DECATUR DAILY IRON MAN - ELKMONT'S CHOICE: DANIEL LOGAN

DANIEL LOGAN AT A GLANCE:
Class:  Senior
Position: Linebacker and offensive guard
Height, Weight: 6-0, 216
Most Memorable Game form 2010:
"I've got to go with the Ardmore game. (Elkmont won 42-21).  It's a rival, it's always a big game and everybody from both towns always shows up.  It's a little bit of a different atmosphere from most games.  Everybody is there, everybody plays hard, and luckily we came away with a win last year."

Elkmont High's Daniel Logan places a premium on loyalty.  A senior linebacker and offensive lineman, Logan notices when his teammates put others first.  One teammate passed up a beach trip this summer to attend workouts while another overcame cancer treatments to be with his friends.  But it's not just Logan's teammates who show loyalty.  When asked to name a few fellow iron men, Logan named what seemed like half of Elkmont's roster.  Plus, he's not afraid to cheer for his favorite football team - even though it's one that doesn't wear crimson and white or orange and blue.  Logan spoke with Decatur Daily Sports Writer Michael Cummings before a recent practice.  Here's what he said.

Question:
What was your best game last year?
Answer:
Ardmore (Elkmont won 42-21 in Week 1).  I really thought my team played well.  Obviously we didn't have a great season, but that game we came out hard and prepared well in practice.  I was really happy with how we played, and we finished the game as best we could.

Question:
What are your goals for this season?
Answer:
Every team's goal is to make it to the state championship, and if you're going to make a goal, you might as well believe in yourself to get to the top.

Question:
What about personal goals?
Answer:
Really my only personal goal goal is to lead my team and make sure we work well together, execute on offense and play well on defense.  And we'll see if we can make it to the playoffs.  We didn't make last year, and it was a real letdown.

Question:
What does it mean to you to be your team's ironman?
Answer:
It means a lot to me.  I've always tried to work hard.  There are some days that you don't feel strong but you always try to work hard.  Even when I was a ninth-grader, I tried hard against all the bigger people trying to kill us.

Question:

What goes into being an ironman?

Answer:

Continuous work and just always leaving everything out on the field, even if it's a practice field or a game field.  And we have a great group this year.  I couldn't do it without them.

Question:

What was the team's workout routine this summer?

Answer:

This summer was pretty hard.  We did an hour of weights and an hour of running, and in July we did an hour of practice too.  Summer is mainly to get in shape and come together as a team.  If you sweat together, you really come together as a team.  And your can't do it all yourself.  You have to be a team.

Question:

What did you do in addition to team workouts?

Answer:

I tried to work out some on the side at Riviera.  Some of our workouts were pretty hard, believe me, but you've got to do some on the side too.  I'm not the only one, either.  My workout partner and fellow linebacker Cody Martin worked out with me.

Question:

What's your favorite workout?

Answer:

I've got to go with bench.  Bench is everybody's favorite usually.

Question:

How much can you bench?

Answer:

Last time I maxed out at 300 (pounds).  On 225, I do three sets of 10 usually.

Question:

You play offense and defense.  Which one is your favorite?

Answer:

It's defense.  I like offense, but it's all about execution.  With defense, it's a little more.  You've got to listen to your coach, and with our defense, you've got to go out and play.  You've got to leave it all on the field.  Plus, defense wins games.  It's great catching passes and everything, but for me, it's way better to lay a lick on somebody.

Question:

What other sports do you play?

Answer:

I play basketball and baseball, but not doubt, I like football best.  Even more than baseball and basketball, it's a team sport.  You really get connected to your teammates.

Question:

What other position would you like to try?

Answer:

I'm not going to lie, I would like to play quarterback one game.  Quarterbacks get a ton of publicity, but they also take too much heat when their team loses.  But I would like to play quarterback one game.

Question:

Who are some other ironmen on your team?

Answer:

Skyler Gant for sure.  He works hard every day.  He could have gone to the beach with his family this summer, but he stayed here and practiced with us.  And that means a lot.  Also Cole Glass, Sloan Hawkins, Austin McNatt, Hayden Huseth, and I already said Cody Martin. And for sure Bronson Ellis.  He wasn't able to do spring practice because he had cancer, but he showed up to every practice.  And Rhett Bailey (another cancer patient), for sure.  That's what I call tough.  That's a true ironman, right there.  And I'll throw in Chris Gooch.  he's a young kid who was at every workout.  He's tough and he works hard in practice.  And I'm sure there are many more.

Question:

What is your favorite team?

Answer:

I'm a Kentucky Wildcat fan.  They're not exactly known for football, and most of the time they get killed by Alabama and all of the SEC teams except Vandy.  But I've got to support them, stay loyal to my team.  That's where I was born, so I've got to stay loyal.

Source:  Decatur Daily - Sports Writer Michael Cummings