07-11-2021, 12:29 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-13-2021, 04:17 PM by allbetsonjames.)
Fans of high school football in the area may remember Spike Daniels, who made some headline-grabbing plays on both offense and defense in the late 2030’s and went on to have a successful college football career at Northwestern. Grand Rapids Magazine caught up with Spike this week as he prepares for the ISFL Prospect Bowl, which will air on YouTube at 8 PM Monday, July 12. Spike will be suiting up at free safety for the Isle Royale Cellymoose.
Well Spike, first things first… how are you feeling? Excited? Nervous?
Mostly excited! When I was a walk-on at Northwestern I never expected to be in this position. It all feels a little unreal. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and proving myself against the very best! But I always get a little tense heading into a big game too.
How do you deal with those nerves on game day?
You know, it really all fades away once I put that helmet on. That’s why I started to leave it on all the time. Keeping that helmet on keeps me in the right headspace and I noticed I seemed to play better. By now it’s such a habit I’d feel out of place being on the sideline without it!
Doesn’t that get hot?
[laughing] Oh, in hot weather it’s awful! It gets so, so bad. But being stuck in there with my own sweat keeps me in the mood to tackle people.
As in “angry?”
[laughing] Well, kind of. Maybe “irritable?” In the mood to ruin someone’s day, anyway.
Speaking of which, I heard you have an unusual way to celebrate turnovers.
Oh yeah! I started that in college. My first college game as a starter, it was a home non-conference game against Syracuse, and I returned an interception for a touchdown. And I don’t even remember where I got the idea now, but after the game I ordered a Syracuse jersey, and then I nailed it to my wall. Not in like a frame or anything, I just hammered it up there. It was just kind of me making a silly play on my name “Spike.” But anyway, guys thought it was hilarious, so I kept doing it. Any game where I got a turnover, afterward I’d nail that jersey to the wall.
Do you plan to keep on doing that in the pros?
Of course!
Changing the subject, have you had a chance to meet any of the other prospects in your draft class?
Well, shouts out to all my Cellymoose brethren! It’s a really good group and I think we’re going to show out! No shade to any Manatees or Robins though, I’ve run into a few of them too and they’re all great players and people. It’s an awesome class, I’m proud to be a part of it.
Is there any team in particular that you’re hoping will call your name on draft night?
All the teams that invited me in for scouting visits have been great organizations, and I’d be thrilled to join any of them. The team that thinks I’m a first-round talent, that’s the team that I want to draft me, how about that?
Who are your football role models? Are there any players in particular that you try to emulate?
Brian Dawkins, 100%. The way he just flew all over the field, always around the ball, and the way he would just thump people. I’m always trying to play with that same combination of intelligent positioning and relentless aggression. Tyrann Mathieu is another guy kind of like that. And the Butchers have a guy I really like right now, Damian Blackfyre; I’ve been watching some of his tape recently.
What do you like to do off the football field?
I’m a pretty big soccer fan, I played for a lot of years, so I like to keep track of the European teams and big competitions. And I really like the classic card games and board games. I like chess a lot, even though I’m not very good. I got invited to join a chess tournament with some other players in the league, [OoC: shout out to @dude_man] so that’s been a really fun way to meet some current pros.
Any special plans for that first big paycheck?
Oh man, I haven’t really even let myself think about that too much. Almost like I’m afraid I’m going to jinx it or something. I’m working on finding a good financial planner to help me out with some of that stuff. That said, I will probably buy a truck.
Thanks for your time today, Spike. Good luck with the draft and the Prospect Bowl!
My pleasure, this was fun!
Well Spike, first things first… how are you feeling? Excited? Nervous?
Mostly excited! When I was a walk-on at Northwestern I never expected to be in this position. It all feels a little unreal. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and proving myself against the very best! But I always get a little tense heading into a big game too.
How do you deal with those nerves on game day?
You know, it really all fades away once I put that helmet on. That’s why I started to leave it on all the time. Keeping that helmet on keeps me in the right headspace and I noticed I seemed to play better. By now it’s such a habit I’d feel out of place being on the sideline without it!
Doesn’t that get hot?
[laughing] Oh, in hot weather it’s awful! It gets so, so bad. But being stuck in there with my own sweat keeps me in the mood to tackle people.
As in “angry?”
[laughing] Well, kind of. Maybe “irritable?” In the mood to ruin someone’s day, anyway.
Speaking of which, I heard you have an unusual way to celebrate turnovers.
Oh yeah! I started that in college. My first college game as a starter, it was a home non-conference game against Syracuse, and I returned an interception for a touchdown. And I don’t even remember where I got the idea now, but after the game I ordered a Syracuse jersey, and then I nailed it to my wall. Not in like a frame or anything, I just hammered it up there. It was just kind of me making a silly play on my name “Spike.” But anyway, guys thought it was hilarious, so I kept doing it. Any game where I got a turnover, afterward I’d nail that jersey to the wall.
Do you plan to keep on doing that in the pros?
Of course!
Changing the subject, have you had a chance to meet any of the other prospects in your draft class?
Well, shouts out to all my Cellymoose brethren! It’s a really good group and I think we’re going to show out! No shade to any Manatees or Robins though, I’ve run into a few of them too and they’re all great players and people. It’s an awesome class, I’m proud to be a part of it.
Is there any team in particular that you’re hoping will call your name on draft night?
All the teams that invited me in for scouting visits have been great organizations, and I’d be thrilled to join any of them. The team that thinks I’m a first-round talent, that’s the team that I want to draft me, how about that?
Who are your football role models? Are there any players in particular that you try to emulate?
Brian Dawkins, 100%. The way he just flew all over the field, always around the ball, and the way he would just thump people. I’m always trying to play with that same combination of intelligent positioning and relentless aggression. Tyrann Mathieu is another guy kind of like that. And the Butchers have a guy I really like right now, Damian Blackfyre; I’ve been watching some of his tape recently.
What do you like to do off the football field?
I’m a pretty big soccer fan, I played for a lot of years, so I like to keep track of the European teams and big competitions. And I really like the classic card games and board games. I like chess a lot, even though I’m not very good. I got invited to join a chess tournament with some other players in the league, [OoC: shout out to @dude_man] so that’s been a really fun way to meet some current pros.
Any special plans for that first big paycheck?
Oh man, I haven’t really even let myself think about that too much. Almost like I’m afraid I’m going to jinx it or something. I’m working on finding a good financial planner to help me out with some of that stuff. That said, I will probably buy a truck.
Thanks for your time today, Spike. Good luck with the draft and the Prospect Bowl!
My pleasure, this was fun!
![[Image: michigan.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/michigan.gif)
