Daniel Vaughn Persa (born November 20, 1988) is a former
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
college football quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
who played for the
Northwestern Wildcats
The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern ...
. He attended
Liberty High School in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
.
Early life and high school career
Persa was born on November 20, 1988, to parents Dan Sr. and Jane Persa in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
.
His mother and sister both graduated from
Pennsylvania State University, resulting in Persa wishing to play for the Nittany Lions as a child.
While attending
Liberty High School, Persa played football for three years and competed on their track and field team as a sprinter.
As a football player, Persa became the first Pennsylvania high school student to throw over 2,000 yards and rush over 1,000. Off the field, Persa maintained a 4.3 GPA and volunteered with the
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...
and local youth programs.
In his senior year of high school, Persa committed to
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
on June 23, 2006. He chose to attend Northwestern over football scholarships from the
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...
, the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...
,
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
, and the
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...
.
Upon graduating, he was ranked 93rd nationally by ESPN/Scouts, Inc. and received 2006 Pennsylvania 4A A.P. Player of the Year. In 2017, he was inducted into the National Football Foundation Lehigh Valley Chapter Hall of Fame.
Recruitment
College career
2010
Persa became
Northwestern's starting quarterback in
2010 following
Mike Kafka
Michael John Kafka (born July 25, 1987) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). After attending St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chic ...
's graduation. In the season-opener against
Vanderbilt, Persa went 19-for-21 and passed for three touchdowns. In week 2 against the
Illinois State Redbirds
The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference w ...
, Persa went 19-for-23 and passed for 240 yards and two touchdowns.
On November 13 against the
Iowa Hawkeyes, Persa went 32-for-43 for 318 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. After throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Fields to win the game in the fourth quarter, Persa suffered an
Achilles tendon rupture
Achilles tendon rupture is when the Achilles tendon, at the back of the ankle, breaks. Symptoms include the sudden onset of sharp pain in the heel. A snapping sound may be heard as the tendon breaks and walking becomes difficult.
Rupture typica ...
that required season-ending surgery to repair the injury. Evan Watkins replaced him at quarterback for the remainder of the season. Persa finished the season with 2,581 passing yards and 15 touchdowns.
In the 2010 season Persa set the Big Ten single-season record for completion percentage at 73.5%.
2011
Northwestern started a campaign for Persa for the
Heisman Trophy before the 2011 season by promoting the slogan "Persa Strong" on billboards in
Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. As of the 2020 census, th ...
, and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. Bruce Feldman of
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc.
History
Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...
had called Persa the strongest quarterback in the country. Persa
bench pressed ,
squatted
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
, and hang cleaned .
He sat out the 2011 season-opener against
Boston College on September 3, with
Kain Colter starting in his place. Northwestern took Persa's Heisman billboards down on September 9; the University said that the billboard campaign was scheduled to end after one month and it had nothing to do with his injury. He missed the next two games of the season, and, as a result of the injury, stayed in the
passing pocket more than he did in 2010.
Following the season he participated in the
2012 East–West Shrine Game on January 21, 2012.
Professional career
After going
undrafted
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in the
2012 NFL Draft, Persa received a tryout with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
during the team's rookie mini-camp in May 2012.
He injured his ankle during a practice, and the
Indianapolis Colts medical team that examined him also diagnosed him with a second Achilles tear that required surgery.
The surgery prevented him from playing in 2012.
Post-career
After failing to enter the NFL, Persa began working as an intern for Duke Realty Corporation under former NU quarterback Steve Schnur and in sales at IT firm Computer Aid Inc. He was hired by real estate company
CBRE Group
CBRE Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm. The abbreviation CBRE stands for Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis. It is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 reven ...
in 2014. He was also hired to do color commentary for one Northwestern spring football game on April 5, 2014.
References
External links
Northwestern Wildcats football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Persa, Dan
1988 births
Living people
Liberty High School (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) alumni
Sportspeople from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Players of American football from Pennsylvania
American football quarterbacks
Northwestern Wildcats football players