Dallas Cowboys Sign Downers Grove South Grad

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — Scott Daly majored in Senior Management Consulting as a grad student at the University of Notre Dame, but the first job contract he inks could keep him away from a desk anytime soon. Daly, a Downers Grove South grad who was an unsigned NFL free agent last season, has been signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a long snapper, he announced Monday.

Daly started playing football as a long snapper since he was a fifth-grader growing up in Downers Grove, according to his University of Notre Dame bio. He helped the Downers Grove South Mustangs earn a 10-2 record in 2011, when he was named the best high school long snapper in the country by Scout.com.

After Daly graduated from Downers South, he began his football career at Notre Dame in the 2012 season. He spent his freshman year on the bench, and it wasn't until his sophomore year that the Fighting Irish began to tap into Daly's full potential. In 2013, he played as long snapper in every game.

By the 2014 season, Daly was pulling off "quality snaps on all 52 point-after attempts, 24 field goal attempts, and 51 punts," according to his Notre Dame state During Daly's senior year season, it became apparent that his consistent long snapping record could give him a career in professional football. Media outlets started saying "Daly" and "NFL" in the same breath.

In 2016, NBC predicted that he had a "bright NFL future." In 2017, Fansided was dead certain about Daly's potential. "The one thing we can almost guarantee, though, is that he will be on an NFL roster in 2017," the sports website asserted.

Daly was an undrafted free agent last year, and the Bears gave him a rookie-minicamp tryout. But Chicago passed on signing him, and Daly didn't see any game play in 2017.

Even though he's signed with the Cowboys, Daly isn't guaranteed a roster spot. For the past 13 seasons, Dallas has relied heavily on veteran long snapper L.P. Ladouceur.

Daly describes himself in his professional LinkedIn profile as someone who is "in with whatever I am involved in." And that dedication is something he hopes will help him " transition into Corporate America," he wrote.

For now, that transition will have to wait as Daly prepares for his NFL career to take off.

Image credit: Getty Images/Streeter Lecka / Staff