Dakota Tracy, a 2008 graduate of New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva High School, was featured Dec. 3 in a New York Times article titled “Football coaches say don’t overlook small-town players,” written by Pat Borzi.

The article, published in print and at NYTimes.com, portrayed Tracy, of Geneva, as an example of small-town

players making impacts at NCAA and NAIA football programs.

Tracy was the starting quarterback for the St. Thomas University, St. Paul, Tommies this past season and led them to a conference championship, 12-1 record and No. 4 national ranking.

Standing just 5-feet-10-inches, the article stated Tracy’s size scared away Division I programs, but he fit perfect at St. Thomas.

“There’s kind of a widespread perception that, for whatever reason, the bigger high schools have guys that will produce quicker on your game field,” Tommies head coach Glenn Caruso told the Times. “For the most part, you can’t argue against that.”

Caruso went on to say in the article that because small-town athletes typically play three sports rather than specialize in one sport, they spend less time working on specific skills and lifting weights than athletes from larger schools.

A full-color photo of Tracy was published as well, wearing his No. 17 Tommies jersey and kneeling next to a corn field.

The Tommies’ season ended Dec. 4 with a NCAA tournament quarterfinals loss to Bethel University.