Inside The Chart: Storm Chaser

Storm Chaser: Once a reluctant cornerback, Omar Daniels has grown into an ACC Defensive Back of the Week for Georgia Tech – with a knack for making fierce open field tackles.

Inside The Chart | By Andy Demetra (The Voice of the Yellow Jackets)

Omar Daniels made sure that Georgia Tech’s latest field storming would be a family affair.

As white-clad fans spilled from all sides onto Hyundai Field, engulfing the Yellow Jackets after their 24-21 win over No. 12 Clemson, the redshirt senior safety waded through the chaos toward the west stands. There, he found his dad, Anterrio, mom, Umeko Kinsey, and grandma, Erica Kinsey, and brought them onto the field to join the celebration.

Yes, even Grandma got in on the field storming.

“She had to take her time getting down. We had to help her out a lot,” Daniels laughed.

“She was like, ‘That’s my baby! That’s my baby!’ Yeah, I helped Grams down, took some pictures. She enjoyed it for sure,” he added.

Why wouldn’t she? Her grandson finished with seven tackles, a forced fumble and his first career interception in the Yellow Jackets’ takedown of the defending ACC champions. The performance earned Daniels both the ACC Defensive Back of the Week and the Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week (honoring the nation’s top defensive player) awards.

After predominantly playing nickel the last two seasons, the Moultrie, Ga., native has emerged as one of the breakout players of Georgia Tech’s 3-0 start, with a knack for making punishing open field hits.

“It’s named safety for reason,” said defensive coordinator Blake Gideon, a 52-game starter at that position for the University of Texas.

“Being able to correct people’s mistakes on the fly and not let a bad play turn into a disaster, that’s a huge component of playing safety. Omar’s doing that right now.”

“If we’re out of our gap, he comes down there and makes it right. And when he makes it right, he makes it right. He comes down there and actually thumps something,” added linebacker Kyle Efford.

He couldn’t quite cap his day with a pick-six – some untimely cramping on the runback thwarted that – but when Daniels saw Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik run an RPO at the Tech 9-yard line early in the third quarter, he drew on a pair of goal-line plays from earlier in his career to sniff out a potential interception.

“I saw him pull (the mesh), which is crazy because I’ve had this play three years in a row,” Daniels noted. “My first year here, Ole Miss, I tipped it. Last year, we played Duke. I tipped it. This year I was finally able to catch the ball.”

That led to a deluge of messages in the days that followed, including a call from his position coach at Colquitt County High School, Dextra Polite – a former all-ACC defensive back at Clemson.

Any sadness over his alma mater losing was dwarfed by the pride he felt for his former pupil.

“I’ve just been smiling all day long thinking about the plays he made,” said Polite, who starred at Clemson from 1997-99. “That’s typical Omar, just making play after play, making things happen for the team. He’s doing exactly what he’s been doing since I’ve known him.”

“He always prepared me for big moments. It was nothing new,” Daniels added.

Yet in high school, the 6-foot, 195-pounder admits he was a reluctant defensive back. Daniels played wide receiver his first two years at Colquitt County and had started to garner recruiting attention. He planned on suiting up there as a junior when injuries forced Colquitt’s coaches to make a change during preseason camp.

“Two weeks before the first game, I got called into the office. I thought I was in trouble. I got told I was going to have to play cornerback for a little bit,” he recalled.

He figured it would be a temporary deployment.

“I was there for about a week. I was like, ‘Am I going back to receiver?’ They were like, ‘No, you seem natural there,’” Daniels said.

“I’ve been watching him since elementary school. He’s very competitive, and he’s a straight athlete,” said Polite.

He’d learn quickly whether he had the chops for it: Colquitt County opened the season in the Corky Kell Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Gwinnett County powerhouse North Gwinnett. Daniels was matched up against wide receiver Josh Downs, a future all-ACC player at North Carolina who would later be taken in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

“I went out and had a forced fumble and about five or six tackles and one TFL (tackle for loss). It was definitely a game to remember,” Daniels said.

It also signaled the end of his wide receiver career.

After two seasons at Kansas State, Daniels signed with Georgia Tech in the spring of 2023. He earned his first career start at nickel back against No. 17 North Carolina that fall (another game that ended in a field storming). He turned heads further when he logged a team-high eight tackles in Tech’s defeat of previously unbeaten No. 4 Miami in 2024.

(Apparently, like a drop in barometric pressure, a productive day from Daniels against a ranked ACC opponent is a sign of a field storm approaching at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field.)

Going into the season, he was poised to take over the starting safety job from the graduated LaMiles Brooks, a veteran of 29 starts, though the arrival of Gideon brought no promises he would pick up his system – or even be suited for it.

Instead, Gideon saw a player determined to enter his final year as prepared as possible.

“Omar has humbled himself. As a senior guy, that’s harder than we give credit to sometimes. ‘Hey, I’ve done this for three, four years in college already. I’m set in my ways. I know what to do.’ He’s turned himself back into a student to learn a new system, learn a new way of doing things. A player’s ability to allow himself to be coached is so underrated. That’s what he’s done. And he’s elevated his game every day,” Gideon said.

His head coach acknowledges that he still has plenty to clean up, though he’s also seen plenty of growth.

“He’s matured a ton. Really happy for him as a young man, not just on the field, but off the field. He’s more vocal than he has been in the past. When you’re vocal, it means you’re confident,” Brent Key said.

Omar Daniels (9) celebrates with Jy Gilmore (14) following Daniels’ forced fumble that led to Georgia Tech’s first points in its 24-21 win over No. 12/11 Clemson last Saturday (Danny Karnik photo)

With an award-winning performance against Clemson, Daniels has even more reason to feel confident heading into No. 18/19 Georgia Tech’s matchup against Temple at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (4:30 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network). After wearing No. 21 to begin his Tech career, Daniels decided to bring his uniform full circle for his final season. He’s now patrolling the field wearing No. 9, the same number he wore as a junior at Colquitt County when he first switched to defensive back. He modeled the number in a social media video that Georgia Tech posted on Thursday to unveil its new grey uniform set, which will debut against the Owls.

He appreciated the impromptu family gathering after the Clemson game. But another field storming visit with Grandma will have to wait.

“It was a great memory,” Daniels said, “but it’s time for the next game.”