Former Monarch, now special teams coach reflects on CFP national championship run with Ohio State

The 2024-25 college football season was magical for Marysville alumnus Gunner Daniel.

Despite no longer suiting up and buckling his chinstrap, the experience of coaching a national championship contender still had its once in a lifetime feeling.

The former Monarch began his coaching career in 2023. Within that same year, Daniel joined the Buckeyes’ coaching staff as a program assistant with the special teams crew after gaining a graduate degree from Boston College in 2022.

In just his second season as a coach, Daniel has a ring to show off to his friends and family back home.

Marysville alumnus Gunner Daniel (right) observes Ohio State’s specialists warm up prior to hosting Western Michigan during the 2024-25 college football season. Daniel serves as a special teams program assistant and is currently preparing for the upcoming fall season. (Photo submitted)

“It was crazy,” Daniel commented about the 2024-25 football season. “Growing up in Marysville and being a Buckeye fan growing up and having a chance to be on the sideline for something like that was a dream come true.”

Daniel worked under Parker Fleming who was the program’s special teams coordinator from 2021-23. After not being retained, the units coaching duties were split amongst a gaggle of staff.

Daniel and Quality Control Kicking Coach Rob Keys had more thrown on their plate in the 2024-25 season.

“For a 26 years old, I played a huge role in being able to identify and recruit the specialists,” Daniel said, adding he also worked hand-to-hand with unit coaches such as James Laurinatis and Brian Hartline on specific special team units. “That was really cool to be able to pick their brains every day.”

The road to gridiron glory did not come without its trials and tribulations. The 2017 Marysville graduate shared how the season in total provided many life lessons. He added that the experience was also beneficial given the fact he is still young in his coaching career.

The biggest stinger to the regular season was the  regular season finale when the Buckeyes lost to Michigan, 13-10.

“That’s the first and foremost goal at Ohio State before we talk about Big Ten championships or national championships,” Daniel said. “We didn’t do that. I think that was the biggest takeaway from the season was the valuable lesson so early in my career… the only thing we can control is how we respond to it.”

The chaotic atmosphere at Ohio Stadium was seen from all corners of the College Football world. Daniel took the moments after the conflict to think back on his “specialist mindset” understanding what happened, learning form it and moving forward.

“Being a specialist, you can never care about what just happened,” he shared, adding even the good feelings need to be quelled. “As soon as you are like, ‘oh, I’m snapping really great, and everything is going well” the very next one you snap it over the punters head… It really forces you to live in this present mindset and that was literally all I was thinking about.”

Daniel stated that the specialist unit owned the mistakes made against the, at the time, defending national champions.

“Our starting kicker really took that one on the chin and as a whole unit, we came together around him,” Daniel said.

The aftermath of the final regular season game led to one of the more impressive college football runs since the beginning of the playoff system. But in real time, the anticipation was not fully realized.

“Of all the games, the Tennessee game was the one I was most nervous about just because I didn’t know how the players would respond,” Daniel noted. “But they put it together and it was a dream come true.”

From his standpoint, the philosophy of the coaching staff allowed the players and freedom and structure to steer the ship. With everyone buying into the ultimate goal of bringing home a College Football Playoff National Championship trophy, that allowed Daniel and other coaches to let the players be accountable for each other.

“Player leadership is so huge,” he said. “We had such an older, veteran and vocal group… I think that was something I saw early in the spring and summer.”

Structure was important to the team’s overall performance, according to Daniel, with guidelines in place for the veterans to mentor the other players.

“They are the ones who are going to steer the ship,” Daniel said. “All the coaches on the sidelines, we are not as good as the guys we are coaching at Ohio State, and we are out of eligibility… You don’t want to play with their minds too much. Just make it simple.”

The short-term memory and accountability the team faced in the regular season was the foundation for what was ahead of them. The crew had four weeks to prepare for their first-round opponent, Tennessee, which was well spent.

“We didn’t even talk about Tennessee a whole lot,” Daniel said the team challenged itself every day to have the best practice it could produce.

Daniel is proud to be a history buff when it comes to college football. With the 12-team playoff expansion, the former Monarch was excited to be a part of Ohio State’s first-ever home playoff game in the new era of the sport.

“I am a sports, history, junky, nerd and I love the history of the game,” Daniel said. “To be a part of that, I was definitely geeked out… It was a special night in Columbus.”

The run to a national championship came to fruition with a 34-23 triumph over Notre Dame.

“We felt so confident going in and we just wanted to get to all zeros and be up by one or more and just be done with it,” Daniel said. “It was a mix of emotions but the first that hit me was, ‘oh, that’s over now and we finally did’ and then just pure joy.”

The celebration was well worth the work and wait as Daniel joined in the locker room festivities.

Daniel and the rest of the Buckeyes hope to deliver an encore performance in the fall of 2025.

“I would just say we have a bunch young and hungry dudes,” Daniel shared. “There are a lot of young guys that are now going to be elevated into starter roles… some young bucks are ready to make a name for themselves.”