Fans of Suburban One League football will see some familiar faces when they tune in to ESPN2’s live telecast of Friday night’s NCAA FCS national semifinal matchup between William & Mary and host Villanova.
A pair of SOL alums – freshmen Dan Shirey and Ronnie Akins – will be seeing action for Villanova. For both true freshmen, it has to feel a bit like a dream.
“It’s exciting,” Akins said. “Going into college football, I didn’t expect to be in the third round of the playoffs and possibly make the championship game.”
Akins – the SOL Continental Conference’s Player of the Year last year - has seen action as a reserve at safety and also has been an integral part of Villanova’s special teams.
“Everything is totally different,” the North Penn alum said. “I’ve been getting to know the defenses.“I’m in on kick-offs and punts, but I don’t touch the ball, at least for now.”
Villanova coach Andy Talley has liked what he’s seen of Akins so far.
“Ronnie is going to be a big-time player here at Villanova,” the Wildcats’ coach said. “He is gaining invaluable experience this year on special teams and at safety in a reserve role.
“Ronnie has improved a great deal from the beginning of the season until now and has emerged as one of our best special teams performers. I expect Ronnie to be a playmaker for our defense throughout his career.”
Shirey – a first team all-league selection on both the offensive and defensive lines for Neshaminy last season - admits he didn’t expect to see much action as a freshman.
“It’s pretty crazy,” he said. “As a freshman, I came in thinking I would be a redshirt and help out with the scout team or even get on special teams.
“I didn’t expect to play a lot.”
The ‘Nova freshman was in for a big surprise.
In the Wildcats’ third game of the season against Penn, Shirey found himself starting on the offensive line.
“One of our tackles got hurt in the Lehigh game, so I got the start in the Penn game because we didn’t have any backups,” he said. “I had a pretty good game.”
Since then, Shirey has been a regular on the offensive line.
“It was definitely a shocker because most freshmen – especially at the college level – don’t get that much playing time, so it was a shock to even play,” he said. Shirey made an immediate impression on Villanova’s coaching staff.
“Dan has been a great addition to our offensive line,” Talley said. “He has spent time this year as both a starter and a reserve and has done a super job for us.
“The thing that has been most impressive about Dan is the consistency he has shown for a freshman. Due to our offensive line injury situation, Dan will be starting throughout the playoffs.”
The transition to life at the collegiate level has been relatively seamless for both SOL alums.
“For the most part, it was pretty easy,” Akins said. “In the beginning, when I first got here, the adjustment was pretty hard. I wasn’t used to anything, I didn’t know anybody, but after a while, I got comfortable.”
Both say there were noticeable differences when they stepped onto the gridiron. The biggest surprise?
“The speed of the game,” Shirey said. “We run a no-huddle offense. It’s quick – you get to the line, the play’s called, and you run it. You get to the line again. It’s fun, it’s tiring, but we get the job done.”
“Definitely the size of the people, and they’re definitely fast,” Akins added. “Everything is faster.
“Everything is on a schedule, everything is fast-paced.”
Both athletes say their high school programs prepared them for collegiate football.
“Definitely with coach Mark Schmidt – he’s a crazy dude, but he’s the man,” Shirey said with a laugh.
“All the summer workouts and lifting definitely helped out,” Akins added. “I feel like it’s more work in less time – that’s the best way to put it.”
Heading into Friday night’s showdown, William & Mary is fresh off a 24-3 road win at Southern Illinois in a quarterfinal game while Villanova is coming off a 46-7 rout of New Hampshire. In the win, the Wildcats outgained New Hampshire 387-84.
“I expected to go to the playoffs because I knew we had a lot of people coming back, and we were supposed to be a pretty good team,” Shirey said. “We sure are, and we just have to keep it going.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday night at Villanova Stadium.
William & Mary also has an SOL alum on its roster in freshman Scott Schneider, a graduate of Central Bucks East.
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