Daniels not coming back to Alabama next season
Linebacker has sights set on NFL after missing 2003 season
01/10/04 By THOMAS MURPHY Sports Reporter
Alabama linebacker Brooks Daniels, who missed the 2003 season due to personal reasons, says he intends to apply for the upcoming NFL draft.
"I've sat down with my mom (Mary Ann Daniels) and discussed it, with her saying, 'Brooks, you need to go back to school,'" Daniels said. "After New Year's, that's when my mom said she thought I should enter the draft, so I'm planning on entering the draft."
Daniels, who said he is in the process of finding an agent, has a Jan. 15 deadline to apply as an underclassman for April's draft.
The Jennings, Fla., native withdrew from school before the start of fall camp for what coach Mike Shula termed medical reasons.
"I don't care about saying anything about that," Daniels said. "I've been living here (in Tuscaloosa) basically through the whole season, me and my wife (Melissa) and son (Brooks Jr.)."
On Thursday, Shula said he had not spoken to Daniels, but that "our arms are open" to accept Daniels back on the team.
"I know he's not in school right now," Shula said. "That doesn't rule him out for next year. When he left school, his (five-year eligibility) clock stopped. I think there's going to come a point where (not being in school) is going to become a factor. It's not right now or else I would say otherwise."
Daniels kept in touch with Tide defensive players Antwan Odom and Anthony Bryant during the season and resumed his workouts in December. He said he's not too concerned about his marketability after a year-long layoff.
"If they look back at what I've done here, (they'll see) back-to-back 100-tackle seasons and a guy who loves the game," he said.
Daniels was the first player in Alabama history with consecutive 100-tackle seasons when he posted 102 tackles in 2001 and 110 stops in 2002.
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