Warrior Beat Q&A with Cory Daniel

HA Note: "Cory Daniel, a former MMA fighter and Castle High TKO linebacker, is enrolled at UH-Manoa and prepared to join the Warriors for training camp. He spent the past couple of years at Arizona's Pima Community College, where he earned an associate degree."

Asked how much he weighs, Daniel said:
"When I came back, I was up to almost 270. Now I'm back to the high 240s. I'm trying to peak it out. I don't want to come out too light. At camp time, I can lose whatever I have to lose. Hopefully, I can play at 235, 240." (HA)

About playing for Castle High, Daniel said:
"It was good fun. We had a good (senior) year. We had a chance to play against Saint Louis (in the championship). We could have won, but it didn't go that way. We gave the crowd a show, at least." (HA)

About being a MMA fighter, Daniel said:
"My grandpa was into martial arts. We always grew up playing sports, fighting. (MMA fighter and former Warrior) Falaniko Vitale is a good friend of mine. I always cross-trained with him — football and fighting. As soon as I found out I couldn't play (Division I football as a freshman) because of academics, I went off to MMA." (HA)

About preparing for the MMA, Daniel said:
"Not too much bodybuilding. I did a lot of rounds, a lot of sparring. I did boxing training. I did Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, kick-boxing and boxing. It was good. Sometimes we'd go up there and train with B.J. Penn." (HA)

About how he wanted to play for UH out of high school but academics prevented that, Daniel said:
"I missed football. After high school, I really wanted to play for June Jones. My school work and my SAT scores killed me. To me, football is my dream, and my passion. After high school, I went to Windward Community College. It was really dead. My dream was far and distant. Typical local boy, playing too much in the ocean and running around chasing girls. I'm getting too old for that." (HA)

About his girlfriend, Daniel said:
"My girlfriend is up in Arizona. She goes to U of A. She's smart. She's Haole-Filipino. Her dad is Irish. He's a redhead with freckles. Her mom is pure Filipino. Her dad is an engineer. He works for NASA. He builds bombs for Honeywell (Aerospace). When I talk to him I have no idea what he's talking about." (HA)

About his love of local food, Daniel said:
"I love local food. My brother is the best cook. I love Eggs Benedict and prime rib. I like it cooked medium, a little Ajou's sauce and horseradish. That's all you need." (HA)

http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com/2009/07/16/a-couple-of-minutes-with-cory-daniel/