DAYTON, Ohio — Ohio is gearing up for another weekend of college football. The Ohio State Buckeyes will be at Penn State, but a lot of eyes will be on Mississippi, where ESPN’s College GameDay is on the road at Jackson State University.
The historically Black university has been on a hot streak, and a Dayton native has been a key to their success — along with its famous coach, Deion Sanders.
Trotwood-Madison High School assistant coach Kerry Ivy has been coaching high school football for 26 years. He said it's because of his love of mentoring young men.
“Helping kids become the next level of life and just pushing them to be great,” said Kerry.
One of his favorite students he’s mentored and coached was Dallas Daniels. The wide receiver was well recognized during his four years at Trotwood-Madison High School in Dayton. He had 20 touchdowns and almost 700 yards receiving his senior year.
“His journey has just been phenomenal,” said Ivy. “It should be a book for younger kids to go through what he went through to get to where he is now.”
But he wasn’t always a star player.
“He wasn’t that fast, so he ran track,” said Ivy. “He got faster running track. He’s just one of those guys that’s going to do it. I believe (it) to this day. He wakes up in the morning and he runs three miles to keep himself ready for the games.”
But all the hard work and dedication has paid off. Daniels is now a wide receiver at Jackson State University. So far this year, the senior has 42 receptions, 476 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
“Right now the movement that’s going on at Jackson State for a HBCU with [what] Coach Prime is doing down there,” he said. “It’s phenomenal. I love it. I truly love it.”
On Saturday, JSU will be hosting ESPN College GameDay for the first time, becoming one of only a few Historically Black Colleges or Universities to be featured. They’ll be playing Southern University, another HBCU. JSU is currently 7-0. Ivy said Jackson State is doing so well this season because of head coach Deion Sanders, a two-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer.
“He’s just not teaching them to be football players. He’s teaching them to be respectable young men,” he said. “He’s teaching them about life skills. He’s teaching them that it’s more than football.”
Ivy said he’s looking forward to cheering on Daniels during Saturday’s game and is happy to see someone like him setting such a great example for other aspiring football players.
“Dallas, I think, is a great role model for our young guys to look up to right now and especially in our community. So just proud of Dallas and everything that he is doing,” he said.