Happy in Green

Jenny is living his boyhood dream as Dartmouth's quarterback

Dartmouth quarterback Alex Jenny takes off on a scamper last fall. At right, a family photo of Jenny celebrating his first birthday at a Dartmouth game.

One day last winter, during the holiday break, Alex Jenny sat down in his parents' Wayland home and watched one of the family's favorite home videos.

"I was about 2 years old and wearing a Dartmouth sweater," recalled Jenny. "My dad asked me where I was going to college and my answer was 'Dartmouth.' " The toddler's sweater is now a fond memory. These days, Jenny wears No. 5 for the Big Green, and will step under center as the team's starting quarterback as a junior when Dartmouth opens its season at Colgate on Sept. 20.

It's a good fit, according to Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens. "Alex is a very intelligent young man with an innate football sense, and his preparation at Wayland High School," under coach Scott Parseghian, Teevens said, "really helped him." Teevens was a star quarterback in the late 1970s at Dartmouth, where he was a roommate of Jenny's father, Chris, and they've remained close friends.

"Alex has matured physically. It's been a steady progression for him," added Teevens, who told Jenny back at Wayland High that if he chose Dartmouth, it would be a challenge for him to be a starter and he might not play at all.

Described by Parseghian as "another coach on the field," the then-160-pound Jenny was recruited predominantly by Division 2 and 3 colleges. But there was a family history with Teevens, who returned as Dartmouth's head coach in 2005. And Jenny's impressive high school football resume, which included a school record 49 career TD tosses, was hard to overlook.

Jenny, who directed Wayland to winning seasons as a junior (7-4) and senior starter (9-2) and captain, attended several football camps directed by Teevens, including the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana and the Stanford and Dartmouth camps.

"I've been going to Dartmouth and Harvard games with my dad since I was a kid," said Jenny, now 5-foot-11 and 182 pounds. "I was recruited mainly by the NESCAC schools and I also talked to Harvard coach Tim Murphy, who lives in Wayland and is also a family friend, but after Coach Teevens came back to Dartmouth, it was pretty much in my mind to go there."

A Globe All-Scholastic who starred in three sports at Wayland High, Jenny earned his first varsity start at Harvard last fall after passing for 189 yards and a touchdown the previous weekend to help defeat Columbia.

The Harvard game was like a homecoming for Jenny, who threw a pair of TD passes but was also picked off three times by the Crimson, who prevailed, 28-21, en route to the Ivy League title. Parseghian and most of his Wayland team were in the stands, along with family and friends. "I got too worked up before that game," recalled Jenny, who is looking forward to this week's scrimmage against the Crimson.

"Playing for Coach Teevens has raised my expectations, and if he wasn't here, I might not be, either. I have a kind of extra drive to make both our decisions look good."

Through his Dartmouth playing experience, Jenny has also been reacquainted with two former Wayland teammates, Colgate wide receiver Sam Breslin, who preceded Jenny as Wayland's signal caller, and Holy Cross linebacker Ryan Stewart, who'll visit Dartmouth for a game Oct. 18.

"Sam definitely helped me learn the offense when I backed him up," said Jenny, "and Ryan is also a close friend. Last season in our game against Holy Cross he put a hit on me right after I threw a touchdown pass. Later, he sent me an e-mailed photo that showed the hit, and so I e-mailed him the picture of our receiver running into the end zone."

A talented baseball player whose father coached him through Babe Ruth, Jenny said the late Steve Henley, Wayland's Pop Warner founder and the high school team's offensive coordinator, and Parseghian both inspired him as a football player.

"Steve took me under his wing and Scott was a great motivator," said Jenny, who played through severe leg injuries his two full seasons as a starter. His most courageous moment might have been during a loss to powerhouse Acton-Boxborough Regional High during his senior year, when Jenny could barely walk.

"We had a chance for the playoffs so Alex gave it a try," recalled Parseghian. "At times, our linemen would carry him on their shoulders into the huddle. He had a warrior's mentality and I never met a smarter high school player than Alex. He used to have game film broken down before the coaching staff."

Last fall at Dartmouth, Jenny completed 32 of 62 passes for 484 yards and five touchdowns and his efficiency rating of 134.12 would have been second in the Ivy League with enough attempts.

"People assume I had a heavy hand in Alex's college choice, but that was never the case," said his father. "I'm tickled he's there and I know there's a comfort level with Buddy. My son has a lot of respect for him." Teevens believes the best is yet to come for Jenny, whose brother, Chris, will be a Dartmouth freshman this fall.

"Family friendship has nothing to do with his progress," said Teevens. "He works hard to improve and he has the opportunity to be a special player here."