Griffin Greenberg is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sierra Linda High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX — Although he in the top 10 in receiving yards in Arizona this season, Sierra Linda wide receiver Stephon Daily is also performing at a high level in sports outside of the gridiron. The senior,  who is a three-star Colorado State football commit, has played varsity basketball for years and has broken records in track and field.

Part of the Sierra Linda Bulldogs’ recent football success comes from the play of Daily, who has averaged over 110 receiving yards per game and totaled 17 touchdowns to help his team achieve an 11-2 record over the past two seasons. But while Daily has excelled in football, he actually didn’t even start out playing the game he’s headed off to college for.

“The first sport I got into was basketball. I actually played and thought that that was going to be the route for me, but it turned out football was just the route and it was the thing that showed me the most love,” Daily said.

And while he started basketball and football when he was young, the football captain didn’t start track and field until his sophomore year of high school, which is when he was able to jump an incredible 6-foot-8 high jump early into his track career. The senior says he’s planning on doing track and field in the spring but is unsure about basketball as he might not want to risk injury after suffering one last basketball season.

“Basketball and track have done a lot, especially athletically; jumping higher, running faster, getting stronger, and just improvement [in] every other place in the offseason. It all boosts everything that I need in [football] games,” Daily said.

With Daily finishing his high school career, he still has made a big imprint serving as a leader and role model for many of his teammates, including his younger brother, Seth. Seth has already followed in Stephon’s footsteps and has competed in basketball and track as well.

“My brother has been a big influence in football. I saw the spotlight on him and I looked up and I want the same thing. So I’m out here working, I’m trying to get my name out there,” Seth said.

The younger Daily also mentions that he and his brother go way back in competition with each other, playing one-on-one every day on the basketball court, the sport they picked up from their father. Both of the brothers praise aggressive play and putting in extra work and effort as keys to their success in multiple sports.

Stephon isn’t only a multi-sport athlete, but he’s also a leader that helps influence his teammates. Coach Ty Preyer has seen some of the standards that Stephon holds himself to and how that reflects on others. One example is in Daily’s training. While Preyer coaches two sports and sees the effects on the body that playing multiple sports can have, he mentions how Stephon is someone who respects each game he plays in every sport and is rewarded by his body because he knows how to take care of himself.

“I think Stephon’s a natural-born leader. He’s someone that’s easy to follow, not just because of what he does on the field but because of the person he is… He’s just someone who wants to see everyone else be as successful as he is and I think that’s one of those things that’s very rare,” Preyer said.

Stephon is a role model for many in the Sierra Linda sports community. He is looked up to for not only helping turn their football program around but also in helping his teammates and others with his leadership.