Sarasota TE is a great player, student

Patrick Danahy of Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney was a very popular guy last month. As one of the best tight ends in the Southeast, dozens of schools made treks to watch practices and countless others called him on the telephone. His offer count is now 14.

"We had tons of colleges come to the school," Danahy said. "I can't even keep track of them. We had three or four at each practice. I got three or four phone calls a night. I've gotten 14 offers. I've got Wisconsin, Northwestern, Auburn, Clemson, Missouri, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Purdue, UCF, Tulane... Harvard offered me for their early action thing-- they don't actually offer athletic scholarships. I also have offers from Rutgers, FIU, and Wake Forest."

Patrick Danahy is all about the academics-- not only is he a great football player, but his academic accolades are probably even more outstanding. He has a 4.6 weighted grade point average (4.0 unweighted) and scored a 1330 on the SAT. It goes without saying that academics are going to be very important when Danahy takes a closer look at the schools recruiting him.

"Definitely a big factor for me is academics," Danahy said. "I have really good grades and that's really going to be a big factor. A big factor will be the coaches too. I went on a trip last week where I just took some unofficial visits to some schools and I got to meet with some of their coaches. I went to Notre Dame, Northwestern, Wisconsin, BC, and Harvard. I'll probably take another trip down South to some of the southern schools like Clemson, Auburn, and Georgia Tech. The coaches, their coaching style, their attitudes, and that kind of stuff will definitely be a big factor too. Location is not that big of a deal at all. Weather is not that big of a deal. Environment, if it's a football town or not, is pretty big."

Danahy said he would most likely pursue a degree in business administration at the college of his choice. He would also like to eventually obtain a Master's degree at the same school. Patrick will attend a 7-on-7 camp with his team at South Florida later this summer, and says he "might" attend an upcoming camp at Notre Dame.

Patrick is taking things easy regarding recruiting. He's not listing any favorite schools at this time.

"I'm leaving it wide open," Danahy said. "Any school that's really showing interest, I'm showing interest back."

Patrick said he had plans to attend a spring game at UF back in April but things didn't exactly work out.

"Actually I went up to go to Florida spring game and the traffic was so bad that it took us six hours to get up there and we missed the whole game," Patrick said. "We tried to get up for the UF one. At least we attempted. Other than that we didn't make any."

Danahy, who is 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, caught 22 passes for 377 yards and 5 touchdowns last season. He made the All-Area second team and honorable mention All-State. Danahy said his max bench is 330 pounds, his clean and jerk is 270 pounds, and his vertical jump is 26 inches.

Patrick said he would like to compare himself as a player to former Miami tight end Jeremy Shockey.

"I really like Shockey and I would like to compare myself to him," Danahy said. "If others would, I don't know, but being like him is my goal."

Staying in Florida or in the Southeast isn't a concern for Patrick Danahy right now.

"I really don't care at all (about staying close to home)," Danahy said. "If the school I go to is close then that's a bonus. But if it's far away that's no big deal."

Don't expect Patrick Danahy to make a commitment anytime soon, but you never know.

"Right now I don't think there's any grounds for me to make an early decision," Danahy said. "I'll probably take a couple more unofficial visits to see some more schools and that might change some things for me."