Why Daniel Green decided he had more left to contribute to Kansas State football

MANHATTAN — As Daniel Green sat on a chair next door to Kansas State's locker room last New Year's Eve discussing the Wildcats' Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama, he was convinced that he had just played his final college game.

Yes, he had been hurt for most of the 2022 season, but after a strong showing in the Big 12 championship game and five solid years in Manhattan he was ready to move on and try his luck in the NFL.

Or so he thought.

"After the (Sugar Bowl), I thought that was my last game," said Green, who since then thrilled his coaches and teammates alike in mid-January by announcing his return to the Wildcats for a super-senior sixth year. "A lot of thought and prayer, and just talking to those close people that I hold their opinions highly, it started with basically coming back to showcase my best football this year and staying healthy."

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Staying healthy was a year-long challenge for Green, a 2022 preseason all-conference pick at middle linebacker. He made seven tackles and intercepted a pass against Missouri in week 2, but suffered a foot injury that slowed him considerably for the next several games.

Then, just as he was getting back to full strength he tore cartilage in his rib in an Oct. 21 loss at TCU, forcing him to miss the next game and simply fight through the pain the rest of the regular season.

"I would say Daniel maybe played two games completely healthy," linebacker coach Steve Stanard said. "So that was, I think, the motivating factor."

Green did come back in the Big 12 championship game to make 10 tackles in the Wildcats' rematch with TCU, none bigger than when he teamed with Eli Huggins on a fourth-down overtime stop at the goal line that set up a field goal for K-State's 31-28 victory.

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But in the end, that wasn't enough.

"I just felt like a majority of the season I didn't practice, so not being able to practice and be 100% most of those Saturdays, I just didn't want to go out that way," Green said. "I just want to be healthy and put my best football out there before I go and be clear for the next level."

Green, a physical force at 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, was well on his way to the next level after leading the team with 89 tackles as a junior in 2021, including 16 tackles for loss, three sacks and two fumble recoveries. That total slipped to 58 stops with 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks last year, though he did record his first two career interceptions.

Given those numbers, Green is the first to admit that economics played a part in his deciding to return as well. He wanted one last chance to show NFL scouts just what they were missing.

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"I talked to people that I'm close to that gave me the good reference about where I stand and what I should do," he said. "That kind of went into my decision.

"I had a lot of great people around me, a lot of great people who have been in my shoes, and I was blessed to have a lot of different people weigh in on my decision."

Regardless of the reason, pretty much everyone associated with K-State celebrated Green's return.

Weak-side linebacker Austin Moore, who enjoyed a breakout junior season and led the team with 87 tackles was having dinner with his family when he got the news in a text from Green.

"It was crazy. I did not expect it at all," Moore said. "The whole season last year he never acted like he wanted to come back. I was trying to convince him.

"That text that he sent me really surprised me, and so I was so excited about it."

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So was defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, who joked that he took his wife out for dinner to celebrate.

"It was big time," Klanderman said. "It was awesome. It was incredibly unexpected."

Moore said it is hard to quantify what having Green back means to the entire team.

"He's just fast, and he makes everyone around him play faster and play better," Moore said. "So it's just huge for the defense.

"In the film room, it's really fun to watch him just destroy blocks and make plays. So I just hope everyone gets to watch that next season, too."

Green, who signed with K-State out of Portland back in 2018, got his undergraduate degree in December 2021. And yet he's still around, still driven to show one last time what he has to offer.

"I'm excited about just going back out there with the guys and try to accomplish some even bigger things than we did last year," he said. "I wouldn't have believed it, but everything happens for a reason.

"I'm just trusting the process and I'm excited to get back out there with the guys."

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Why Kansas State football linebacker Daniel Green chose to return