It’s a call no parent ever hopes to receive. It's the one that wakes them up in the wee hours, telling them one of their children is in the hospital.

It’s the call Gerry Daly and his wife received four years ago when their daughter was a freshman at the University of Arkansas.

“I’m an early to bed, early to rise-kind of person,” Daly said. “It’s the worst call you can get on a Friday night."

Daly’s daughter had been taken to the emergency room, incapacitated and under the influence of what was believed to be alcohol. Tests, however, showed she had been drinking at the party she had attended, but she wasn't drunk.

“She couldn’t walk, and when she tried to talk, it sounded like 'tsk .., tsk,' " Daly said. "She wasn’t in any danger, so we took her home to monitor her."

It took a few days for the Dalys to piece together what had happened to their daughter via text messages from her friends. All she could remember was talking with a guy at the party, and then waking up in the hospital with a few of her girlfriends around her. Eventually, the family came to the conclusion that the male had slipped something into her drink, causing her incapacitation.

Daly also discovered that the man tried to take his daughter from the party, but he was thwarted by a Razorbacks football player and his friend. If not for them, there's no telling what might happened.

That football player was Dre Greenlaw, whom the 49ers selected Saturday in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Greenlaw was familiar with Daly's daughter, as they attended the same high school. She was a cheerleader, and he was a member of the football team. Greenlaw was unfamiliar with the man who tried to leave the party with Daly's daughter, which likely motivated him to confront the man by saying, "She's not going anywhere," according to Daly.

Daly has wanted to thank Greenlaw, even reaching out through social media to no avail. Until the linebacker was drafted by the 49ers, Daly resisted publicly thanking Greenlaw for fear of what the repercussions might be for the young athlete.

"He was an underage athlete, attending a party where there was alcohol, even though he was not drinking," Daly said. "He was a college football player in the SEC."

That could be seen as a violation by Greenlaw, and Daly didn't want to risk that for a player who appeared to risk much for his daughter. If the confrontation at the party had escalated into a fight, Greenlaw could have been suspended or even kicked off the team.

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But Daly figured Greenlaw wasn't at risk if he publicly told the story now. So, he detailed what happened in a Twitter thread that received quite a bit of attention, including from Greenlaw, who retweeted two of Daly's posts. The 49ers themselves weren't aware of the story until Daly went public with it.

Daly just wanted Greenlaw to know how much he appreciated what he did for his daughter.

“Thank God someone was looking out for her,” Daly said. “Thank God that there are good people in this world like Dre. Please tell him thank you."

Daly is only conflicted about one thing regarding Greenlaw's future -- his new team.

"I was hoping he would become a Giant," Daly said with a chuckle. "That's my team, and they need a guy like him on and off the field.

"But I'd root for him wherever he landed. Now I’ll cheer for the 49ers."