Kendal Daniels (born December 16, 2002) is an American football safety for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Daniels attended Beggs High School in Beggs, Oklahoma.[1] He originally played basketball for Beggs, before joining the football team as a sophomore where played wide receiver and safety, leading the team to state semifinal appearances in his junior and senior seasons.[1][2] Daniels made the 2021 All-American Bowl, although the game was not played due to COVID-19.[3] Coming out of high school Daniels was ranked the nations 5th ranked safety recruit, and the top recruit in the state of Oklahoma.[4] Despite being a highly rated prospect, the Oklahoma Sooners would rescind his offer late in the recruiting process.[1] He originally committed to play college football at Texas A&M and would sign his National Letter of Intent (NLI) with the team before flipping his commitment to Oklahoma State, becoming the team's highest rated recruit in the 2021 class.[5][3][6]
Daniels redshirted in 2021, appearing in 3 games and not recording any stats.[7][6] In 2022, he would start at safety for the Cowboys, recording 45 tackles and three interceptions on the year.[2][8] On October 22, he would have a game-sealing interception off of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers with 8 seconds left in the Cowboys 41–34 victory.[2] In week 11, Daniels would be named the Big 12 newcomer of the week following recording 10 tackles, a forced fumble and interception against Iowa State.[9][10] At the conclusion of the season he was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and a member of the all-conference second team.[11][2]