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Danny Kanell
Daniel Paul Kanell (born November 21, 1973) is an American sports broadcaster and former professional football player who is employed by CBS Sports and SiriusXM as an on-air personality. He played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Kanell played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning second-team All-American honors in 1995. He also played in the Arena Football League (AFL).
Kanell is perhaps best known for his broadcasting career, in which he has served as a studio analyst, color commentator, and radio host. He worked as an analyst for ESPN and hosted the Russillo and Kanell show on ESPN Radio. His employment with ESPN ended on April 26, 2017, when he was part of a round of layoffs. Kanell has gone on to work for Fox Sports 1, Sirius XM, and CBS Sports.
He attended Florida State University, where he played quarterback for four years. In 1992, as a freshman, Kanell won the job of backing up starter Charlie Ward, the team's first freshman backup since Chip Ferguson in 1985. After doing well in occasional backup play, he won the job again as a sophomore in 1993, despite increased competition. The team later moved to alternating between Kanell and fellow sophomore Jon Stark as backups, though Kanell was given the start when Florida State held out Ward against Maryland due to bruised ribs and Kanell responded by completing 28 of 38 passes for 341 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions. Overall that year, he threw for 499 yards with 7 TD vs. 0 INT while backing up Ward, who won the Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien, Maxwell, and Walter Camp Awards that year.
In his junior year, he threw for 2,781 yards with 17 TD vs 13 INT on 380 pass attempts. He was a part of the famous Choke at Doak game against Florida, where he led Florida State back from a 31–3 fourth quarter deficit to tie the game. He then beat Florida in the rematch at the Sugar Bowl dubbed the "Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter", finishing the year with a 10–1–1 record.
In 1995, his senior year, Kanell threw for 2,957 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions on 402 pass attempts. He led the team to a 10–2 record, including a win over Notre Dame in the 1996 Orange Bowl. He was given an "honorable mention" in the All-American list of his senior year. He was also the starting quarterback for Florida State's first loss to an ACC opponent, as the Virginia Cavaliers defeated Florida State 33–28 on November 2, 1995. While throwing for more than 450 yards during the game, Kanell also threw 3 interceptions and completed less than 50% of his passes. One of those interceptions was thrown at the Virginia 2-yard line late in the first half.
During his career at the university, he played in 35 games and completed 62.2% of his 851 pass attempts. He threw for 6,372 yards, 57 touchdowns (at the time a school record) and 26 interceptions over his four years as a Seminole. He also ran for one touchdown and managed to catch one pass for a loss of three yards. In September 2012 Kanell was inducted into the Florida State Athletic Hall of Fame.
Kanell also played baseball during his freshman and sophomore years, playing in seven games over the two seasons. He was drafted in the 25th round by the New York Yankees in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.
Kanell was drafted by the New York Giants in the fourth round (135th overall) in the 1996 NFL draft. He made his NFL debut later that season. The next season in New York, Kanell became the starter and played the last ten games of the 1997 season, leading the Giants to the NFC Eastern Division title. In those ten games he threw for 1,740 yards with eleven touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Giants played in the playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings but lost 23–22. Kanell went 13/32 with 199 yards and one touchdown in that game. The following year, Kanell started all ten games he played in while throwing for 1,303 yards, eleven touchdowns and ten interceptions. With a record of 3–7 at that point, the Giants benched Kanell in favor of Kent Graham, who led the Giants to a 5–1 record down the stretch and an 8–8 finish. At the end of the season the Giants signed Kerry Collins from the New Orleans Saints and cut Kanell to make enough salary cap room to pay Collins' salary.
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Danny Kanell
Daniel Paul Kanell (born November 21, 1973) is an American sports broadcaster and former professional football player who is employed by CBS Sports and SiriusXM as an on-air personality. He played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Kanell played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning second-team All-American honors in 1995. He also played in the Arena Football League (AFL).
Kanell is perhaps best known for his broadcasting career, in which he has served as a studio analyst, color commentator, and radio host. He worked as an analyst for ESPN and hosted the Russillo and Kanell show on ESPN Radio. His employment with ESPN ended on April 26, 2017, when he was part of a round of layoffs. Kanell has gone on to work for Fox Sports 1, Sirius XM, and CBS Sports.
He attended Florida State University, where he played quarterback for four years. In 1992, as a freshman, Kanell won the job of backing up starter Charlie Ward, the team's first freshman backup since Chip Ferguson in 1985. After doing well in occasional backup play, he won the job again as a sophomore in 1993, despite increased competition. The team later moved to alternating between Kanell and fellow sophomore Jon Stark as backups, though Kanell was given the start when Florida State held out Ward against Maryland due to bruised ribs and Kanell responded by completing 28 of 38 passes for 341 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions. Overall that year, he threw for 499 yards with 7 TD vs. 0 INT while backing up Ward, who won the Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien, Maxwell, and Walter Camp Awards that year.
In his junior year, he threw for 2,781 yards with 17 TD vs 13 INT on 380 pass attempts. He was a part of the famous Choke at Doak game against Florida, where he led Florida State back from a 31–3 fourth quarter deficit to tie the game. He then beat Florida in the rematch at the Sugar Bowl dubbed the "Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter", finishing the year with a 10–1–1 record.
In 1995, his senior year, Kanell threw for 2,957 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions on 402 pass attempts. He led the team to a 10–2 record, including a win over Notre Dame in the 1996 Orange Bowl. He was given an "honorable mention" in the All-American list of his senior year. He was also the starting quarterback for Florida State's first loss to an ACC opponent, as the Virginia Cavaliers defeated Florida State 33–28 on November 2, 1995. While throwing for more than 450 yards during the game, Kanell also threw 3 interceptions and completed less than 50% of his passes. One of those interceptions was thrown at the Virginia 2-yard line late in the first half.
During his career at the university, he played in 35 games and completed 62.2% of his 851 pass attempts. He threw for 6,372 yards, 57 touchdowns (at the time a school record) and 26 interceptions over his four years as a Seminole. He also ran for one touchdown and managed to catch one pass for a loss of three yards. In September 2012 Kanell was inducted into the Florida State Athletic Hall of Fame.
Kanell also played baseball during his freshman and sophomore years, playing in seven games over the two seasons. He was drafted in the 25th round by the New York Yankees in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.
Kanell was drafted by the New York Giants in the fourth round (135th overall) in the 1996 NFL draft. He made his NFL debut later that season. The next season in New York, Kanell became the starter and played the last ten games of the 1997 season, leading the Giants to the NFC Eastern Division title. In those ten games he threw for 1,740 yards with eleven touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Giants played in the playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings but lost 23–22. Kanell went 13/32 with 199 yards and one touchdown in that game. The following year, Kanell started all ten games he played in while throwing for 1,303 yards, eleven touchdowns and ten interceptions. With a record of 3–7 at that point, the Giants benched Kanell in favor of Kent Graham, who led the Giants to a 5–1 record down the stretch and an 8–8 finish. At the end of the season the Giants signed Kerry Collins from the New Orleans Saints and cut Kanell to make enough salary cap room to pay Collins' salary.