Jadon Dailey isn’t entirely sure which life he’s going to wake up to each morning.
There’s the one where he’s a bank teller at Wells Fargo and a junior-college student.
And there’s the one where he’s the starting center for the 14th-ranked Boise State football team.
The former was Dailey’s life 3› years ago, before he joined the Phoenix College football team as a favor to a friend.
The latter is the whirlwind result of that favor.
“I think about that almost every day,” said Dailey, who is a senior. “When I wake up in the morning, it’s like, ‘Wow, I’m still here.’ It’s a good feeling.”
Dailey has become a key cog in the Broncos’ dominant running game that will be on display nationally Wednesday night against Fresno State at Bronco Stadium (6:06 p.m., ESPN2).
Dailey was so impressive in fall camp that coaches moved last year’s starting center, Jeff Cavender, to right guard to make room for Dailey in the lineup.
“He’s just done a good job all year,” offensive line coach Sean Kugler said. “He’s played well, played consistent.”
Dailey (5-foot-11, 285 pounds) walked away from football after high school. He was a three-year starter at Mountain Ridge High in Phoenix, winning his region’s two-way player of the year award, but major colleges ignored him.
He did not fit the profile of a college lineman because of his size. At BSU, Dailey is the only starter or backup on the offensive line under 6-foot-2.
“I wanted to go to (Arizona State),” Dailey said. “That was my huge team I wanted to play for. They told me I was too short for the Pac-10. I kind of got some fire in my belly from that.”
He decided to play for Glendale Community College in Arizona. He attended summer workouts but quit before fall camp.
He didn’t click with the coaches and he was still upset that he didn’t get a single recruiting letter from a major college.
“I felt like I had earned a chance, but I really didn’t earn it,” he said. “I just convinced myself that I wanted to have fun and just go to school and go to work and make money.”
He moved out of his mother’s house, then returned a few months later.
He attended classes. He got the job at Wells Fargo.
And then he broke his right leg playing basketball.
This wasn’t, he realized, the good life.
“After I broke my leg, I was lost,” Dailey said. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I missed football so much.”
He returned to the field in August 2003. A high school friend at Phoenix College asked him to join the team, which only had five offensive linemen, a week before the season opener.
Dailey immediately earned a starting job and was an All-Western States Football League first-teamer as a sophomore.
Again, he went mostly unnoticed — but this time he had anotable advocate. His offensive line coach was well-respected from working in the NFL.
New Mexico State offered a scholarship. Iowa wanted him to visit.
But Dailey only had eyes for one school. He saw the Broncos play on TV in 2004 with Klayton Adams at center.
“I was so amazed and impressed by the fact that he was 5-10 and still playing D-I football,” Dailey said. “It gave me hope, too.”
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz called Dailey a few days before his trip to BSU to offer him a scholarship, Dailey said.
“They told me to cancel my trip to Boise,” he said.
Instead, he made the trip and committed to the Broncos on the spot — canceling his plans to visit Iowa.
“I went with the decision that best fit me,” Dailey said.
He arrived in January 2005 with hopes of winning the starting center job. He didn’t progress quickly enough, though, so coaches moved Cavender from right tackle to center.
Dailey was his backup, and by season’s end he was pushing for playing time. He played the entire second half of the regular-season finale at Louisiana Tech.
“He’s a very smart player,” Cavender said. “He’s one of the smarter offensive linemen we have. He’s also very athletic. He’s able to use his feet and his speed to help overcome his size.”
Dailey also is one of the team’s most outgoing players. He’s usually smiling, often joking and always willing to chat.
It’s a fitting personality for a center — particularly on a Boise State line where two of the starters (Ryan Clady and Tad Miller) rarely speak.
“I like talking to people,” Dailey said. “That’s always been my personality. If you want to get into a debate, I’ll debate with you. … I feel like I learn more when I listen to other people.”
Particularly if it’s a friend asking him to restart his football career.
“It’s kind of neat,” Kugler said, “that his story turned out the way that it did.”
To offer story ideas or comments, contact reporter Chadd Cripe at ccripe@idahostatesman.com or 377-6398.
source: idahostatesman.com
« hio State given vote of confidence | 80% of prefectures face obstetrician shortage: Kyodo survey »