Stanley Daniels: Early start to manhood
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
POSTED: 09/26/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT


Stanley Daniels stands with his physical presence and dedication to family and education. (John Leyba, The Denver Post )
Editor's note: Each Sunday throughout the season, The Denver Post's Broncos reporters will help readers get to know the players on a more personal level.

There are stories and then there is the remarkable story of perseverance by Broncos guard Stanley Daniels. Growing up as the oldest of eight siblings in San Diego, Daniels was 3 when his father died from injuries suffered in a brawl. His mom fell into a state of depression and drug addiction. Two of Daniels' stepfathers were sent away for lengthy prison stays.

Yet, he played four years at the University of Washington and graduated with a degree in political science. After going undrafted and bouncing around to three teams without playing a down for three years, he started Year 4 as the Broncos' starting guard.

Q: As the oldest of eight, and losing your father so early, I assume you've played the role of family leader for most of your life.

A: I've tried to be. After my father was killed, my mom and my whole family went into a deep depression, drug addiction. As the oldest son I had to bear the weight of that. My mom was gone, doing stuff. My mom was lost for a while in that realm. I really had to be the man of the house, grow up fast — get your brothers dressed for school, drop them off before you go to class. That was all while I was in middle school. That's how we grew up. Unfortunately, our mom was dealing with that depression. It brought everybody into a tailspin of drugs and alcohol.

Q: Did you get caught up in it?

A: I never did. But I had my brothers to look after. You'd come home from high school and you'd see people you didn't know in your bedroom. There were throw- away syringes. You'd have to make sure your brothers didn't see anything.

Q: And here I complained when my mom told me to take out the garbage.

A: God willing, I got a bunch of college offers. I had people help me when I was in high school. Help me pick up my brothers if I had to be at practice, stuff like that.

Q: Who took care of your brothers and sisters when you went off to college?

A: When I went off to college, my mom put herself in a rehab program in 2002. And she's been clean for eight years. Her journey has been like my journey — it's hard, you're down but you keep fighting.

Q: Good for her. I like happy endings. Do you still stay on top of what your brothers and sisters are doing in school?

A: I do stay on top of them. I try to guide them as much as I can, help them as much as I can. I try to be the best big brother possible. It's kind of hard when you're going from team to team. But that's what I've always tried to do.

Q: You set the example by getting your college degree in political science. Not many NFL players accomplish a diploma while they're still playing.

A: That's huge. I started with a business degree, but it was really demanding at Washington with our football schedule. But I like political science. I like to debate about politics. I like to talk and hear people's opinions and hear why people reached their conclusion about a certain topic.

Q: You obviously didn't take the hint. You were undrafted. You didn't play a down your first three NFL seasons. What's amazing isn't that you suddenly became a Broncos starter in Year 4, but you hadn't already hung it up when opportunity came.

A: God has a different path for everybody. Once you accept that path, it's up to you to stay on it. It wasn't that tough for me because every time I was cut, God opened another door for me. It was never that I was outright out of a job, had no other opportunities. I'd get cut, but, "Can you come play over here?" Luckily it got to Josh.

Q: It says something that the Broncos saw a starting left guard from a player who never played a snap for three years.

A: I can't say enough about the opportunity I have here. That's all you want as a player. You want a chance and not have to worry about the politics or money or draft status or any of that stuff. You want to go to a place where it's "let the best man win." That's as fair a shot as you can ask for.

About Stanley Daniels

Position: Left guard

Height: 6-feet-4

Weight: 320 pounds

Age: 25

Hometown: San Diego

College: University of Washington

Draft: Signed as undrafted rookie by St. Louis in 2007

NFL experience: Spent time on practice squads with New York Jets in 2008 and Green Bay in 2009. Did not play a snap through his first three NFL seasons. Will start his third NFL game today for the Broncos.

Personal: Graduated from Washington with a degree in political science. Oldest of eight kids.



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