SEP state champ Jaxon Dailey gears up for road game at Kinnick

UNI’s starting QB grew up watching the Hawkeyes

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa —

In 2021, Southeast Polk QB Jaxon Dailey celebrated the Rams’ first-ever state championship win. It may ave been his final high school game, but his football journey was far from over.

He began his college career at Arkansas State, then transferred to UNI in 2024. Saturday, he gets the chance to quarterback the Panthers at Kinnick Stadium. That’s a place he and his family know well. His dad, Mike Dailey, was a linebacker for Hayden Fry in the early nineties.

“I have watched a lot of Hawkeye football,” said Jaxon. “I’ve followed them for a while. They are a really good program. Growing up in the state of Iowa, that is a team that you watch. It is cool being able to go play in that stadium, but the field is still 53 1/3 wide and 120 long. So don’t try to make it more than it is, but don’t neglect the fact that it is a pretty cool experience.”

He took over the starting job at the end of last season. This fall he is off to a fast start as a fifth-year senior. He is completing 71 percent of his passes. He’s thrown 3 TD passes and rushed for 3 more. Saturday is his biggest test yet. Iowa is favored by 40.5 points. Dailey says bring it on.

“Our theme this year is win in the dark. We are trying to do whatever we can to put UNI back to where it needs to be, so I would say we are kind of the underdog more often than we would like to be. I wouldn’t say that’s a whole lot different. We are treating every week the same and looking forward to competing against whoever we are lined up against.”

Kickoff is 3:00 p.m. on FS1. Watch Big College Kickoff at 10:30 by downloading the free Very Local app.