Roderick Daniels Jr.'s loyalty leads SMU receiver to CFP
SMU WR Roderick Daniels Jr.'s journey to the CFP
SMU's rise in the college football ranks has been, in part, due to keeping Dallas' best football talent in Dallas. Former Duncanville star Roderick Daniels' Jr. talked about his up and down journey to SMU as the team prepares to set foot on the field against Penn State in its first ever College Football Playoff game.
DALLAS - On Saturday, the SMU Mustangs will play their first-ever game in the College Football Playoff.
Part of the big push by SMU's football program over the last several years has been to keep Dallas' best football talent in Dallas.
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SMU (11-2) and Penn State (11-2) will square off in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday.
A look up and down the Mustangs roster shows players from several local schools, including former Duncanville Panther Roderick Daniels Jr.
Daniels Jr. decided to stay loyal to his city, even after enduring some of the hardest moments of his life right in Dallas.
"It can't be dark forever, there has to be some light somewhere," Daniels said.
The wide receiver helped SMU script its run to this year's College Football Playoff, but Daniels Jr. has his own story tattooed all over his arms.
During his sophomore year, Daniels got an NFL tattoo, but those three letters represent more than just football to Roderick. They also serve as the family motto.
"Never forget loyalty," he explained.
Daniels has stayed loyal in football and family.
He refused to abandon the father who was not away there for him.
"He was in and out of jail," Daniels recalled.
A tattoo of his father's face is now on the outside of Daniels Jr.'s right forearm, and he now carries his name into the College Football Playoff with pride.
"It means a lot just to be able to live out that name," Daniels said.
His mom, Aisha Moore, is tattooed on the inside of his right forearm, because she never left his side.
Moore was a single mother of five boys struggling to make ends meet.
"There were different shortages on a lot of things. Even sometimes like where we were staying at or if we were able to cover some bills or lights or water," Daniels recalled.
As the oldest son, Daniels took on the responsibility of making sure his younger brothers were ready for school to help take some of the strain off of his mother.
Football offered hope to Roderick.
He attended Duncanville High School, where he played for a state title. Despite offers to several schools, Daniels Jr. chose to play for SMU and then head coach Sonny Dykes.
A year later, Dykes had left for TCU and had been replaced by new head coach Rhett Lashlee.
Three games into the 2022 season, Daniels was not clicking in Lashlee's SMU offense. It was at that time that Daniels lost his dad.
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 19: Roderick Daniels Jr. #13 of the Southern Methodist Mustangs looks on against the Stanford Cardinal during the third quarter at Stanford Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Hende
"It was just a freak accident. He passed in his sleep," Daniels Jr. recalled.
The loss was a breaking point. Daniels stepped away from the team and thought about transferring after sitting out four games for SMU.
Daniels Jr. remembered that family motto, never forget loyalty, and knew he had to come back.
"I knew that's exactly what my dad would probably do," said Daniels.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 07: Roderick Daniels Jr. #13 of the SMU Mustangs catches a touchdown during the fourth quar of the 2024 ACC Football Championship at Bank of America Stadium on December 07, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Phot
Now in his fourth and final year of college eligibility, Roderick is close to ending his commitment to Mustang football.
Daniels Jr. is hopeful that his time at SMU will end with four more wins and a championship celebration. The thought seemed incomprehensible when he first stepped on campus.
"No one ever thought SMU would be playing in the College Football Playoffs," he said. "It shows a lot of kids from Dallas that you don't have to go elsewhere to show your talent. If you want to stay in Dallas, stay home, be around your family and play big time football. You definitely can at SMU."