On the Receiving End

Jack Daly will probably attract a crowd this year. The talented senior split end expects that he will see double and triple defensive coverage from Dartmouth's football rivals because of the statistics he compiled during the 1982 season. Daly caught 55 passes for 1,034 yards last fall. Those marks eclipsed Dave Shula's 1980 statistics of 52 receptions for 758 yards. Daly also caught eight touchdown passes to tie the record held by Tom Fleming '76 and Myles Lane '28. His efforts earned him First Team All-Ivy and honorable mention All-New England recognition. Daly said he would like to have "similar numbers" this fall even though he anticipates the double and triple coverage from defenders. "I'm just kind of waiting to see what the different teams are going to do with their coverage," said the 22-year-old Peru, New York, resident. "Double and triple coverage will make it much tougher to play as well as I did last year. I don't know if I will be more productive or not."

Daly was held to one pass reception for seven yards in Dartmouth's 14-12 victory over Harvard in Hanover last fall. He had four receptions against Columbia and five receptions each against Pennsylvania, Holy Cross, William & Mary, and Cornell. He caught six passes against Yale and Brown and had nine receptions in the games against Colgate and Princeton. The 43-20 victory over the Tigers in the season finale gave the Big Green a 5-2 league record and a share of the Ivy League title with Penn and Harvard. "Personally, the Colgate game was my best game last year," said the 5-11, 180-pound Daly. "I played well, but we got beaten badly." Daly's nine receptions against the Red Raiders accounted for 219 yards and a 49-yard touchdown in the loss. He was on the receiving end of 33- and 73-yard touchdown strikes against Holy Cross and 7- and 53-yard scoring passes against Princeton as he amassed 173 total yards. Daly needs only 504 yards more in receptions to shatter Shula's career mark of 1,822 yards.

"Jack is as fine an athlete at his position who has ever played for Dartmouth, said head coach Joe Yukica. "He's talented, competitive, and an exceptional person. He has running ability, deceptiveness, and good hands catching the ball. We'll try to get the ball to him because he has the ability to turn an 8-yard pass into a 50- yard play. I just enjoy coaching him. He's a nice guy to be around." Yukica said Daly has "an outside chance" at receiving AllAmerica recognition if he has a successful fall campaign. Dartmouth has not had an Ail-American since 1975 when Reggie Williams, now a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, was named a First Team All America linebacker. "That would be a great thrill, obviously, but it's hard to set personal goals like that because of the variables involved," said Daly. "I was surprised last year when I made All-Ivy. I was really plesed with that. Anything beyond All-Ivy and All-East recognition would be gravy."

Daly played two years of junior varsity football at Peru Central High School in upstate New York about an hour away from Montreal. He was forced to sit out his junior year because of a broken ankle. As a senior halfback, Daly was named the player of the year in his school's conference and made the second All-State team. Daly spent a year at Deerfield Academy after graduating from high school. At Deerfield, he teamed up with quarterback Frank Polsinello to lead the academy squad to an 8-0 record and the informal New England prep school championship. Polsinello, the Dartmouth football team cocaptain, and Daly are currently roommates as they were during their freshman year. Daly was heavily recruited by football coaches while he was at Deerfield. He was accepted at Dartmouth, Harvard, and Cornell and selected Dartmouth over Harvard in a last-minute decision. Daly caught 24 passes for 380 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman. He earned a starting berth on the varsity eleven in the fourth game of the season against William & Mary during his sophomore year. He caught 24 passes for a total of 285 yards and two touchdowns during the 1981 season.

A political science major, Daly is a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and plays intramural basketball and softball. He also played on the varsity baseball team as a freshman. He had originally planned on a career in business following his Dartmouth graduation. "I've changed my mind," Daly said. "I don't think I have the personality for business. I'm now thinking about teaching or coaching at a private school."

Split end Jack Daly '84