Dan Persa Class: Sophomore Hometown: Bethlehem, Pa. High School: Liberty Height / Weight: 6-1 / 205 Position: QB

The 2008 Scouting Report: Brings a tremendous amount of versatility at the quarterback position ... Has a good arm to go along with outstanding running abilities ... True dual-threat quarterback ... Perhaps his biggest strengths are his leadership skills and his winning mentality ... Hard-working player who will do whatever is necessary to help out the team.

2008: Outstanding athlete who contributed on special teams while waiting for his opportunity to play quarterback ... No. 3 on NU's depth chart at QB ... Returned one kickoff return for 15 yards.

2007: Did not see action ... Named team's offensive practice player of the week on two occasions -- vs. Michigan State and Indiana.

High School: Rivals.com All-Region, SuperPrep All-Northeast and Velocity/PrepStar All-Region honoree ... Ranked 33rd among all players (third among quarterbacks) in Rivals.com Pennsylvania player ranking and 54th among all players in SuperPrep Pennsylvania player ranking ... Ranked 22nd-best dual-threat quarterback nationally by Rivals.com and 70th-best overall quarterback nationally by SuperPrep ... Ranked 93rd nationally by ESPN/Scouts, Inc. ... 2006 Pennsylvania 4A A.P. Player of the Year ... 4A first-team all-state quarterback ... 2006 Maxwell Club Award for top high school player of the year (Jim Henry Award) from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware ... 2006 Eastern Pennsylvania Football Player of the Year ... Quarterbacked Pennsylvania to a 28-10 victory over Ohio in the 50th Annual Big 33 All-Star game, which was televised by the NFL Network ... Starred in the game, earning MVP honors ... Rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another, while totaling 65 rushing yards (11 carries) ... Three-time all-area and All-Lehigh Valley Conference quarterback (2004-06) ... 2005-06 All-Area Player of the Year ... Became first player in Pennsylvania history to throw for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season ... Finished career with 5,779 passing yards (402-of-669), 59 passing TD's, 2,526 rushing yards (400 attempts) and 32 rushing TD's ... National Football Foundation (NFF) top Scholar-Athlete for the Lehigh Valley Chapter ... One of NFF's "Play it Smart" participants ... 2006 Platinum 33 selection ... Posted a 42-9 record as the Hurricanes' starting quarterback ... Team won the 2005 District XI championship and finished as the 4A PIAA state runner-up ... Liberty duplicated those feats again in 2006 ... Both years, the Hurricanes won the Eastern Pennsylvania championship ... NHS and Lehigh Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete ... Also lettered four years in basketball and three in track and field (sprinter) ... Football team captain ... Coached by Tim Moncman.

Personal: Born Daniel Vaughn Persa ... Son of Dan and Jane Persa ... Communication studies major.

Persa's Career Stats

RUSHING                G   Att    Yds  TD  Lg Avg/C Avg/G
2008................  11     2     -2   0   0  -1.0  -0.2
TOTAL...............  11     2     -2   0   0  -1.0  -0.2
TOTAL OFFENSE          G  Rush  Pass  Total Avg/G
2008................  11    -2     0     -2  -0.2
TOTAL...............  11    -2     0     -2  -0.2
KICK RETURNS           G   No.    Yds  TD  Lg Avg/R Avg/G
2008................  11     1     15   0  15  15.0   1.4
TOTAL...............  11     1     15   0  15  15.0   1.4
ALL PURPOSE            G  Rush   Rec    PR    KR    IR  Total Avg/G
2008................  11    -2     0     0    15     0     13   1.2
TOTAL...............  11    -2     0     0    15     0     13   1.2