Former Gamecock earns starting quarterback role at FCS school

A former South Carolina quarterback is now a starter at his new school.

Norfolk State announced on Sunday that Jalen Daniels, who started his career with the Gamecocks as a walk-on and also played at Garden City Community College in Kansas, will be the Spartans’ starting quarterback for the 2024 season.

Daniels, in his first season at Norfolk State, beat out returning starter and preseason all-conference selection Otto Kuhns for the job at the HBCU.

“He’s done a really good job throughout fall camp and got himself in the position to be the starting quarterback,” Norfolk State coach Dawson Odums said of Daniels, per The Virginian-Pilot. “I think it’s a good opportunity for him, and we’re just looking forward to see what that looks like come game day.”

Daniels, 20, started his college career at South Carolina. He was a bit of a surprise addition to a Gamecocks quarterback room, walking onto the team a month before the 2022 season as a true freshman and former three-star recruit.

Daniels joined USC partially because of his relationship with starting quarterback Spencer Rattler, with whom he shared a private quarterback coach. (Daniels transferred to a San Diego school for his senior year but, like Rattler, played most of his high school football in the Phoenix area.)

He didn’t appear in a game during his lone season with South Carolina before transferring to Garden City Community College in Kansas in January 2023.

Daniels (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) appeared in eight games for the JUCO last fall and completed 57.1% of his passes for 1,282 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also had two rushing touchdowns.

Daniels and Norfolk State, an FCS school that competes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), open their season in primetime in Week 0.

The Spartans will play Florida A&M in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on Saturday Aug. 24 in Atlanta (7:30 p.m., ABC). The game’s at Center Parc Stadium, home of Georgia State football and, once, the MLB’s Atlanta Braves.

Norfolk State also has a big Week 1 game at East Carolina.

Daniels said he was “grateful” for the opportunity.

“I’m a guy that wants to win,” he said, per the Pilot. “I don’t try and do too much. Just trust my guys, trust the play-calling, the offense. … Definitely just a winner.”