New father Daryn Colledge back at Arizona Cardinals’ training camp
Jul 27, 2013, 8:50 PM | Updated: 8:51 pm
GLENDALE — There was something, or rather, someone missing from the first day of training camp.
Daryn Colledge, 6-foot-4 and 308 pounds, was conspicuous by his absence Friday.
The first sign something was up: Paul Fanaika, the former ASU Sun Devil, lined up at starting right guard, Colledge’s position.
The team called it a personal matter.
Turns out the personal matter was the birth of his daughter, Reagan Grace.
“My wife (Megan) called me yesterday morning and said, ‘It was go time’,” Colledge said Saturday. “I actually almost didn’t make it. It was good. It’s a nice 45-minute commute (home). Luckily, I wasn’t in Flagstaff because if I was in Flag I probably would’ve missed it.”
Colledge reported both mom and baby — born at 7:26 a.m. weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces and 21 inches long — are doing well. They had a water birth with a midwife.
“My wife’s a champ,” Colledge said. “She was a stud. She did great and then kicked me out of the house. She told me to get back to work and start winning. I got another kid to pay for so she said I got to keep working hard.”
The couple have a 2-year-old daughter, Camryn, meaning Colledge is now outnumbered 3-to-1.
“It’s going to be rough around the house,” he said. “I got a lot of pink. I got a lot of women running around. I got plenty of issues, so I’m going to be at the football center as much as I possibly can be.”
And yes, in case anyone was wondering, Colledge’s absence from the first practice was excused.
“For sure. For sure,” head coach Bruce Arians said. “Can’t miss (the birth of your kids). Those are too special.”