How a former Texas high school football star found his groove in the junior college ranks

Buck's Ballpark: Hawk Patrick-Daniels excelling at receiver for Tyler Junior College after helping Aledo win back-to-back UIL 5A Division I titles

Hawk Patrick-Daniels celebrates one of his 3 TDs in Aledo's 51-8 UIL 5A-D1 state title repeat in Dec. 2023 at AT&T Stadium. / Photo by Tommy Hays, SBLive

TYLER, TEXAS - Last December, Hawk Patrick-Daniels was a postseason star for an Aledo team that won its record 12th UIL state football championship.

Several months later, underneath a warm September sun enveloping the playing surface at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium, Patrick-Daniels is adjusting to a different role for a different squad at a different level.

Patrick-Daniels, who primarily played running back at Aledo and was a vital part of the Bearcats’ title run last season - especially in the 5A Division I title game - is now in his freshman season at Tyler Junior College, about a couple hours east of his home.

The Apache coaching staff moved him to receiver, where he did see action in high school.

After missing TJC’s season opening loss due to an injury, Patrick-Daniels finally saw his first collegiate action on Sept. 7, and ended up being the team’s top receiver.

He caught seven passes for 58 yards, though the Apaches - after building a 10-7 halftime lead - gave up four unanswered touchdowns in the second half to fall, 35-10, to Georgia Military College.

“Most definitely, the transition was hard, coming from high school into college,” Patrick-Daniels said after the game. “Things are different; it’s faster, and you’ve got to get up at 5 in the morning. … Here, I’ve got to play my role, I’ve got to listen to coaches, I’ve got to get myself on the field, I’ve got to prove myself to be on the field, so I’ll say the transition was hard."

In a bit of bizarre irony, there was something else that playing at tradition-rich Aledo helped Patrick-Daniels for at the next level: Learning to fight back from an 0-2 deficit.

Two years ago, in Patrick-Daniels’ junior year, Aledo uncharacteristically dropped its first two ballgames before righting the ship. The Bearcats reeled off wins in each of their next 30 ballgames, resulting in back-to-back championships.

“My junior year, we lost our first two games and went 0-2 just like we’re 0-2 right now, so me personally, I’m keeping my head up and I’ll try to tell my teammates to keep their heads up, too,” Patrick-Daniels said. “A lot of people can come back from 0-2.”

And what would Patrick-Daniels tell his Apache teammates how to crawl out of that 0-2 hole like Aledo did two years ago?

“Just keep practicing, man; just keep practicing, keep our heads up and not let these losses faze us, that’s all I can say, and go hard every day,” he said.

In that second of the back-to-back titles won by Aledo, Patrick-Daniels came through in a huge way. Taking over for an injured Raycine Guillory, a current junior who is one of the top running backs in the state, Patrick-Daniels ran for 203 yards on 29 carries and had two TDs in a 43-7 win against Forney in the 5A DI semifinals.

The following week, under the bright lights of AT&T Stadium, he outdid himself, at least when it came to finding the end zone. Patrick-Daniels turned in a hat trick, scoring three times as Aledo rolled past Smithson Valley, 51-8, to secure the repeat.

Hawk Patrick-Daniels runs for Aledo during the Bearcats' 5A Division I title game win against Smithson Valley in December 2023. / Tommy Hays

One of his TD runs covered 51 yards, as Patrick-Daniels finished with a game-high 186 yards on 16 carries.

“(Guillory) got hurt; I think he tore something in his knee, but the previous year, I played running back there so it was more comfortable for me to go back there and just trust my o-line,” Patrick-Daniels said. “I’ll say I’m really a running back, but wherever my coaches need me, I’ll play.

“I’m really an athlete, so wherever my coaches need me, I’ll play. I have no problem playing in the slot, outside (receiver) or at running back, so wherever my coaches need me, I’m there.”

And that’s where Patrick-Daniels was in Tyler’s home opener, one of the few bright spots the Apaches had that day. He had a one-handed catch early in the game; then made a juggling catch during a second-half drive.

“Me personally, I’ll say my performance was great for my first game back,” he said. “I didn’t play (in the season opener Aug. 29) because I pulled my hamstring so really, I was just excited to get back out here.

“My mindset going into the game was not dropping the ball, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t drop anything today; I was just trying to get my team the win and myself and the coaches, I was trying everything I had out there, I was trying my best, catching every ball, getting every yard. I would say my performance was good and my teammates were, too, but we just have a lot of practicing to do.”

And like most of Patrick-Daniels’ teammates at TJC, working to get a shot at a four-year school. He had that chance to go to a four-year school while at Aledo, having committed to Incarnate Word in San Antonio before de-committing.

Patrick-Daniels then heard about Tyler and felt that was a better fit for him.

“Coming out of high school, I didn’t have the offers that I really needed or I deserved. … (The TJC coaches have) got great connections and I trusted them, so I came here so I could be a part of this team and make our team better,” Patrick-Daniels said.

“To get there, I’ve got to keep doing me. There’s nobody that can do anything but me, so I’ll just keep grinding, keep doing everything I did like (Saturday), catching everything, every yard, everything counts. You don’t know who’s watching you.”

Former Aledo player Hawk Patrick-Daniels (right) converses with a Tyler Junior College teammate after a game on Sept. 7, 2024. / Buck Ringgold

And Patrick-Daniels confirmed he has heard from a handful of coaches at four-year colleges.

“I’ve heard from a few; they just keep saying they want to watch me in person, so that’s why I show out every time I come out here on Saturdays, and like I said, you never know who’s watching,” he said.

For the time being, though, Patrick-Daniels wants to experience the winning that he enjoyed being part of while at Aledo.

“I love them; I wouldn’t do anything without them,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of things to work on.

“We’re a great team, we do everything right in practice, we’ve just got to come out here on Saturdays and execute.”

Tyler’s next big chance comes this Saturday, back at home against a longtime nearby rival, Trinity Valley Community College.

Maybe Patrick-Daniels will get to experience a dramatic reversal of fortune like he saw two years ago at Aledo. Whatever the outcome this Saturday, he’s going to be coming out swinging for the fences while maybe getting more notice.

“I really want to help us go to the (national title game), I want to win games, but that starts with practice,” he said. “It starts with coaches and keeping our trust and paying attention to our attitude, we can’t go out here and get (penalty) flags, that won’t help us.

"Whatever God has for me, it’s a blessing, so I’ll just keep going through the process until my time comes.”

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More Texas high school football Week 3:

• Flower Mound 3-0 thanks to dramatic late drive against Lake Highlands: 5 takeaways

• A&M Consolidated holds off Pflugerville Weiss in 6A showdown

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• Top 100 Texas high school football players: PART 1 | PART 2

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-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveTX