Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State only 61 days away
To preview one of the most anticipated games for Notre Dame this century and the official start of the Marcus Freeman era, BlueandGold.com is counting down the days to the matchup against Ohio State on Sept. 3.
This daily series of 99 stories celebrates by the numbers some of the most notable names, dates, moments and memories related to the past and present of Notre Dame football.
Today, with 61 days remaining until kickoff, we look at the Notre Dame and NFL careers of long-snapper Scott Daly.
Daly wore the jersey number for the Irish from 2012 through 2016.
Finding his niche
During his time as a four-year starting long-snapper at Notre Dame, Daly often admitted to feeling almost guilty about the opportunities his unusual football gig was bringing to him.
A high-priced scholarship, limitless travel opportunities, a prestigious business degree and now a million-dollar-a-year job with the Detroit Lions, it’s good work if you can get it.
“It was surreal to think that I could get a full-ride scholarship to be able to snap a ball between my legs,” Daly said after his Pro Day workouts at Notre Dame in 2017.
A native of Downers Grove, Ill., Daly starred at tight end for South High School and received Division III offers at that position, but his head coach, Mark Wiggins, instantly recognized Daly’s skills as a long-snapper.
At the urging of his father, Daly picked up the craft in the fifth grade and became the nation’s No. 1 long-snapper in the 2012 recruiting class.
“Coaches are really taking into account how important a position it is,” Daly added. “Special teams are just as an important facet as offense and defense. No one knows who you are unless you really mess up, so you have to strive for perfection every single day.”
Rinse and repeat
Daly indeed was perfect during all four years as the Fighting Irish long-snapper.
Placement, muscle memory, velocity (slower on field goals and extra points) and even the positioning of the football laces, are among the details Daly focuses on.
It’s a similar path his mentor and good friend J.J. Jansen — now entering his 16th season as a long-snapper in the NFL — took at Notre Dame from 2004-07.
“I love it,” Daly said. “It’s a very high-pressure situation because you have to be perfect every single time.”
The long-snapper must also be agile and athletic enough to get downfield and potentially make a tackle.
And at 6-foot-1 and 245 pounds, Daly fits the perfect profile. He recorded four tackles and even recovered a fumble while at Notre Dame.
“I try to be the whole package, try to be a great athlete, show them that I can move, that I can snap consistently,” Daly explained. “Be able to run downfield and make tackles, and be big enough to withstand 300-pound guys coming at me.”
All in a day’s work for Daly.
