Texas talked trash, Ohio State's Phillip Daniels made the Longhorns pay: 'I know you're not talking to me'

The Buckeyes' right tackle, known for playing with an edge, made his first start in Ohio Stadium and handled his business and the opponent's trash talk.

New Buckeye Phillip Daniels was surprised when he said Texas defensive end Colin Simmons called him trash. (Photo by Doug Lesmerises)

COLUMBUS — It turned out that Phillip Daniels was the wrong guy to say that to.

“He was like, ‘You trash,’ and I was like, ‘Huh? Me? I know you’re not talking to me.’”

Daniels brought such an edge to Ohio State as a transfer from Minnesota, some chunk of Ohio State’s preseason was spent making he sure he didn’t go too far at the wrong time in practice.

The issue was that Daniels was sure he was going to win the right tackle job for the Buckeyes, even though most people on the outside didn’t think that. And the issue was that once he acclimated to his new school, after starting four games with the Golden Gophers last season, well … “Once I know the plays, I feel like I can kill anybody.” But he couldn’t injure a teammate in pursuit that job, which he did win.

So Texas pass rusher Colin Simmons probably didn’t know what most of Daniels’ new OSU teammates had figured out quickly — that this guy gets after it and wasn’t one to be messed with.