Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – There was a lot for Levi Daniel to learn last fall in his first year at Regina.

Daniel had to pick up a new offensive system, understand a complex Regina defense while adapting to an overall different way of doing things.

“When I came in here last year I knew next to nothing about what Regina did on offense or defense,” Daniel said. “When I got here it was a little slow off the start but I started picking stuff up.”

Grading off the statistical sheet Daniel passed his first-year football exam with flying colors.

Daniel rushed for more than 1,033 yards and 14 touchdowns in eight games and ranked fifth on the team with 29.5 tackles as a two-way starter helping Regina to a 9-1 record.

After a year of learning Daniel returns to the Regina lineup not as a first-year player trying to get up to speed but as a leader and is ready to build on his success of last season

“He is bigger, stronger, faster than he was last year and he’s been in the system now,” Regina coach Jason Dumont said. “Now we are hitting the practice field and he knows what he is doing which is a huge advantage for him because now he can just go play and work on the finer points of the game.”

Daniel spent last fall playing catchup on the Regina playbook while opponents tried to keep up with Daniel on Friday nights.

In his Regina debut Daniel rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown in a win over Williamsburg.

Daniel rushed for at least 128 yards and a touchdown in each of his first six games last season.

As a linebacker Daniel ranked fifth on the team with 29.5 tackles and intercepted a pass last fall.

Not bad for a player trying to learn the system on the fly.

“Last season there was a lot for him to learn and we were throwing a lot at him especially on defense,” Dumont said. “The good thing is the system doesn’t change a lot and so now Levi knows what to expect and we don’t have to slow down and teach it. Hopefully that results in less busted plays and he can just go play and make tackles.”

After playing catchup last season Daniel spent the offseason getting ahead of the game.

He packed close to 20 pounds onto his 6-foot-2 frame and is up over 200 pounds.

He studied the playbook, honing in on the complexities of the Regina defense.

When the Regals hit the practice field this fall it was a different looking Daniel.

“He has improved so much,” Regina senior Jack Tierney said. “He’s put on weight, he’s added muscle and he’s gotten a lot faster and quicker. It’s been fun working with him in the offseason and seeing him improve because he’s worked really hard this summer.”

Daniel knew he had to get bigger during the offseason and wanted to make an effort to understand the offensive and defensive concepts a little better.

The main focus for Daniel during the offseason was speed.

“I feel like mostly speed is where I’ve improved the most,” Daniel said. “I am little bit of a lankier guy so I feel like speed is one of the bigger things I’ve improved on.”

After averaging 6.2 yards per carry and 15.3 yards per reception on nine grabs a faster, more explosive Daniel is hoping for more big plays this fall.

All while still being able to tote the ball 40 times if necessary as he did in the season-opening win over Williamsburg.

“It’s great having a back like him with that combination of speed and power,” Tierney said. “It gives us a different plan of attack on offense and we have a lot of different threats and he’s going to be one of the big ones.”

The accolades for Daniel have come from his offensive production but the college programs recruiting the senior see him excelling on defense.

At 6-foot-2 with his ability to move Daniel has garned several scholarship offers from Division II programs who see him as a linebacker at the next level.

Daniel doesn’t care about position only about production.

“Whichever side of the ball I am on I love doing it,” Daniel said. “On our team defense is more complex than playing running back because of all the things we do on defense but I love both sides of the ball and I wouldn’t switch either one out.”

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