ATL Standard

Mike Daniels is the Yellow Jackets’ new running backs coach, according to an announcement from Georgia Tech head football coach Geoff Collins. 

According to a university-issued press release, Daniels previously coached at the University of Buffalo, where he helped field one of the nation’s top-30 rushing offenses in 2021.

“I’m thrilled to add Mike Daniels to our staff as running backs coach,” Collins said on team's website. “He has put his players in positions for great success everywhere that he has coached, and I’m looking forward to him doing the same with our talented group of running backs here on The Flats."

As Buffalo’s running backs coach, Daniels oversaw a stable that generated 195.4 yards per game in rushing offense in 2021, which was good for 29th in the nation, the release said.

The trio of Dylan McDuffie, Ron Cook Jr. and Kevin Marks Jr. scampered for at least 400 yards each and combined for 1,903 rushing yards, 2,283 total yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns on the season, with McDuffie chipping in 1,049 yards and 11 touchdowns to become the Bulls’ leading rushing this past season.

McDuffie, a Buffalo, New York, native, is among the cadre of Bulls who landed on the All-Mid-American Conference.

A native of Cincinnati and a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Daniels’s coaching career dates back to 2008 when he started as a tight ends coach at Alcorn State.

His résumé shows stints with Cincinnati, Kennesaw State and two high schools in addition to Buffalo, where he also was the program’s recruiting coordinator.

Daniels replaces Tashard Choice, who originally departed GT for USC before landing the job at the University of Texas as the Longhorns’ new running backs coach.

It’s the third time Daniels, a former collegiate running back and wide receiver, has coached in the state of Georgia. From 2011-12, Daniels was the running backs coach and offensive coordinator (2013) at Statesboro High School, and then was wide receivers coach at Kennesaw State from 2014-16.