One of the squad[apos]s hardest workers and fiercest competitors, Derek Day has established himself throughout his career as a significant special teams contributor. He continues to work tirelessly, though, toward gaining more opportunities to carry and catch the ball amongst the talented Penn State backfield in his fifth-year senior season. The determined Day is a quick and instinctive athlete and an elusive runner who will push for the top reserve tailback spot. The former Central Dauphin High School standout is on schedule to graduate in December. Day is among 20 returning Nittany Lions who hail from Central Pennsylvania.
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2011 Senior Season
Day appeared in 12 games, gaining 27 yards on seven carries and catching one pass for 13 yards. He also recorded eight tackles and forced a fumble as a highly effective member of the special teams. Day made the initial three carries of his career against Indiana State and gained 18 yards on four carries (4.5 avg.) against Eastern Michigan. He also caught a pass that gained 13 yards in the Big Ten-opening matchup at Indiana. Day was on the field for 109 snaps, topped by 16 in the game against the Eagles and 13 plays each in the matchups with Northwestern and Indiana State.
2010 Junior Season
Playing in every game, Day was a consistently productive member of the special teams and the foreign team. He recorded nine tackles (eight solo). Day made a career-high three solo tackles in the 41-31 primetime win over Michigan. He recorded two solo stops against Florida in the Outback Bowl and had one hit in four additional contests. Day saw action on 120 snaps, topped by 18 plays against Florida in the Outback Bowl.
2009 Sophomore Season
Day played in four games on special teams, with seven plays in the 35-10 win at Michigan and six snaps in the big win at Michigan State.
2008 Freshman Season
Redshirt season.
High School
A standout at Central Dauphin HS, Day played offense and defense for Coach Glen McNamee. The two-year captain and three-year starter and letterman earned All-Mid-Penn accolades as a running back and defensive back. He gained 982 yards on 130 carries and scored 12 touchdowns during his senior season, accumulating 1,562 career yards on 238 carries with 21 touchdowns. Day grabbed 30 career receptions for 467 yards and three touchdowns. On defense and special teams, he totaled a career 190 tackles, 11 sacks and nine interceptions. Day was selected the team MVP in 2007 and played in the 2008 PSFCA East-West All-Star game. He was named a Central Pennsylvania Subway Player-of-the-Week. Day also was a two-year letterman in basketball.
Personal
Full name is Derek Richard Day. He is the son of Dwayne and Lori Day and has one older sister, Heather, who was a cheerleader at Penn State. His father played football at Lycoming College. Day enjoys hunting. His major is crime, law and justice. Day was born April 17, 1989 in Williamsport, Pa.