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A couple of years ago, the administrators at Sandburg Middle School asked McDaniel and his wife, Marianne, if they could get involved with students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

Randall and Marianne started "Team McDaniel" for the 2005-06 school year. They asked students to join them in community service: volunteering at an assisted-living facility, a food shelf and other outlets.

There were 36 students in the Sandburg group last year, and now the number is in the 80s.

"They need to want to go out there and do it," Randall McDaniel said. "Most kids always want to know what can you do for me, if I come and do this for you? This is more [for a student] to be a positive role model in the community."

McDaniel comes from Arizona. Why did Randall and Marianne choose the Twin Cities for their post-football home rather than, say, Scottsdale?

"Think about it," he said. "I was born and raised out there in the desert. You get kind of tired of seeing just the cactus and lizards ... and the heat. We still go back and visit family and friends for a month a year.

"The people [in Minnesota] were so great. Everyone treated me nicely, and this became home."

Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. • preusse@startribune.com