MILLEDGEVILLE — If D.J. Daniel had qualified to play major college football coming out of high school, his choice would have been to sign with Georgia.
That was just all he knew.
It was the team all his family and friends growing up in Griffin and Spalding High School knew. That was the feeling even before the Bulldogs began to ascend as a national power under third-year coach Kirby Smart.
The 4-star junior college cornerback got another chance at that on Thursday from his current home at Georgia Military College.
The choice? It was not Georgia, but the school which offered him before the Bulldogs did earlier this year.
South Carolina fans are happy about this one.
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“I wanted to go to South Carolina because I wanted to go there,” Daniel said. “There wasn’t anybody that influenced me (to go) there.
The Bulldogs wound up as the runner-up school this time.
Breaking down the D.J. Daniel decision
Daniel made his decision in front of friends and family at a gathering inside The Bulldog Room at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville.
If he had made this choice about two months ago, he told DawgNation he would have picked South Carolina. But then he said his choice back on July 16 would have likely been Georgia.
It was a back-and-forth to the end for the talented defensive back.
“This was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life,” Daniel said on Thursday.
The 6-foot, 185 pounder rates as the nation’s No. 2 junior college cornerback and the No. 5 overall prospect per 247 Sports.
Last season, Daniel had 26 tackles and 3 interceptions for Georgia Military College.
The Griffin resident did not qualify coming out of Spalding High School in 2017 and had to go the junior college route.
Daniel plans to graduate this December. He will enroll in January of 2019.
