Scott Daly (born February 7, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Notre Dame.

Early years

Daly began long-snapping in the fifth grade. He attended

Downers Grove South High School Downers Grove South High School, or DGS, and locally referred to as "South", is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Dunham Road and 63rd Street in Downers Grove, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United S ...

. He played

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

and also handled the team's long-snapping duties. As a junior, he received All-conference and honorable-mention All-area honors at tight end. As a senior, he scored his first career touchdown in the season opener. He was named the national high school long snapper of the year and was ranked the number one long snapper in the nation by

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

. In April 2011, he committed to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

College career

Daly accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a freshman in 2012, he did not see any action behind Jordan Cowart. As a sophomore in 2013, he was named the team's long snapper for all 13 games. He posted 2

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. As a junior in 2014, he was perfect on 127 snapping opportunities. As a senior in 2015, he started all 13 games, accumulating 39 straight over his first three seasons. He was perfect on 126 snapping opportunities and contributed to Justin Yoon freshman All-American season. On October 31 against

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 called Ba ...

, he posted his first

tackle since 2013. On November 21, he recovered a fumble on a muffed punt at the 4-yard line in a game against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. He also was recognized for his work in sending supplies to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. He played a total of 39 games during his college career.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Daly was not selected in the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

. He instead received an invitation for a rookie minicamp tryout with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in May. The Bears decided against signing him to a contract and Daly spent the 2017 season out of football.

Dallas Cowboys

On April 16, 2018, Daly signed as a

free agent 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 ...

with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. On September 1, he was waived, after not being able to pass stalwart starter L.P. Ladouceur on the depth chart.

San Antonio Commanders

On October 26, 2018, Daly signed with the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home g ...

of the

AAF AAF may refer to: Aviation * Aigle Azur (ICAO code), a French airline * Apalachicola Regional Airport (IATA code), in Apalachicola, Florida Corporations * American Air Filter, today a part of HVAC-equipment-maker Daikin Military * Albanian Arm ...

. He played with the team until the league ceased operations in April 2019.

New York Guardians

In October 2019, Daly was drafted by the

New York Guardians The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Guardians played their home games at MetLi ...

in the open phase of the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Detroit Lions

On May 4, 2021, Daly signed as a

with the

. He earned the

job during the preseason after passing 17-year veteran

Don Muhlbach Donald Lynn Muhlbach Jr. (born August 17, 1981) is a former American football long snapper. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest active player in the NFL other than Tom Brady. Muhlbach played college football for Texas A&M Universit ...

on the depth chart.

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, Scott 1994 births Living people American football long snappers Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players San Antonio Commanders players Sportspeople from DuPage County, Illinois Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players New York Guardians players People from Downers Grove, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois