Koah Ferrer is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Brophy College Preparatory for AZPreps365.com

The first thought that usually comes to mind when you hear about Stanford University could be the top-class academics, the beautiful campus or the fourth-lowest acceptance rate in the country. Athletics are usually an afterthought.

Brophy Prep senior wide receiver Daylen Sharper received 28 offers from programs across the country but one school stood out.

In 2024, Stanford football finished the season with a 3-9 record and fired head coach Troy Taylor. The Cardinal hired interim head coach Frank Reich for the 2025 season and hired former Stanford and NFL quarterback Andrew Luck as the program’s first ever general manager. Fast forward to 2025, Luck and the Cardinal have 22 commits and counting from the class of 2026, including the 4-star wide out.

Sharper said that during his visit, Luck explained to him, as head of the football program at Stanford, that he believes Sharper can do great things for the Cardinal.

“With all of the coaches, Coach Luck and the academics, everything just played in and I feel like it’s the right choice and there’s nowhere better.”

Sharper announced his commitment to the Stanford Cardinal football team in June of 2025, choosing the Bay Area school over universities like Arizona State, Michigan and UCLA.

Sports for many is a hobby and interest that allows them to escape from life’s hardships. For athletes, sports can be used as an opportunity to make a living and provide for their families, or even earlier in life, attend college and earn a degree.

For recruits like Sharper, the decision to attend Stanford, which has a 3.9% acceptance rate, wasn't just about football. Known for its top-ranking academics, fourth on Forbes’ list of the best academic institutions, the university offers a unique opportunity to excel both on the field and in the classroom.

“Any program can be good at sports, but at the end of the day, there’s life after sports and life after football,” Sharper said. “There’s 40 years where I’m not going to be on the field and I just want to make sure that I get the connections.”

Brophy’s wide receivers coach Victor Yates said he understands the importance of committing to a school that values academic excellence while also giving Daylen the support he needs on the field.

“He’s a smart young man and I’m proud of his commitment to a school that prides itself on academics,” Yates said after Brophy’s game against Shadow Ridge on Oct. 3. “We talked about his options and being somebody that played in the conference that used to play with Stanford, I know about their rigor when it comes to academics, and I think that Brophy has prepared him for the next steps.”

Balancing academics and football could be a trying task for anybody, but Sharper has experience in managing both and more.

As one of the nation’s top two-sport athletes, profiled as a four-star recruit in both football and basketball, Sharper said a lot of training goes into managing all of his responsibilities, and his mom is the one keeping him grounded.

“She is the one who kind of holds it down, makes sure when I get home I’m doing my schoolwork and my studying,” Sharper said.

Sharper grew up playing baseball up until fourth grade and played basketball all through high school. He said his mom didn’t allow him to play football until eighth grade, but when he discovered he was good at it and received his first collegiate offer after his sophomore year, everything changed.

“After I got my first offer from Oregon, I realized this is really a thing that can get me where I want to go,” Sharper said. “I started putting in more football work since then and I’m just blessed to be in this opportunity and get to go to a school like Stanford.”

Sharper led the Brophy boys basketball team to the 6A state championship last season, and Brophy football head coach Jason Jewell gave Sharper credit for managing the physical workload of both football and basketball.

“Basketball kids don’t tend to do a good job in the weight room,” Jewell said, “and Daylen does an excellent job in the weight room. He’s a big, strong kid that gets after it in the weight room, so that’s probably something that most people don’t realize.”

Before the start of the 2025 season, Sharper suffered an injury that forced him to sit out for the first four games of the campaign. This summer was the first one he dedicated training to football.

“I definitely feel like it affects me a lot mentally and of course physically because I had to sit out,” Sharper said. “Just repairing my body and then mentally also trying to get over that hump mid-season is hard but I’m just staying positive and making sure I’m only taking steps forward.”

Sharper’s resilience to battle back from his early season injury and his ability to battle adversity was showcased in his performance against Higley on Oct. 17 where he totaled 201 yards receiving and two touchdowns on 13 catches.

“Anytime you get a big-time Division I recruit back on the football field, it’s always going to help you out,” Jewell said. “It’s a huge boost for our football team and now we get just another big time weapon on offense.”

Yates also had high praise for Sharper after Brophy’s game against Shadow Ridge.

“He’s a dynamic threat on the field and anytime he touches the ball, he’s got a chance to take it to the house,” Yates said. “It’s always great when you can add a guy like that to the field.”

So far in his senior season, he has 349 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 27 catches in four games played.

“He’s just a competitive guy,” Yates said. “He is a guy that is never going to give up, never going to quit, and is going to give his best when the lights are on.”