Football is a Snap for Downers South’s Daly

Scott Daly plays the most specialized and obscure position in football.

The 6-4, 240-pound senior is the starting tight end for , but his other duties are perhaps more important.

For the past two seasons, Daly has been the Mustangs’ long snapper. His talents go overlooked by most people in the stands, even the diehard followers of the sport.

“It’s very different,” Daly said. “It’s certainly a position that’s under the radar, which is kind of nice sometimes. They say nobody that plays [there] wants anyone to know them because that means they’re doing their job right.”

While other players like star running back Josh Williams, quarterback A.J. Simoncelli and even corner back Danny Leach get all the attention and notoriety, Daly quietly goes about his business.

But somebody has been watching and Daly’s efforts have earned him something – a free college education. Daly accepted a full scholarship to his dream school, Notre Dame, in April during a visit to the Irish’s spring scrimmage, the Blue and Gold game.

“I’ve been following Notre Dame ever since I started watching football,” Daly said. “It’s an amazing school, an amazing place. It’s [where] I’ve always wanted to be.”

In case you're wondering what a long snapper does, the player snaps the ball during punts, field goals and extra point attempts.

THE BEGINNING

Daly didn’t always aspire to be a long snapper. No one really does. Most kids new to the sport don’t even realize what it entails. But through six years of hard work, Daly is considered to be the nation’s top-rated long snapper in this year’s senior class.

“It was something that really just came naturally to me,” Daly said. “I started football in fifth grade and I was the only person on my team who could snap. I just became really good at it really quick and kept on doing it and my coaches kept telling me I had the potential to be very good and possibly snap in college, so I kept at it.”

When he was a sophomore, Daly began working with Chris Rubio, a former UCLA long snapper who is regarded as one of the top kicking game teachers in the country and runs camps for kickers, punters and snappers.

“That really took my snapping to the next level, and I wouldn’t be anywhere without him,” Daly said. “[Rubio] produces the best specialists in the country.”

Last year, Daly attended Rubio camps at Alabama, LSU and Tennessee before going to the one at Notre Dame. Notre Dame expressed immediate interest.

“He has a great combination of skills,” Rubio told ESPNChicago.com at the time. “He has great size, got incredible smoothness and speed and a great work ethic. He's a good all-around kid, too.”

ROUTINE REPITITION

After several years of training, Daly thinks he has his practice routine down to a science.

“I do drills every single day,” he said. “[The routine] is different for every long snapper. Myself, I just do as many as I feel that today was a good day. I might do more if I think I’m having a bad day.

“I try to snap almost every single day as much as I can, so when it comes to practices and games I won’t mess up and I’ll be perfect.”

Perfection is not easily achieved, but Daly has managed it. Senior Anthony Farinella, himself a potential Division I recruit, handles all of South’s punting and kicking and is quick to sing the praises of Daly.

“He’s dead-on,” Farinella said. “It [means] everything because on punts, if the ball doesn’t get back to me it makes my job that much harder. Having him just makes it easy and it allows me to concentrate on other things.

“Same with field goals and extra points, it’s easy because it gives our holder more time and the ball’s always in the right spot. The whole process is easier.”

Daly also makes the coaching staff’s job easier.

“It’s one of the things that you still need to pay attention to, but it’s one of the things you can count on being done and can concern yourself with other parts of the game that needs to be coached up,” Downers South Head Coach John Belskis said.

“You need that on any good football team. You need certain people, particularly seniors, who will take that leadership role, take care of their own position and also show the younger kids how to do it successfully.

“That’s how Michael Jordan did it. He made everybody around him better. That’s what [Daly] has done. The other snappers are now better snappers from being around him.”

JOB REQUIREMENTS

What traits are needed to become a long snapper? As with any athletic endeavor, talent plays a big role, but the position is fairly democratic.

“Anybody can be a long snapper,” Daly said. “You can be big, tall, athletic, non-athletic, but you’ve really got to work hard, work on your drills.

“Form is really key for any long snapper. Once you get your form down, it’s very hard to mess up. I’m to the point where I don’t mess up and I try to be the best long snapper I can every day.”

It also takes fearlessness. Unlike centers, who can watch the defensive linemen while hiking the ball with one hand to a quarterback who has his hands under his rump, a long snapper has to snap the ball as much as 15 yards on a line while looking back between his legs.

After the snap, he has only a split second to bring his head up and prepare to block before an opposing lineman, many of whom are taller and heavier, crashes into him.

“It’s definitely very tough but what Chris Rubio…has taught has helped me so much to allow me to do the things right on the field and not have to worry about it so much,” Daly said.

“After the snap you want to make sure you get a good base, so say if you’re blocking right then you want to take your left foot inbetween your body so you can have that good solid, wide base so he won’t run into you or go around you. Having good form makes sure you [can do that].”

MUSTANG TRADITION

Downers South has had one of the better kicking games in the area for well over a decade, and Daly is not the first long snapper to contribute to that.

Nick Monaghan, a 2011 DGS grad, walked on at Northern Michigan. Andy Schulze, who graduated in 2006, walked on at Iowa and became the starter before graduating last spring. Schulze was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons, who released him a week before the regular season began. He then tried out for the New England Patriots but was released.

“Sophomore year I started following [Schulze] when I really got into snapping and then I kept close tabs on him,” Daly said. “He was kind of a role model of mine and made me try to accomplish what he has done.”

Belskis believes Daly has the potential to play on Sundays one day, though that isn’t the focus at the moment.

“Right now I’m not worried about the pros,” Daly said. “I’m just focusing on high school and then getting to college and doing my best, staying healthy and getting my degree from Notre Dame. My dream is to be in the NFL some day, but we’ll see where it takes me.”

Daly wants to take the Mustangs to Champaign on Thanksgiving weekend so they can play for the state championship. They seem to be well on their way, with a 3-0 record heading into Friday night’s game at Leyden.

Daly has contributed in a number of ways. As a tight end, he helped South’s offense score 112 points and scored his first career touchdown, a nine-yard reception in the Mustangs’ 28-7 win over South Elgin in the season opener Aug. 26 that came on his father Kevin’s birthday.

On special teams, he recovered a fumble last week during a 56-0 rout of Morton on a night when the school lauded members of its 2001 state championship team.

“[Playing for DGS] is awesome,” Daly said. “This program is absolutely phenomenal. Coach Belskis is the best coach in the state by far and we’re obviously having high hopes again, to be 14-0 and win that state championship. And we’re executing in practice and games so we can achieve that goal.”

If they do, Belskis knows it will be because of leaders like Daly.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked,” Belskis said. “He’s a great blocker, he’s caught a touchdown pass. Sometimes you take for granted those things, but we sure appreciate and understand what he brings to our team.

“He’s just a great kid on and off the field. His parents have done a great job in raising him and he’s fun to coach. I’ll be honest with you. We’ve had kids with talent around here over the years that maybe aren’t the best character people, but he’s got the whole package.”