Allen Dailey's warrior spirit showed in first action with UK

Allen Dailey’s name entered the Big Blue Nation’s collective consciousness when Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops named him a freshman to watch at the first media luncheon of the year.

Fast forward three weeks and 6-foot-3 Alabama native made a splash in his first meaningful snaps at wide receiver in blue and white in the Wildcats’ 48-10 blowout of the Murray State Racers. He hauled in two catches for 38 yards, including a physical 23-yard fight to the end zone.

The warrior spirit that Dailey brought to his first career touchdown as a Cat is something he displays every day in practice.

“A lot of people got to see the type of effort that the kid practices and plays with,” UK wide receivers coach Michael Smith told Cats Illustrated.

The work Dailey puts in out of the spotlight has endeared him to his coaches and teammates.

“Saturday when he was able to get in the end zone you saw how ecstatic many people were, myself included,” Smith said.

However, the soft-spoken Dailey put the credit for his score squarely at the feet of his teammates.

“It was a great block by the O-line and a great throw from Gunnar (Hoak),” he said after practice on Tuesday.

In fact, Dailey takes more pride in the small details of the game.

“I put working hard first. I want to be known as a hard-working, physical wide receiver.”

A great attitude is usually a draw for coaches, however, for Dailey, it did not set his recruiting profile a light, even as he put up eye-popping numbers as a senior at Pinson Valley High School.

“My senior year I didn’t have too many offers. I was going to go JUCO, and that was going to be the move for me,” Dailey recalled.

Kentucky was the only SEC school to offer Dailey a scholarship, though he did draw interest from other schools in the conference.

Thankfully, Dailey’s high school coach Patrick Nix knew UK offensive coordinator Eddie Gran.

“We had a couple of guys we knew on that staff, Coach Nix; they called and said ‘We have an SEC receiver.’ We watched his tape, and he set an Alabama state record in terms of touchdown passes (caught). We kept watching and said ‘This guy is the real deal.’ We feel like we stole one,” Gran said.

Once the UK coaching staff, particularly Coach Gran, got involved with Dailey, the personal touch they provided in a time of hardship sealed the deal.

“While they were recruiting me, my mama was very sick. Coach Gran would hit me up every other day to check on my mom and me. They were like family to me...They showed me a lot of love,” Dailey said.

Sadly, Dailey’s mother Marilyn passed away on Feb. 17 of this year.

However, in spite of his loss, Dailey is surrounded by coaches and teammates who clearly admire and believe in him, and as the season goes on and he hopefully sees the field more, the Commonwealth will be in his corner as well.