>
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Keith Arnold
Feb 14, 2011, 1:55 PM EST
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4</span> Comments</div> </div>
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The contrarian among Notre Dame fans would look at the Irish's
recruiting class and see a running back haul that's a bit thin,
especially after the high profile defection of Justice Hayes to Michigan
and the loss of Savon Huggins to home state Rutgers.
But the Irish did reel in one running back, Coppell Texas' Cam
McDaniel, who committed on the spot to an Irish offer at the end of
November. And while skeptics look at the undersized (and white) running
back with limited big program offers, they should also take note that
McDaniel dominated competition at the highest level of Texas high school
football, no small feat.
As Brian Town of
IrishSportsDaily.com writes,
while the recruiting services might not have McDaniel ranked among the
best players in his state, he accepted the Ford Motor Company's "Built
Ford Tough Player of the Year"Â award for class 5A last night in Cowboys
Stadium.
Here's more from Town on the qualifications of the award:
<blockquote>
To be eligible for this award a player had to be
nominated once throughout the 10-week season as the "Ford Built Tough
Player of the Week."Â Then at the end of the season, Ford and its
advisory board, would choose one player from each of the classes to be
Player of the Year. The criteria for judging included:
1. The performance on the field, including significant stats from that weeks game.
2. How they contributed to their team success through their individual leadership abilities.
3. Their success off the field, including academics and community citizenship.
McDaniel was nominated in week nine of the 2010 season for his performance against Keller, in which Coppel won 56 â€" 16.
He carried the ball 20 times for 265 yards and four touchdowns (33,
79, 20 and 59 yards). He also returned a punt 80 yards for another
touchdown, giving him five in the game.
"I was a little bit surprised,"Â said McDaniel. "It was just an honor
to be there with all those guys, 55 or so tremendous athletes, I mean it
was fun.
"I'm giving all the praise and glory to God on this, he's just good
all the time. It's just a tremendous honor to be named one of the top
players in the state."Â</blockquote>
On Signing Day, running backs coach Tim Hinton mentioned he saw a lot
of Danny Woodhead in his new running back. Woodhead was passed over by
the home state Nebraska Cornhuskers and instead went on to a
record-setting career at Chardon State, where he rushed for 1,840 yards
as a freshman and left the D-II ranks as a two-time national player of
the year before breaking out this year with the New England Patriots.
Obviously, playing high school football at the highest level in Texas
is a different story than playing for North Platte High in Nebraska,
and Woodhead's exploits on the field â€" as well as his elite speed in
high school â€" probably separate him from McDaniel. That said, if the
Irish are looking for a skill player to make an impact this season, it
could come from a guy like McDaniel, who was one of the best punt
returners in Texas and could immediately bolster a punt return game that
ranked 101st in the nation.
http://irish.nbcsports.com/2011/02/14/mcdaniel-wins-player-of-the-year-award-in-texas-5a-football/
