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Dan Persa

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

Persa was born on November 20, 1988, to parents Dan Sr. and Jane Persa in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His mother and sister both graduated from Pennsylvania State University, resulting in Persa wishing to play for the Nittany Lions as a child.

While attending Liberty High School, Persa played football for three years and competed on their track and field team as a sprinter. As a football player, Persa became the first Pennsylvania high school student to throw over 2,000 yards and rush over 1,000. Off the field, Persa maintained a 4.3 GPA and volunteered with the Special Olympics and local youth programs.

In his senior year of high school, Persa committed to Northwestern University on June 23, 2006. He chose to attend Northwestern over football scholarships from the University of Akron, the University of Connecticut, Temple University, and the West Virginia University. Upon graduating, he was ranked 93rd nationally by ESPN/Scouts, Inc. and received 2006 Pennsylvania 4A A.P. Player of the Year. In 2017, he was inducted into the National Football Foundation Lehigh Valley Chapter Hall of Fame.

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%.

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).

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American football player
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