By Dylan Phillips
Newark —
Being drafted into a professional sport is the culminated dream of many young young boys growing up. Since the inception of the University of Delaware’s football program over 117 years ago, only 29 players have ever been drafted.
“I think Delaware has had the tradition of having a lot of successful guys go from here to the NFL. With Joe Flacco from prior years, Rich Gannon from back in the nineties, Bilal Nichols with a 5th round draft pick last year,” says Scott Day, assistant AD for athletic communications. “I think they’ve shown that this can be a place that draws a lot of attention and draws guys who can make it to the next level.”
With such a high-profile pick and a history of UD players getting drafted, it only means mainstream notoriety for the Blue Hens and head coach Danny Rocco.
“For recruits, you want to see guys getting to the next level and you have that here,” adds Day. “You’ve had it here for years and when you have that pipeline, scouts know ‘hey, we can go here and these guys are gonna be good players.’”
Brothers Brian and Brandon Dennis who are senior and sophomore, respectfully, for Rocco’s Blue share Day’s same sentiment
“It just gives people hope. I know Delaware is so small you get the thing ‘that oh, they’re from Delaware, they don’t play anybody,” says Brian. “‘They don’t have the athletes that play at the big time schools,’ but when you actually see dudes that come from this state and actually produce and play in the NFL — you can actually look up to them and be like ‘alright well, if I do what they did, at least I have a shot.’
“it gives us a lot of hope,” adds younger brother Brandon. “A lot of motivation for young guys, we can make it out here and just work hard like they did and we’ll be set.”
Delaware’s success couldn’t have come at a better time as they are currently constructing a state-of-the-art $60 million dollar field and facility. Already boasting a top two CAA conference recruiting class for this upcoming football season, they will look to amplify more than just their recently acquired stadium by developing the future Blue Hens and with high hopes to return to the playoffs.