Robert McDaniel is no stranger to proving his worth — and doing so in obscurity.

The 2025 Hughson (Calif.) quarterback recently wrapped up a high school career while tucked away in Stanislaus County, more than 84 miles away from Sacramento.

So, as a three-star recruit in June when McDaniel participated as a finalist at the invite-only Elite 11 competition in Manhattan Beach, he was largely unknown after only being selected due to an injury to eventual Tennessee signee George MacIntyre.

McDaniel found himself competing against the likes of Elite 11 MVP Keelon Russell (Alabama), top-ranked Tavien St. Clair (Ohio State) and a host of other standouts in the 2025 class including Julian Lewis (Colorado), Husan Longstreet (USC) and Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele (Oregon).

Only Sagapolutele, from Hawaii, boosted his stock more in front of evaluators and skyrocketed to a Rivals100 ranking before the end of the year.

But McDaniel turned several heads during the first day of competition, too.

By the end of it, the prevailing thought was that Arizona was getting a competitor on the rise.

“I think I showed that I can compete with all the other guys in the class,” McDaniel recalled during a Sunday morning conversation with Bruin Blitz. “Just me having that…drive, to not necessarily be a first pick for that event, it kind of really just pushed me to show out.