IOWA CITY, Iowa – James Daniels, much like his older brother, is a smile waiting to happen.

I hadn’t interviewed or even talked to the sophomore offensive lineman on the Iowa football team until media day on Saturday.

To say that Daniels made an impression would be an understatement.

He made jokes.

He made sense.

And he made fun of his older brother – Iowa senior running back LeShun Daniels – like only a brother could do.

I knew that James Daniels could play football because he turned down schools like Ohio State and Alabama in order to be a Hawkeye, and because the 6-foot-4, 295-pounder played last season as a true freshman, which is extremely rare for an offensive lineman at Iowa.

What I didn’t know is just how pleasant, fun-loving and focused James Daniels seems to be as a person. The fun side came out when Daniels compared his ability to play a certain soccer video game with his brother.

“I have more talent, but he plays fundamentally sound, and that’s what gets me beat,” James Daniels said.

James and LeShun are about as close as two brothers can be. They share a house together in Iowa City, along with Hawkeye teammates Boone Myers and Michael Ojemudia.

And they share a mutual respect and trust, evidenced by LeShun trusting James enough to watch his dog when LeShun is out of town.

“He’s probably my best friend,” James Daniels said of LeShun. “If he trusts me with his dog, that’s pretty good trust.”

There is also a serious side of James Daniels that surfaced during Saturday’s interview.

He was a young man with a plan when he graduated early from his high school in Warren, Ohio in order to enroll at Iowa for the 2015 spring semester.

James Daniels was more concerned with the student side of being a student-athlete when he first arrived on the UI campus. The fact that he played as a true freshman was simply a bonus.

“I came in early to get ahead in my academics, but when I started playing, I thought that was a plus,” James Daniels said.

The media didn’t have the opportunity to interview James Daniels last season because true freshmen are prohibited under head coach Kirk Ferentz from being interviewed by any media besides those affiliated with the university.

It was well worth the wait based on Saturday’s interview.

James Daniels not only has a good story to tell, he tells it in such a refreshing style.

James did something extremely rare just to be a Hawkeye. He said thanks, but no thanks to Ohio State.

You probably could count on one hand the number of Ohio natives who have turned down a scholarship offer from the mighty Buckeyes to play for Iowa. His older brother didn’t have to make that decision because Ohio State didn’t offer LeShun Daniels a scholarship.

“In high school, I’d go to class every day and somebody would give me something about Ohio State,” James Daniels said. “So it was tough to turn them down. But I had to do what’s best for me, and I felt like the University of Iowa was the best for me.”

LeShun being a Hawkeye certainly didn’t hurt Iowa’s chances of landing James. But the decision went way beyond brotherly love.

In fact, LeShun’s presence hardly mattered according to James, who stayed focused on the big picture throughout his recruitment.

“LeShun was not really a big factor at all,” James Daniels said. “He barely recruited me to come here. If you think about it, this is his senior year. So after this January, he’s going to be gone.

“So I’m going to have two years here by myself. And if I would have come to a college just because of my brother, he would have to be pretty much my age because I’m going to be here alone while he is gone.”

James Daniels didn’t just turn down Ohio State, he also turned down a chance to follow in his father’s footsteps. LeShun Daniels Sr., played on the offensive line for Ohio State in the mid-1990s.

“He pretty much let me do what I wanted to do because he realized that he wasn’t going to college; that I was going to college,” James Daniels said of his father. “So that’s what he was thinking.”

Both brothers appreciate the time they have left together in college. It’s not often that two brothers get to play college football together, let alone for a Big Ten team that is nationally ranked and coming off the first 12-win season in school history.

“To have an opportunity to play football at a big-time, Big Ten program is a great feeling,” LeShun Daniels Jr., said. “It’s something we’ll cherish for the rest of our lives.”

James Daniels is listed as the starter at right guard, while LeShun is the starter at running back. James earned the top spot despite missing all of spring practice with an injury.

That is testimony to James Daniels’ talent and to the respect he has earned from the Iowa coaches.

"One thing I can say for sure is coming out of the first three practices, it’s very apparent to me that he didn’t take a step backwards in the spring and he had every opportunity to do that," Iowa offensive line coach Brian Ferentz said Saturday. "You always worry about guys that aren’t involved in practice. What are they doing? Are they learning? Are they getting mental reps? Are they taking a step forward in every way they can other than their physical aspect?

"He did that, at least. Now physically he’s got some ground to cover. But I’m pleased with three days work."

In addition to his serious and funny sides, James Daniels also has a humble side that surfaced when he was asked to evaluate himself as a player.

He almost seemed embarrassed to say anything too positive.

“My strengths, I think I consider myself a decent athlete,” James Daniels said. “I’m not very strong, but I think I’m pretty strong. So I think being a decent athlete, and I can learn quickly.”

When asked what he has done to impress the coaches, James Daniels declined to speak on their behalf.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “You’re going to have to ask them that.”

James also tried to put his reputation in perspective.

“I’m not as good as I think I am or as good as you guys think I am,” he said to reporters. “Nobody is that good.”

James credits his brother for helping him make a smooth transition to college. LeShun gave him tips on how to meet all the demands of being a student-athlete.

“He really told me how to balance my schedule,” James Daniels said. “The little things like that helped me get ahead.”

LeShun is similar to James in that he also smiles a lot and always seems happy.

They’re both living a dream of playing big-time college football. They didn’t set out to do it together. But considering how close they are, maybe it was their destiny.