Post by 50yardfan on Jul 9, 2011 14:38:03 GMT -5
Columbus Lions defensive back Damian Daniels, a former Shaw star, named 2011 SIFL Defensive MVP
www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/07/09/1650673/columbus-lions-defensive-back.html
Damian Daniels’ first league defensive MVP award proved he could climb to the top. The next three were about proving to himself he could stay there, Daniels said Friday after the Southern Indoor Football League named him its 2011 SIFL Defensive MVP.
“After that first year I won it, I felt like it was always a goal of mine to repeat or top the previous season I had,” said Daniels, a former Shaw standout, who won the same award in 2010 and was named the American Indoor Football League’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009. “I felt the pressure on myself to do that.
“After the first one, people started expecting it of me and saying I could do it again, and I wanted to go out and prove everyone right and show it wasn’t a fluke.”
ROBIN TRIMARCHI rtrimarchi@ledger-enquirer.com Defensive back Damian Daniels of the Columbus Lions. 06.16.11
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Daniels has now won a league MVP award in four of his five professional seasons and is among seven Lions named to the All-SIFL Team, which was released Thursday evening. Columbus placed a league-best five of those players on the first team. They are Daniels, offensive lineman Dion Small, kicker Trey Crum, linebacker Justen Rivers and kick returner Anthony Merritt. Columbus wide receiver Gerald Gales and defensive lineman Chris Bradwell were named second-team selections.
The Houston Stallions are the only other team to place seven players on the All-SIFL Team, but no team had as many first-team selections as Columbus.
“Our talent is just one of the things we pride ourselves on,” Daniels said. “We feel every year we have the most talent and are one of the best teams in the league, and this shows we have been.”
Adding to the prestige is the fact that it was decided by coaches rather than league executives and team owners, Lions coach Jason Gibson said.
“It’s rewarding for our guys because, for once, the coaches voted on this,” Gibson said. “That means the most when coaches or other players vote on you. When you get (general managers) and owners picking the team, I don’t think it’s as accurate. With coaches voting, it has a lot more weight.”
The 2011 season was Daniels’ best. He had a career- and league-high 18 interceptions, including four in a key late-season game against the eventual SIFL champion Albany Panthers.
“This guy just gets better with age,” Gibson said of Daniels. “He’s not racking up interceptions in replacement games, either. He’s doing it against teams like Albany and Richmond, who are some of the best-quality teams in the league. He really amazed me this year.”
Daniels said the award removed some of the disappointment over the Lions’ loss to Albany in the Eastern Conference championship game and said he had not yet decided if he will return for the 2012 season.
“Right now, I just can’t say what I’ll do,” Daniels said. “It’s just too early to call.”
www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/07/09/1650673/columbus-lions-defensive-back.html
Damian Daniels’ first league defensive MVP award proved he could climb to the top. The next three were about proving to himself he could stay there, Daniels said Friday after the Southern Indoor Football League named him its 2011 SIFL Defensive MVP.
“After that first year I won it, I felt like it was always a goal of mine to repeat or top the previous season I had,” said Daniels, a former Shaw standout, who won the same award in 2010 and was named the American Indoor Football League’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009. “I felt the pressure on myself to do that.
“After the first one, people started expecting it of me and saying I could do it again, and I wanted to go out and prove everyone right and show it wasn’t a fluke.”
ROBIN TRIMARCHI rtrimarchi@ledger-enquirer.com Defensive back Damian Daniels of the Columbus Lions. 06.16.11
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Daniels has now won a league MVP award in four of his five professional seasons and is among seven Lions named to the All-SIFL Team, which was released Thursday evening. Columbus placed a league-best five of those players on the first team. They are Daniels, offensive lineman Dion Small, kicker Trey Crum, linebacker Justen Rivers and kick returner Anthony Merritt. Columbus wide receiver Gerald Gales and defensive lineman Chris Bradwell were named second-team selections.
The Houston Stallions are the only other team to place seven players on the All-SIFL Team, but no team had as many first-team selections as Columbus.
“Our talent is just one of the things we pride ourselves on,” Daniels said. “We feel every year we have the most talent and are one of the best teams in the league, and this shows we have been.”
Adding to the prestige is the fact that it was decided by coaches rather than league executives and team owners, Lions coach Jason Gibson said.
“It’s rewarding for our guys because, for once, the coaches voted on this,” Gibson said. “That means the most when coaches or other players vote on you. When you get (general managers) and owners picking the team, I don’t think it’s as accurate. With coaches voting, it has a lot more weight.”
The 2011 season was Daniels’ best. He had a career- and league-high 18 interceptions, including four in a key late-season game against the eventual SIFL champion Albany Panthers.
“This guy just gets better with age,” Gibson said of Daniels. “He’s not racking up interceptions in replacement games, either. He’s doing it against teams like Albany and Richmond, who are some of the best-quality teams in the league. He really amazed me this year.”
Daniels said the award removed some of the disappointment over the Lions’ loss to Albany in the Eastern Conference championship game and said he had not yet decided if he will return for the 2012 season.
“Right now, I just can’t say what I’ll do,” Daniels said. “It’s just too early to call.”