The show Naperville Central put on 15 years ago on the campus of the University of Illinois in a 56-31 victory over Schaumburg in the 1999 Class 6A state title game begged a single question.
Could they do it again?
With guys like Owen Daniels, Kevin Noel, Joe Alvarez, Ryan Amberson, Drew Kocsis and Luke Summers back to help lead the 2000 team as seniors, the expectation of making a run towards a repeat in Class 6A were heavy.
But Daniels, because of a torn ACL suffered in a 43-0 shutout victory at West Chicago in Week 3, wouldn’t be there for most of his senior season that saw Naperville Central go undefeated and stay atop the state rankings up until getting upset by Naperville North, 36-33, at home in a state quarterfinal.
For Daniels, who threw 16 touchdowns with just one interception as a junior during the 1999 season, tearing his ACL definitely changed the path he had seen himself taking before matriculating to Wisconsin.
“That’s not the script I would’ve written. Obviously, things happen for a reason and we had big plans, obviously, to repeat that next year,” Daniels said. “We thought we had a really good squad coming back (in 2000), a lot of contributors from the year before and some new guys stepping in. I think, without a doubt, if we had stayed healthy—we had some injuries on the defensive side of the ball, too, with Ryan Amberson getting hurt and Drew (Kocsis) and Luke (Summers). All those guys, man. They probably could have gotten it done without me, with how good our defense was.
“But I mean, that was obviously disappointing, not being able to finish out the season and play with the guys. Obviously, that’s tough to watch, it being your senior year and (not) come up the way we did the year before. But you’ve got to find lessons and silver linings and things and it kind of gave me some time to get my leg strong and then I was thinking I was going to be the next guy at Wisconsin to play quarterback and things didn’t go like I planned there and they had other ideas.”
Fast forward 13 years and Daniels is in his ninth year in the NFL as a tight end, a position change necessitated by a second ACL tear at Wisconsin and his desire just to play.
After spending his first eight seasons with the Houston Texans, which selected him with the 98th overall selection in the 2006 NFL Draft, he’s nearing the conclusion of his first year with the Baltimore Ravens.
With Dennis Pitta being lost for the season in Week 3, he’s seeing more action than he anticipated when he received interest from the Packers, Redskins and Patriots before rejoining Ravens’ offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, who was his head coach at Houston.
Hauling in 37 receptions for 355 yards and three TDs through Baltimore’s first 12 games, Daniels made an impact early on during the Ravens’ 26-6 victory over the Steelers in Week 2, which saw him grab two touchdown passes from Joe Flacco.
“I’m having a lot of fun, honestly. That was kind of my whole goal going into this was going to a new city, making the most of it and just having fun doing what I’m doing,” he said. “So obviously, I’m playing with a great quarterback (Flacco) and one of the best receivers to do it all time (Steve Smith). I’m learning a lot from those guys.
“Last year, I missed time. I broke my leg. It wasn’t like a disgusting break or anything, but that put me out. I was trying to get back at the end of the season, but I just couldn’t quite do it. At the time, it was kind of bad. But I’m feeling great this year. I think I’ve been trying to play as well as I can.”
Through the Ravens’ 34-33 loss to the Chargers on Nov. 30, Daniels holds the longest active streak of any NFL tight end with 99 consecutive games with at least one reception
2015 NCHS Hall of Fame
While he has been putting in work over the course of the last nine years with the Texans and Ravens, his alma mater back in Naperville isn’t ever far from his mind, especially now with the news he’ll be inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame as part of its 2015 class in January.
His two younger brothers, Harrison and Hayden, following in his footsteps by suiting up for the Redhawks helped him keep track of the program he led to its first state title in 1999.
With the advent of social media, Daniels was able to keep tabs on Jake Kolbe and company as the Redhawks went on an unexpected run to the Class 8A state title last year.
Despite the 2014 Redhawks also falling short of doing what Daniels and his teammates couldn’t do in 2000, repeat, losing in a state quarterfinal like the 2000 team did, he’ll always be watching his alma mater closely.
“I’m Hawks, baby! Hawks for life, you know,” he quipped.
