Opportunity is knocking for Utah offensive guard Braeden Daniels. And he knows it.

The redshirt freshman out of Texas arrived on the scene last season and surprised everyone by working his way into the two deep during all camp. Although his in-game reps were limited so the Utes could preserve his redshirt, Daniels entered his second year on the hill as one of the favorites to start at one of Utah's two open guard spots. Knowing the opportunity that lies ahead, Daniels came into fall camp ready to do just that.

Daniels went to work during the offseason and quickly developed into one of the strongest players on the team. "[Over the summer], I mainly focused on getting bigger, getting stronger, trying to gain weight so I could hold my own," Daniels said.

Entering his second year in the program, Daniels had the opportunity to see firsthand what he needs to do to earn his way into the starting lineup. He's taking a refined approach to his craft in year two, focusing on the little things he needs to do to get better.

"It's really just [about] trying to focus in practice. Don't make as many mistakes as I did in the past and get just better every day. Just critique my craft every day. Just do extra work and whatever I've got to do to play and do as much as I can to help the team out," he said.

One of the biggest factors Daniels has in his favor is the fact that he has to go head to head against All-Conference defensive tackles Leki Fotu and John Penisini every day in practice. Facing one of the best defensive line units in college football on a daily basis has helped Daniels to shorten his learning curve and put himself in a position to potentially earn a starting spot.

"It doesn't do anything but make you better. You go out there every day ready to compete and you might lose a majority of the reps, but at the end of the day iron sharpens iron and you just get better as the day goes on," he explained.

As he fights for a starting spot, Daniels is relying on his ability to pay attention to detail and put in extra work to get him where he wants to be when the Utes take the field this fall.

"You just put put in extra work to everything. More film prep. Focusing on all of the plays in the playbook. Knowing your assignments and knowing other people's assignments. Not only knowing other people's assignments, but knowing every offensive line position on the field, what all five people are doing. Our coach calls it being more marketable and it's about being a better player so you can get on the field the fastest," he said.

See more of Daniels' comments in the embedded video above.

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