Darryl Keenan Overstreet Jr.

What advice do you have for current high school athletes who hope to make it to the next level?

I would tell current high school athletes to find a school that you can see yourself playing at for four years and that will help you get a degree that you can use after sports. I would also tell them not to be afraid to bet on themselves and to put their future in their hands not someone else’s.

How’d you end up at your current school? What was the recruiting process like?

I chose Upper Iowa University for two reasons. I only had two preferred walk-on opportunities to play Division II ball: Upper Iowa and McKendree and out of the two I felt that I had the best opportunity to play early on in my career. The second reason was that the coaches wanted me to be on their roster the other schools just wanted me as a number. The recruiting process for me was challenging and I had to go out and get every offer for myself. I would contact numerous coaches every day and even to get in contact with Upper Iowa I had to find a way into one of my high school teammates meeting with Coach Hoskins, before I was even put on their radar.

What do you consider to be one of the more important things you learned from the coaching staff?

The most important thing that the coaching staff has taught me is how to watch film and understand what a defense is doing. Over my four years here my knowledge of the game has increased tremendously, and it has been due to my better understanding of how to study the game.

What would you consider to be your biggest accomplishment in your sports career so far?

My biggest accomplishment in my sports career has been turning around a struggling program to one who is playing important games late in the year. My first two years we won a combined 4 games out of 22. Last year we went 7-4 winning the most games here at the school in the last 25 years.

What is your Major and what do you hope to accomplish in your post athletic career?

I completed my bachelor’s in business administration with a focus in Sports Administration. I am currently working on my master’s in business administration with a focus in Organizational Leadership. My overall goal post athletics is to be a sports agent and represent athletes through their various sports. I want to be able to be as close to sports as I possibly can for the rest of my life.

Performance & Training

Can you walk us through a typical training day during the season and off-season?

A typical day during the off-season, specifically in the summertime, I wake up at 4:15 a.m. to be at our summer workout program by 4:55 a.m. Once we get there, we start off with some type of agility training or speed training before we got to conditioning. After all our field work is done we go into the weight room. After team workouts are done for the day, I go home make breakfast and then take a nap until 10 am so that I can be out on the field for my throwing session with the wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends. After about 2 hours of footwork drills routes on air and other position specific drills we go get lunch. After my field work for the day is done I would either head to work or spend time with my teammates.

How do you mentally prepare for high-stakes games or competitions?

For me, every game is a high stakes game because when you get to the end of the year every win means the same. Now do some games feel more important yes but at the end of the day my preparation would be the same for a winless team as it would be for an undefeated team.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your athletic career, and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge in my athletic career was getting benched my sophomore year of college, for the previous starting quarterback. From there it was a competition each week on who would start and all the reps the used to be mine I now had to split every week.

How do you stay motivated during times when you’re not performing at your best?

Me performing poorly pushes me to be better. For me the best way to motivate myself is to complete a pass. Once I find a rhythm or see a completion it improves my game. It’s all about never letting myself give up.

Team Dynamics & Leadership

How has being part of a team shaped your personal growth or leadership style?

I’ve had to learn the hard truth that when you are a leader you will not always be liked but you must do what you must do to get the best out of your guys. It’s not always yelling at people it’s not just leading by example but it’s a mix of everything. It has taught me that you must be flexible.

Can you describe a moment when you had to step up as a leader, either on or off the field?

During Fall camp we were having a string of ad practices, so I called up the team and brought the issue up we talked it out and the motivation and willingness to work grew with in the guys. Our issue at the time was simply effort in practice.

What qualities do you think make a great teammate?

Being a great teammate is caring about the guy in the locker next to you as much as you care about yourself. It’s someone who is competes with everyone but doesn’t strive to bring someone who tries to build others up. It’s a guy you would bring into an alley with you and will have your back through thick and thin.

Collegiate Transition

What was the biggest adjustment moving from high school to college athletics?

The biggest adjustment for me was learning and understanding the checks and protections. Truly understanding how to manage an offense. It took some time getting used to being the one to slide protections on to a pressure. My presnap recognition had to get to a high level and fast as my first college start came in Week 6of my freshman year against Minnesota State Mankato

How do you balance academics with the demands of being a high-level athlete?

My school has made it very easy to balance academics and football. We do 8-week quarters here at Upper Iowa which allows for you to only have to take 2 to 3 classes at a time because of this I was able to accelerate my degree and graduate in 3 years with my bachelor’s degree. The school purposely makes it easier for us.

What was an important lesson you learned early on that has impacted your success?

I learned that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. All my life I have been talented in many aspects but the one thing my father would never let me do its take my talents for granted and not push myself to the limit. I was never recruited heavily or went to all of the big camps or been rated but I can promise that of the guys who were rated in my high school class I can out work, out compete, and overall be a better player than because of the experience that I have due to my work ethic.

Off-the-Field Life & Mindset

How do you handle pressure from fans, media, or expectations around performance?

I take time and pray to the Lord and then I talk with loved ones. Overall, the most pressure I get is from myself to be a better play, to execute, and to win games. I am harder on myself than anyone could ever be so the outside noise doesn’t get to me.

What role does mental health play in your life as an athlete, and how do you maintain it?

I try not to let myself get too high or too low. I try to take an calm and focused approach to everything in life and to maintain that happiness I turn to my family. It could be a facetime call with my dad or seeing my niece and nephew, or messing with my younger siblings.

What’s something people might misunderstand about what it takes to compete at your level?

People think there is a huge talent discrepancy especially at my position. Division II has had some really good quarterback play and guys that can play at the next level. In other positions you have guys who could play at high levels too. At the end of the day we are all 18-23 year olds who can all play football at a high level the difference is what you do with those four years you are in college and how you develop yourself.

If you could make a positive impact on all of society, what would it be and why?

If I could make one positive impact on all of society it would be to settle political unrest. Now that is a very lofty goal but a lot of our issues as a country and as the world is differences politically. We see senseless murders and wars happen too often because we cannot get along.

How would you describe your work ethic?

 My work ethic has gotten me to where I am. Its what has made me a four year starter and its what has pushed our team from one of the worst to a potential playoff team because having a great work ethic is infectious. You have to bring guys along with you to create a winning culture

Your Future

What do you hope to show scouts at the National Scouting Combine?

I want scouts to see a strong-arm dual threat quarterback who has a great knowledge of the game. I’m not just a regular pocket passer and I’m not a running quarterback I can do whatever any team needs me to do. At the end of the day I want scouts to see I’m a versatile athlete but I am a quarterback first.

Where do you see yourself five years after your athletic career ends?

Five years after my career I see myself as an established sports agent representing 5-10 high profile athletes and supporting my family.

What legacy do you hope to leave behind in your sport?

I want to be seen as the greatest to ever play quarterback at Upper Iowa University. I want to be seen as one of the greatest division II to professional quarterbacks ever. At a bare minimum I want to be seen like Tyson Bagent and Jon Kitna and leave my mark on the NFL.