SHEBOYGAN FALLS, Wis. -- Mike Daniels still remembers being a college sophomore at Iowa when he saw the Green Bay Packers take defensive tackle B.J. Raji with the ninth overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft.
Like Daniels, Raji was only a shade over 6-foot. And like Daniels, he’d grown up in New Jersey, which both men would credit in part for their born-and-bred toughness.
"He was a guy who, when I watched him get drafted, I said, 'Wow, I’m 6-foot-nothin', 250 pounds. This guy’s only 6-foot tall. All I have to do is put on [weight] and then I’ll have a chance, too," Daniels recalled Tuesday night after winning Professional Athlete of the Year at the fifth annual Wisconsin Sports Awards.