Daren Daly can probably say he's the only football player in the state of Florida who has worn the garnet and gold of Florida State, green and orange of Miami and black and gold of Central Florida.

''I think it's odd,'' agreed Central Florida coach George O'Leary, Daly's most recent college coach after UM coach Randy Shannon had him in '07. ``I got a call in the preseason saying he wanted to transfer. I followed NCAA rules and regulations and he was granted a hardship because of academics. We had a major here that he wanted.

``The way the situation [at UM] worked out, I don't know what happened but I never asked. He's a pretty good kicker.''

Daly moved to Coral Springs with his family from Dublin, Ireland, when he was 9. He will be kicking off and placekicking against the Hurricanes (2-3) the Knights (2-3) come to Dolphin Stadium at 3:45 p.m. Saturday in the first meeting between the teams.

''It should be fun,'' Daly, 22, said. ``I know most of the guys on the team and I still talk to a lot of them. It'll be different for me because it's not in the Orange Bowl. But if I go out there and do a nice job for UCF it'll be even better. I'm not going to put any more pressure on myself. Three points is three points whether it's against Miami or a Conference USA opponent.''

Daly, a senior, has hit two of his five field goals this season, including a long of 36 yards last week against Southern Methodist. He played with an injured quadriceps until the past two games. He is 7 for 7 on extra points and has 13 kickoffs for a 61.4-yard average. At UM last season, he was 4 for 6 in field goals and 5 for 5 in extra points, with 39 kickoffs for a 61.3-yard average.

''I can't think of anyone else who has played on three teams in the state,'' said Daly, a strawberry-blonde who is 6-1 and 195 pounds.

``I can't even think of anyone who has played at Miami and Florida State. I've adjusted to it pretty well. It's kicking a football. There's not too much of a playbook you have to learn.''

How did it happen?

Daly was a redshirt walk-on at Florida State in 2004, skipped football in 2005 during the transfer process to UM (he said he had academic aid but did not get the athletic scholarship he was promised), and arrived on Larry Coker's UM squad in 2006. Though he got a few chances to punt his first real season in '06, last season Shannon gave him his first significant opportunity.

Daly had been kicking off already, but he hit a 44-yard field goal in his first career attempt last season against his former Seminoles, and made two extra points in a 37-29 win against FSU.

He earned the starting job the next week against North Carolina State, going 3 for 4 in regulation, including a 27-yarder with 19 seconds left to send the game into overtime. But he missed another 27-yard attempt in OT, and UM lost 19-16.

''Coach Shannon benched me after that,'' Daly said. ``There was more pressure on me for the kick that put us into overtime. I didn't focus the way I should have. I just thought it would be an easy kick and I probably was too lackadaisical.''

Daly was an all-state midfielder for the Taravella high soccer state champions in 2003, and eventually translated that success to kicking a football.

At UM, he earned two undergraduate degrees -- the first in business administration and the second in business law. The NCAA approved a waiver to allow him to transfer without sitting out a year, to pursue his master's in coaching and leadership. He wants to be a graduate assistant coach and hopes to become a general manager for an NFL team.

''He's a very mature kid,'' O'Leary said. ``He has his goals set. He was injured in the preseason early and wasn't himself. The last two games he has been better.''

UM kicker Matt Bosher, who keeps in touch with Daly, said he's happy for his former teammate.

''He's just a good, strong-hearted kid,'' Bosher said. ``He knows what he wants in life and he's very confident. I'm happy he could find somewhere to play and still showcase what he can do.''

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@