Dan Orlovsky's story sits at a precarious intersection, the one that contradicts the message we send to our kids about education ... and the realism society enforces.

It's no more complicated than this: We preach the value of education but glorify the trappings of sports. As the great Dan Jenkins once wrote about a star athlete: "bet he'll miss that college degree when he's deciding which country to buy."

Orlovsky, a Connecticut kid, remains the greatest quarterback in UConn history. He's been in the National Football League for the last 12 years, hardly playing for free. And yet his accomplishment trumps all, qualifying him as a guest lecturer to our kids in every state school.

Dan Orlovsky, 12 years out of UConn, with a comfortable bank account, just earned his college degree.

For no other reason than he said he would.

Honoring all those people who reiterated to him the value of education.

"I've never started something and not finished it," Orlovsky was saying over the weekend by phone. "For me, it was about accomplishing something I said I was going to do. Football is going to end for me at some point. Suppose I'm looking to do something else after football, like maybe coaching, and the lack of a college degree holds me back. I didn't want that to happen."

Orlovsky did what many other aspiring NFL players do after their college seasons end: He left school to attend all the requisite pre-draft camps and combines. It's called chasing the dream.

"After the (2004 Motor City Bowl) game in Detroit, I was on a plane the next day to California and a combine," Orlovsky said. "So I had to drop out of school. I missed my last semester. I was five classes — about 20 credits — short."

And so Orlovsky's professional career has taken him through Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Tampa Bay and now back to Detroit. He has thrown for 3,132 yards. Yet through all the local-kid-makes-good narratives, he heard voices, too. Persistent voices.

"I got tired of (UConn) coach (Randy) Edsall asking me when I was going to complete my degree," Orlovsky said. "Coach (Rob) Ambrose (a former UConn assistant now the head coach at Towson State) would send me a text every February: 'when are you getting your degree?' My wife would make jokes about it. It was just time."

Orlovsky, 34, said the NFL actually encourages its players to earn their degrees. The league provides a contact person who facilitates the process, either at a player's old school or a new one closer to their home. The NFL reimburses players for their continuing education, so long as they maintain a C average.

"Remember, once you drop out of school, you lose your scholarship. So you have to pay for school with your own money," Orlovsky said. "They make it efficient to get your degree. Players are less likely to do it if it's really difficult. The league makes it pretty easy."

And so now Danny O has his degree from UConn in General Studies.

Orlovsky would surely make more headlines by throwing the game-winner. That's what we glorify. But for a 34-year-old with some money in his pocket to honor the concept of education really ought to be the biggest headline of all. Orlovsky checks every box of what should be properly preached: If you can make oodles of money playing a kid's game: Godspeed. Just be prepared for when it ends. And set a good example.

Orlovsky, thrilled his alma mater has rehired Edsall, will be back in Connecticut more now. It's an opportunity for educators across Connecticut to reach out and ask a 12-year pro athlete, a Connecticut kid, to tell his story. That begins and ends with education.

Bravo, Danny O.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro