Daly Leads Bobcat Defense
8/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Any Bobcat fan can recite Bobby Daly's stats.
Returning consensus All-America, MSU's first in 40 years? Check. Just under 12.5 tackles per game, the most among all returners in the FCS? Check. The most tackles in the Big Sky and fourth-most in the FCS last year with 136? Check. Bona fide Buchanan Award candidate? Check. A second-generation Bobcat captain, who has bled Blue and Gold since he was born? Check, and a high five for the next Bobcat you see.
But Jamie Marshall doesn't care much about that. MSU's second-year defensive coordinator likes what Daly allows the rest of the defense to operate.
"Bobby allows us to play a lot of base defense and play safe behind him, because we know he'll be in the right spot a majority of the time," Marshall said. "He's able to make tackles in space. A lot of things we do in our base defense fits to our Mike linebacker, and in our case we're fitting it to an All-America, so we feel good about that.
Marshall remembers exactly what he thought of Daly a year ago, when he was allowed to watch film on the Helena Capital product in June and July but couldn't coach him until August. "He has great instincts, he's a great football player. He's relentless to the ball and never tires out. He's everything you want in a linebacker. He brings it."
That said, Marshall said what a coach can't tell about a player from film was even more impressive about Daly. "He really cares about everybody else on the team. When you come in and don't know who the guys are. You can see he's a great player, but underneath his shell he really cares about everybody else. Nothing's about him, all he cares about is wins on the football field on Saturday."
Returning consensus All-America, MSU's first in 40 years? Check. Just under 12.5 tackles per game, the most among all returners in the FCS? Check. The most tackles in the Big Sky and fourth-most in the FCS last year with 136? Check. Bona fide Buchanan Award candidate? Check. A second-generation Bobcat captain, who has bled Blue and Gold since he was born? Check, and a high five for the next Bobcat you see.
But Jamie Marshall doesn't care much about that. MSU's second-year defensive coordinator likes what Daly allows the rest of the defense to operate.
"Bobby allows us to play a lot of base defense and play safe behind him, because we know he'll be in the right spot a majority of the time," Marshall said. "He's able to make tackles in space. A lot of things we do in our base defense fits to our Mike linebacker, and in our case we're fitting it to an All-America, so we feel good about that.
Marshall remembers exactly what he thought of Daly a year ago, when he was allowed to watch film on the Helena Capital product in June and July but couldn't coach him until August. "He has great instincts, he's a great football player. He's relentless to the ball and never tires out. He's everything you want in a linebacker. He brings it."
That said, Marshall said what a coach can't tell about a player from film was even more impressive about Daly. "He really cares about everybody else on the team. When you come in and don't know who the guys are. You can see he's a great player, but underneath his shell he really cares about everybody else. Nothing's about him, all he cares about is wins on the football field on Saturday."
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