LOS ANGELES _ Steve Daniels' new neighborhood screams paradise for an empty-nester. What's left of his suburban parenting existence in Irvine is stored in moving boxes, but Steve can already see that Belmont Shore has everything he and wife Alison need for their next step.
A dog beach a block away where their three furry companions can freely soak in the sun. Tons of bars and restaurants nearby on 2nd Street. But really, this move, like most everything in Steve's life, came down to what he felt was best for his son. He had been reading _ he is always arming himself with information _ and came across the idea that college quarterbacks who live close to their parents do better than those who are apart. He and Alison mentally prepared themselves for a move; they just didn't know the destination.
Ann Arbor, Mich.? Steve grew up in Detroit, so that made sense. Palo Alto? Their daughter, Madison, attends the University of California, Santa Cruz, so that would bring the family back together. Last fall, when JT Daniels' gut led him to choose to play football at USC instead of Michigan or Stanford, Steve and Alison could have breathed a sigh of relief and stayed in Irvine. But that is not how Steve thinks, and it is not how he taught JT to think.
"You have a plan," Steve says, "but with any good plan, you have to be nimble."
Steve and Alison didn't want to take any chances with the traffic keeping JT from visiting them in his precious downtime. Long Beach is the halfway point between downtown L.A. and Irvine, and there's just more going on here for a college kid to enjoy. Maybe he'd bring his friends from the team sometimes. Maybe they could play host around the holidays. Those benefits would be nice, sure, but they were beside the point.
"JT is Steve's hobby," Alison says. "He is consumed by it. It's not like he's into photography or into cycling. He is into JT's football. And the good news is JT went along with it, never said no to anything. One thing after another, year after year, Steve's cycles are spinning, just thinking, what else can we get him in? And JT went right along with it."
The dynamic is all JT has ever known, and it has pushed him to where he is today _ the unanimous winner of the Orange County quarterbacking beauty pageant, a state and national champion at Santa Ana Mater Dei High, the Gatorade national player of the year and the assumed savior of USC football over the next three to four seasons.
"He lives vicariously through me, which is awesome," JT says. "I like to have a dad that is so involved. It can be difficult and annoying at times, but there's no greater support and help than having a dad like that."
JT looks like Steve, moves like Steve _ bouncy and swaggering _ and processes what life throws at him like Steve. The thing he has learned most from his dad, he says, is how to look at a problem objectively and figure out how to solve it. Football, so far, has been the simple part. He has been coached and trained by a deep and experienced team of paid professionals "to have all the answers," Steve says.
As soon as JT got the USC playbook in February, he wanted to memorize the whole thing in one day. When Sunday became Monday and he hadn't gotten all of it, he asked his parents if he could take the next day off school. Steve loved that. The answer was yes.
"He's a hell of a negotiator," Steve says.
Once JT learned it, Steve would routinely quiz him. By the end of the spring, they were going over it about weekly. Steve's instincts said that wasn't enough.
"He feels like mentally, he's there, as far as he can go without actually doing it," Steve says. "And I have to respect that."
Letting go can be tough. Steve has given everything yet it still feels like there's more in reserve. Six years ago, he decided to live each day with the goal of doing what his own father couldn't do for him. JT's success is deeply personal.
But there is one thing during this journey Steve couldn't have accounted for, one thing that will define the coming years at USC:
"He's never really failed," said trainer Scot Prohaska, who has been JT's emotional guru since the eighth grade. "He's going to have some struggles at USC. My goal is to mentor him through those, make sure he has the right mind-set to grow and not feel all the expectations he has on him. It's been frustrating that he hasn't failed at anything, because I haven't gotten to teach him those lessons."
Steve never considered JT could make football look so easy that it might be detrimental to his development. At a recent lunch meeting in Belmont Shore, as he detailed every important marker of his and JT's football life, he was asked if his 18-year-old son had ever lost out on something he wanted. He gave it some thought.
"He's lost games," Steve says. "But no. Not to my knowledge. Not that I've ever seen."
