Although Darius Dalton was overlooked at Whitefield Academy by most colleges, the former Wolfpack standout was named a second-team Division III All-American by the Beyond College Sports Network at Birmingham-Southern.

Dalton was one player that helped jump-start the Panthers’ football program that started play in 2007 following a 68-year hiatus. Birmingham-Southern went from winning three games Dalton’s freshman year to seven in 2011 and became the top rushing team in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The conclusion of his football is bittersweet for the 6-foot-6, 250-pound lineman, but he likely will end his career with an exclamation mark. He plans to graduate this spring with a degree in business administration.

“It was definitely a great experience that I can put under my belt,” Dalton said. “It’s great that I can tell people that I was one of the founders. I’m sad to see myself leaving here so soon. I wish I had more time to hang out with the guys I helped build this team with.”

Dalton ended up getting this opportunity as a result of finishing strong his senior year with Whitefield Academy. He was a part of the Wolfpack’s 6-4 finish in 2007, which was good enough for a co-region championship. The Wolfpack went on to reach the second round of the Class A playoffs.

Dalton was overlooked through his junior season, but his contribution as a senior garnered more attention, especially during the Wolfpack’s five-game win streak.

“As a senior, Darius showed a lot of potential and I saw a big transformation as far as being a good football player by the end of his senior year,” Whitefield Academy coach Jimmy Fields said. “He was very coachable and that’s the season I saw him improve and make himself a real good player by the end of his senior year.”

Fields also spoke highly of Dalton’s athleticism. Dalton played both defensive end and tight end in his two seasons with the Wolfpack, which makes him one of the quicker offensive tackles in the high school ranks.

Along with helping Whitefield Academy as a two-way player, the experience at defensive end also helped him learn more about how to block.

Dalton’s athleticism expanded once he got to college and it helped him gain attention. He was a member of a Birmingham-Southern offensive line that created running room for Shawn Morris, who emerged as the conference’s top rusher last season. He also helped his team accumulate the most offensive yards (3,839) in the conference.

Morris, who was a first-team All-American this season, finished with 1,449 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. He also rushed for a SCAC record 332 yards in Birmingham-Southern’s 35-21 win over Millsaps in its season finale.

As a tackle, Dalton was also able to take pride in allowing a conference-least seven sacks.

All that success was a far cry from the 2008 season when Dalton had just two starts and played seven games en route to a 3-7 record. Dalton became bigger and stronger as the seasons progressed and got more involved in helping the Panthers finish 4-6 in 2009 and 6-4 in 2010 before going 7-2 in a nine-game schedule in 2011.

“The first thing we learned (over time) is not how fast you start but how well you finish,” Dalton said. “One of things we had to learn as a team was how well you finish.

I felt like everyone bought into the coaching staff and the rules and regulations. Each year we would have four or five freshman get playing time and that speaks for the quality of the athletes that we have.”