Dan Persa

Dan Persa

refer to caption Persa before the first game of the 2011 season for Northwestern.
No. 7
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1988-11-20) November 20, 1988
Place of birth:	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Height:
Weight:
Career information
High school:	Bethlehem (PA) Liberty
College:	Northwestern
Undrafted:	2012
Career highlights and awards
First-team Coaches' All-Big Ten honors (2010)

Daniel Vaughn "Dan" Persa (born November 20, 1988) is a former American college football quarterback who played for the Northwestern Wildcats. He attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Recruitment

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Dan Persa QB	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania	Liberty High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	4.58	Jun 23, 2006
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 71 (QB)   Rivals: 22 (QB), 33 (PA)
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Persa committed to Northwestern University on June 23, 2006. He chose Northwestern over football scholarships from the University of Akron, the University of Connecticut, Temple University, and the West Virginia University.

College career

2010

Persa became Northwestern's starting quarterback in 2010 following Mike Kafka'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, 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 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, and Chicago. Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com had called Persa the strongest quarterback in the country. Persa bench pressed 365 pounds (166 kg), squatted 520 pounds (240 kg), and hang cleaned 315 pounds (143 kg).

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

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
5 ft 11⅛ in	210 lb	4.57 s	1.59 s	2.72 s	4.36 s	7.11 s	32 in	8 ft 11 in
All values from Northwestern Pro Day on March 8, 2012.

After going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, Persa received a tryout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 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.

External links

• Northwestern Wildcats football bio
• PersaStrong