McDaniel Was Another Great Raider Corner

The Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders had an incredible series of cornerbacks, starting with Willie Brown and including Kent McCloughan, Fred Williamson, Skip Thomas, Lester Hayes, Mike Haynes, Charles Woodson, Eric Allen, Nnamdi Asomugha, Philip Buchanon, and more.

The Raiders selected cornerback Terry McDaniel with the ninth overall pick of the 1988 NFL Draft out of Tennessee and all he did in 10 seasons with the Silver and Black was collect 34 interceptions to rank third on the franchise’s all-time list behind Brown and Hayes, both with 39, for 624 yards and a Raiders best five touchdowns.

Not only that, McDaniel forced seven fumbles in his career and returned two for touchdowns.

“They told me about how Mike Haynes had just set a new (salary) standard for cornerbacks,” said McDaniel, who moved from wide receiver to cornerback after his sophomore season at Tennessee, which changed the direction of his career.

“It was a discussion when I came to the Raiders about how I might fit in, but I think their mind was made up. … You hear so much about the Raiders. People think, ‘The Raiders are coming, hide the women and children.’”

Even though he was only 5-10 and 190 pounds, the Raiders believed McDaniel was exactly what they needed on the corner after he made 146 tackles in his career at Tennessee, broke up 11 passes, and made six interceptions before being selected All-Southeastern Conference and second-team All-American as a senior.

However, McDaniel missed most of his rookie year because of a broken leg sustained in the second game of the season, but he showed Raider Nation what it was missing the next season, when he made 68 tackles, three interceptions that he returned for 21 yards, ran 42 yards for a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the season opener and added a sack.

In his 10 seasons with the Raiders, McDaniel made 491 tackles and three sacks, and was selected All-Pro four times, and played in five Pro Bowls.

“Terry has been playing like a Pro Bowl player since he’s been here and sending a message that he deserves to be grouped with the best,” Raiders coach Art Shell said at the time. “Like all the great players, he puts enough pressure on himself to excel and is never satisfied. He’s always pushing himself to get better.”

McDaniel’s best season probably was 1994, when he made 61 tackles and added a career-high seven interceptions that he returned for 103 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to making three fumble recoveries that he took back for 48 yards and another score.

Highlights of that season included McDaniel intercepting a pass from the great John Elway of the Denver Broncos and returning it 15 yards for a touchdown in a 48-16 victory at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

Later that season, McDaniel intercepted three passes by quarterback Drew Bledsoe of the New England Patriots, returning them for 44 yards including a 14-yard touchdown, plus another that set up the game-winning touchdown in a 21-17 Raiders victory.

After playing 143 games for the Raiders, McDaniel was released after missing three games in 1996 because of a knee injury and signed with the Seattle Seahawks, where, in his final NFL season he intercepted one pass and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown.

These days, the 57-year-old McDaniel is a Sunday school teacher for Truth in God Ministry in Knoxville, Tenn. Every year, he holds a free football camp for youngsters in his childhood hometown of Saginaw, Mich., where he grew up on the poor side of town.

For the first camp in 1995, he brought in fellow NFL players Lionel Washington, Tim Brown, Mark Ingram, Darren Hoskins, and James Trapp.

“I just wanted the kids there to have an opportunity to meet a professional athlete,” McDaniel said. “I remember growing up in Saginaw. Pro athletes always seemed untouchable. I wanted to give the kids a chance to talk and interact with NFL players.”

McDaniel was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 but is another Raider who some believe belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, but has yet to get there.

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