By Stephen Levitt ‘22, Sports Writer

While many have dreams of playing in the National Football League (NFL) and becoming a sports star, most do not possess the athletic ability to get there. Throughout its history, Newark Academy has only seen two alumni—Bob Perina and Skippy Minisi—make it to the NFL, and less than 1% of senior high school football players in the United States will be drafted. Although many Newark Academy students lack the size and raw talent needed to make it, they do have the intelligence to fit an alternative, revolutionary route to the big stage.

Daniel Stern, a Yale Graduate and Park School of Baltimore alumnus, is currently the football analyst for the Baltimore Ravens. The Baltimore Ravens finished with the best record in the NFL, and according to Peter Schrager of Good Morning Football, Stern is their “Secret Weapon.” 

Stern’s passion for football began at an early age, as he played recreational football until tenth grade. Since Park School did not have a football team, he began helping coach his little brother’s football team instead. While he studied at Yale, Stern was a student coach of the Yale football team, learning key coaching skills.  

Similar to Newark Academy, Park School, Stern’s high school, is not known for its athletic prowess but rather for its rigorous academics. Never playing a snap of high school football, Stern turned to his mathematical skills and quick thinking to assist his hometown football team, the Baltimore Ravens.

Connected by headsets during each game, Stern uses in-game analytics to inform head coach John Harbaugh, on probabilities and percentages which help the Ravens make tactical decisions on a real-time basis. Thanks to these analytics, the Ravens are now 16 for 21 on fourth down conversions and lead the NFL with a 76.2% conversion rate. From TV segments to viral Reddit streams, Stern has quickly attracted the attention of NFL fans and sportscasters, opening the eyes of many to the various ways data analytics can help teams compete at a higher level.

“[With the Yale football team, I was taught to] sell yourself as someone who can bring regular football experience to the table, but also analytics or statistics because it is getting so big in pro football,” Stern said. 

Now in his third year with the Ravens, Stern has been able to see the rapid evolution of data analytics within the NFL take hold. “If you don’t use [data analytics] for strategic advantage and you don’t use it to learn as much about yourselves and the teams you’re playing, [other teams are] just getting an advantage over you. When you’re competing directly against them, it’s everything,” Stern said. 

As analytics continues to develop, teams like the Baltimore Ravens will recruit college students and math prodigies like Daniel Stern, who are able to use the immense amount of data collected over the years to offer strategic advantages similar to those that have led the Ravens to a dominant season.