Kahzin Daniels gets off the line and around the edge so smoothly, University of Charleston defensive line coach Zack Santolla recently told NFL.com , it looks like “he can probably do it with his eyes closed at times."Daniels practically has.The All-America defensive end, signed by the Bucs last week as an undrafted free agent, is partially blind, the result of a childhood accident.It hasn’t held him back, as his 34-1/2 sacks over four seasons at Division II Charleston (W. Va.) — most in school history — attest.In fact, few scouts even knew about Daniels’ condition until they started digging deeper into his background after he shined in practices leading up to the NFLPA Bowl in January.“I knew when we got him he had a little bit of an issue with his right eye, but didn’t realize it was to the extent it was until he said something, or else I would’ve never known,” Charleston head coach Pat Kirkland told NFL.com. “It did not limit his play at all. He played on both sides, left and right, and never used it as an excuse or crutch or anything like that.”According to the NFL.com story, Daniels lost sight in his right eye when he collided with a pole that was sticking out of an abandoned building while riding a scooter at age 5. He was knocked off his feet and believes he did a full flip before falling to the ground.Daniels said he felt no pain. The hardest part for him was being teased by classmates afterward while he had to wear an eye patch for a few months.“Kids are vicious. I feel like everybody goes through that, to an extent,” he told NFL.com. “My reaction to it was it only made me stronger. I didn’t look at it like I was any different from anybody else. Going through something like that at an early age, it cemented who I was. It created that introvert in me and that lock-it-down, focus-in attitude."Daniels’ blindness is not something he volunteers. But he doesn’t shy away from it, either.“Even growing up, I never let anybody treat me different in any way,” he said. "I never used it as a disability, never got any checks for it or anything like that. I see through one eye, and I live life to the best of my ability.”
