Packers punter Daniel Whelan becomes ninth from Coachella Valley to play in NFL game
Daniel Whelan made his NFL debut Sunday in Chicago, making the Rancho Mirage High School graduate the latest on a short list of men from the Coachella Valley to play in a regular season NFL game.
Whelan, a 6-foot-5, 216-pound punter for the Green Bay Packers, signed a free agent contract May 17. The 24-year-old is now just the ninth player from the valley to play in a regular season game.
With his mother, Anne Marie Doyle, in attendance at Solider Field, Whelan’s first punt on Sunday went for 42 yards. His next was a whopping 68 yards into the end zone, and his third, fourth and fifth punts went for 42 yards, 41 and 42 yards.
* In making his NFL debut, Whelan joined Ed White, D.J. Alexander, George Thomas, Jeff Webb, James Dockery, Jeremy Thornburg, Johnathan Ingram and Trenton Thompson as the only players from the valley to play in an NFL regular season game.
"It's unbelievable to think it happened today, but not surprising with the talent that Daniel Whelan has," said L.D. Matthews, who coached Whelan at Rancho Mirage High. "He is one of a kind."
White (Indio High) played in 241 games for the Chargers and Vikings from 1969-85; Alexander (Palm Desert) played in 61 games for the Chiefs, Jaguars, Eagles and Seahawks from 2015-19; Thomas (Indio) played in 51 games for the Falcons and Buccaneers from 1989-92; Webb (La Quinta) played in 31 games for the Chiefs from 2006-08; Dockery (Palm Desert) played in 31 games for the Browns and Panthers from 2011-14; Thornburg played in six games for the Packers and 49ers in 2005; Ingram played in four games for the Chiefs in 2005 and Thompson played in one game last season for the Giants.
Whelan, who was born in Ireland, near Dublin, moved with his mother to Southern California before high school. He began his athletic career playing soccer and tennis, and his high school tennis coach once believed he would one day be a Division I caliber tennis player, with Whelan’s size giving him a John Isner kind of advantage with his big serve and wide range on the court.
Before his junior year of high school, Whelan told his tennis coach that he wanted to also play football. The idea seemed absurd because Whelan had never played American football and it would take away from his time on the tennis courts.
But Whelan’s leg was a major advantage for the Rattlers. He was an all-league selection as a senior and helped his team to an 11-3 record and an appearance in a CIF Southern Section championship game. He drilled five field goal attempts of more than 50 yards averaged 43.8 yards per punt. He also once made a 72-yard field goal in practice, which was caught on a video that went viral on social media.
"Coming to America and landing in Rancho Mirage, who would have thought that my son would make his NFL debut 10 years later?" Doyle, Whelan's mother, wrote Sunday in a message to The Desert Sun. "October 2013 he started in soccer and then with Coach Matthews' vision he picked up American football for the first time."
Whelan played collegiately at UC Davis, where he was an FCS Punter of the Year semifinalist, averaging school single-season record 46.3 yards per punt, from 2017-21.
After college, Whelan went into the summer of 2022 as an undrafted free agent before signing with the New Orleans Saints. He didn’t make the Saints’ roster out of training camp but eventually signed with the XFL’s D.C. Defenders.
During his lone season in the XFL, Whelan averaged 46.5 yards per punt in 12 games. That production put him on the radar of multiple NFL teams.
This year, in training camp with the Packers, Whelan beat out veteran Pat O’Donnell for the lone punter spot on Green Bay’s active roster.
"A lot of hard work, determination and sheer passion to never give up," Doyle wrote. "He had some great mentors and coaches that helped him along this journey.
"His adventure continues."
*-Story updated to include La Quinta grad Johnathan Ingram who played four games for the Chiefs in 2004 to list of Coachella Valley high schoolers to play in NFL.
Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
NFL players from Coachella Valley
(In order of number of NFL games played)
241 games: Ed White (Indio) – Chargers, Vikings (1969-1985)
61 games: DJ Alexander (Palm Desert) – Chiefs, Jaguars, Eagles, Seahawks (2015-19)
51 games: George Thomas (Indio) – Falcons, Buccaneers (1989-1992)
31 games: Jeff Webb (La Quinta) – Chiefs (2006-08)
31 games: James Dockery (Palm Desert) – Browns, Panthers (2011-2014)
6 games: Jeremy Thornburg (Cathedral City) – Packers, 49ers (2005)
4 games: Johnathan Ingram (La Quinta) – Chiefs (2005)
1 game: Trenton Thompson (Palm Springs) – Giants (2022)
1 game: Daniel Whelan (Rancho Mirage) – Packers (2023)
Research by Shad Powers, The Desert Sun
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Packers punter Daniel Whelan, a Rancho Mirage High graduate, makes NFL debut
