North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Akinniyi's Blessing in Disguise
9/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 6, 2010
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. -
He was sitting in the offices of the Northeastern football program as the coach informed him of a difficult decision the staff had just made - they wanted Akinniyi to redshirt his freshman season, to help him make the adjustment from Rocklin (Calif.) High School to Division I-AA football.
At the time, he couldn't imagine anything that could be more upsetting.
But last November, Akinniyi was again in a meeting at Northeastern when athletics director Peter Roby walked in and announced that the school was dropping football.
For Akinniyi, a three-year starter at linebacker and defensive end, it was devastating news. Where could he find an opportunity to finish his football career, with only one year of eligibility remaining? Would he have to sit out a year? If so, he thought he might as well just stay at Northeastern, get his degree in business management and get on with his life.
Just a few days later, however, Akinniyi received a phone call from NC State recruiting coordinator Jerry Petercuskie, assuring him that, under NCAA rules, he would be eligible to play immediately where ever he landed. But Akinniyi - who grew up in Dallas, moved to California and had spent the last four years in Boston - was unfamiliar with Raleigh or ACC football.
There was some other interest for one of the most talented players on the Northeastern team, after Akinniyi recorded 40 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in 2009. His first offer was from Buffalo, with some interest from both Central Michigan and Maryland.
In the end, things really couldn't have worked out better for someone who had been chop-blocked twice during his college career.
"I was very excited, very happy, to be able to continue my career here," Akinniyi said. "It was kind of a miracle. Back when I was a freshman at Northeastern, they redshirted me and I was kind of upset at the time. If they hadn't redshirted me, I wouldn't be here now.
"It's kind of a blessing in disguise."
What Akinniyi might not have known at that time was that the Wolfpack needed him almost as much as he needed an opportunity. With both Willie Young and Shea McKeen lost to graduation, the Wolfpack was thin at defensive end.
He enrolled in January, impressed the coaching staff with his play during spring practice and was in the starting lineup Saturday night in the Wolfpack's season opener against Western Carolina. He's among a patchwork of defensive ends who have loads of talent, but little experience. The starter on the other side, junior Jeff Rieskamp, missed all of last season with an injury, while senior Michael Lemon and senior Audi Augustin are listed as the reserves.
"He is a really good football player, as I have said all along," Wolfpack coach Tom O'Brien said Monday afternoon. "I think's really sound in his fundamentals and his techniques. As a guy who's played safety and grew into an outside linebacker and now is a defensive end, he has a pretty good conceptual picture of what he was supposed to do.
"He's been a great pickup for us this year."
In 22 plays Saturday night against the Catamounts, Akinniyi had one tackle and a seven-yard sack, a good start for a player still making the transition to the larger setting of ACC play. Saturday's game, with 56,417 spectators in attendance at Carter-Finley Stadium, was about 10 times the crowd of any Northeastern home game.
Akinniyi admits that the Wolfpack defense began a little slowly, in a mixture of over-excitement and opening-game nerves. Western Carolina marched 87 yards on its opening possession and took a quick 7-0 lead. But the Catamounts managed just 102 in total offense the rest of the game, which the Wolfpack won easily, 48-7.
"Early, I was a little nervous, a little nervous," Akinniyi said. "But as the game went along, I was able to play a lot better. Going into the game, I was hoping to do my best and help our team.
"This week, we need to get off to a better start, play better and be more physical."
Saturday, the Wolfpack makes its first road trip, playing at Central Florida, one of the nine teams on the 2010 schedule that played in postseason bowl games last year.
Akinniyi obviously makes transitions well. His parents, Akin and Gloria Akinniyi, immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in 1982 and began raising a family of athletes. His older brother, Akin, played football at Arizona. His older sister, Deborah, ran track at Stanford. His younger sister Dorcas is a heptathlete at Wisconsin, and his youngest brother Tunde is still in high school, with hopes of one day playing college football.
Along the way, Akinniyi learned a lot about responsibility and organization, two things that have helped make the move from Northeastern to N.C. State smooth.
"If there is anybody who is more organized than [quarterback Russell Wilson], it might be [Akinniyi]," O'Brien said. "He is able to have priorities in order, to know what needs to get done, with minimal supervision. He is mature beyond his years as well.
"He understands what it takes."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
