Conway football standout Stanley seeing ‘(Ivy) Green’

Life only tends to present certain golden opportunities on a single occasion.

For Conway’s Darren Stanley, it came in the form of an offer to Dartmouth — an Ivy League school located in Hanover, N.H. — this past summer. In fact, the Big Green represented the first offer seeking Stanley’s services.

Other schools would soon follow in their interest, some making an offer to the Tigers wide receiver. But of those, one stood out most prominently among the rest.

Following a visit to Dartmouth this past weekend, Stanley committed to the school. He announced his intentions via Twitter.

“… I would like to thank all of the schools that recruited me,” he said. “But this school believed in me since day one and never turned their back on me! With that being said, I will be furthering my education and football career at Dartmouth College!! Go Big Green!!”

This past season, Stanley led Conway with 36 receptions for 625 yards, a key reason the Tigers won their first playoff games in a decade. He also had seven touchdowns, as well as two interceptions.

When it comes to getting into Dartmouth, however, production on the field is only half the battle. One’s ability in the classroom is also of the essence.

Stanley checks that box off as well, maintaining a 3.7 GPA in addition to performing well on the ACT.

According to the Tigers standout, what really made a difference to him was what he could achieve at Dartmouth, as well as beyond his days at the school.

“The thing that made me commit to Dartmouth was the quality of people there and all of the connections I could have being a Dartmouth grad,” Stanley said. “The people at Dartmouth definitely make the school a great place and environment for a young man like me to succeed.

“This was too good of an opportunity to pass up for not only myself, but my family and other people I inspired to come to Dartmouth or any Ivy League school. (Dartmouth) made me feel like I have a purpose in life, not only in football but in academics also.”

This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Conway football standout Stanley seeing ‘(Ivy) Green’."