Rochester senior Daniel May received 11 college football offers by the time he decided to sign with Saddleback College on March 23.
Rochester senior athlete Daniel May averaged nearly 20 yards per receptions his senior season and hauled in three touchdowns in three games at wideout.
Daniel May, an all-league honorable mention selection as a junior, played quarterback the first four games his senior year before breaking a finger on his throwing hand.
Rochester senior Daniel May is heading to sunny southern California to continue his academic and athletic career after committing to Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California, he announced on Twitter.
May, ranked a two-star athlete on 247 Sports, was a first-team all-2A Evergreen Conference selection at wide receiver this past winter after playing just three games at the position. May was an all-league honorable mention quarterback his junior season, then broke a finger on his right throwing hand four games into his senior year. Unable to throw the ball with a cast on his hand, he made the switch to wideout and shined immediately.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior returned for the final three games and averaged nearly 20 yards per reception while tallying three touchdowns and garnering the interest of junior colleges as far away as Kentucky and Virginia. He sparked so much interest that 247 Sports wrote an article highlighting his versatility.
May was searching for a program that had culture, somewhere he could be a part of a winning team that had a family component.
The Warriors had finished at the bottom of the 2A Evergreen Conference each of his four years, winning just six total games in his time there. It was mostly due to a lack of numbers. The 50-player team his freshman year was by far the largest. His final three seasons the team averaged around 28 kids per year, playing against in-conference state powers such as Tumwater and Chehalis, which field around 80 to 100 kids every season.
“It was pretty tough, but we never complained and it made us practice harder,” May said.
May received his first offer his junior year after sending his game film out wherever and whenever he could. He eventually collected 11 Division-III and NAIA offers but none really caught his interest until he started reaching out to junior colleges. He eventually narrowed his decision down to three California schools.
The novel coronavirus outbreak put a halt to his campus tour plans as COVID-19 hit the week he was planning to travel to California during spring break. So he was forced to make his decision remotely. It wasn’t too difficult of a decision.
“Out of the three, Saddleback was the perfect fit for me,” May said. “They’re a top-five junior college (team) in California and I liked the way their program has been run the last 20 years.”
He’s looking forward to joining the team in Mission Viejo, located 40 minutes southeast of Los Angeles and about a 10 minute drive to the Pacific Ocean and the beaches, including Laguna Beach. After growing up in the rainy Pacific Northwest, the prospect of spending his time off at a southern California beach was too much to pass up.
“It’s crazy, coming from Rochester, Washington, being able to go to a place like that, you know?” May said.
It helps that the Guachos are California junior college football powerhouses.
Saddleback went 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the National Division Southern League last season, advancing to the Southern California Football Association semifinals. It finished the season ranked fifth in the Junior College Athletic Bureau poll and seventh in the nation in the JCGridiron poll.
The Guachos were Southern California Football Association champions in 2015, have won three national titles and have advanced to the postseason two consecutive seasons.
Saddleback is coming off its most explosive offensive season in school history, averaging a program-record 46.3 points per game. May will be hauling in passes from one of the top junior college quarterbacks in the state, soon-to-be sophomore Chance Nolan. Nolan threw for 3,315 yards, fifth all-time on the school’s single-season record books behind Colt Brennan, a fifth-round selection by the Washington Redskins in the 2008 NFL draft. Nolan tossed a school-record 38 touchdowns against just six interceptions and completed 66 percent of his passes.
Saddleback coaches are looking at having May play wide receiver more than anything, but the Swiss Army knife is willing to do anything he can to help the team win.
“I’m obviously open toward playing quarterback, or if they want me to transition to defense, I’m ready for whatever,” May said.
May was planning to head down there for summer ball, but everything has been put on hold with the novel coronavirus. Nevertheless, coaches want him down there by June 22 in case restrictions are lifted and the team is cleared to practice.
“I’m stoked about this opportunity,” May said. “They have culture, they have a real family setting. They’re going to be playing a high level of football and I’m ready to be with kids that have the same mentality I have.”
