The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

A dream come true

Losing to Eastern Washington in the first round of the playoffs might be the most poignant memory Yemi Akisanya takes away from his time with the Salukis.

Akisanya, now a former cornerback for SIU, isn't the only Saluki to feel the sting of defeat, but he might be feeling it the most. It isn't often a walk-on player has the chance to defy the odds and a chance to win a national championship for a team he wasn't even recruited to play on.

Akisanya refuses to focus on what might have been, but instead on what has been.

"It hurts a lot," Akisanya said after his final team meeting as an SIU Saluki. "But coming from a walk-on, I'll take anything."

Standing at only 5-foot-9, Akisanya isn't a very imposing man, particularly when a wide smile is consistently plastered to his face, even after suffering an incomprehensible postseason loss.

Many would ask what Akisanya would have to smile about after that, but he lived a dream, even if it was cut short.

Akisanya walked onto a losing squad four years ago hoping for a chance to play some football with a rag-tag team. Now he is walking off the field with two Gateway Conference Championship rings and irreplaceable memories.

Akisanya became one of the cornerstones of the Saluki defense, playing at the cornerback position and snagging two interceptions his junior year and two more this past season.

It is an impressive feat, considering Akisanya didn't even play football his senior year of high school. His parents, particularly his mother, didn't want him playing football - they were soccer fans. So Akisanya conveniently neglected to tell his mom he was playing football.

Akisanya, unlike most collegiate football players, was able to keep the little bit of information from her because he hadn't been recruited or received a scholarship to play.

Instead, he just decided to try out for the team one day during his freshman year.

"When she eventually found out, she said if I could go behind her back, I must really want to do it," Akisanya said with a grin. "My mom is one of my biggest fans."

After deciding to try out, Akisanya didn't train relentlessly in the weight room or run sprints to prepare for the open practice. Having run track and played soccer in high school, Akisanya said he just considered himself an athlete.

Mentally prepared, but not necessarily physically prepared, Akisanya nonetheless decided to give it a shot.

But Akisanya almost didn't even make it to the tryouts - he was late and briefly considered not even going. A friend of Akisanya's gave him a ride to McAndrew Stadium though, and there was no turning back.

The tryout was a nerve-wracking, scary experience for Akisanya. He recalled feeling as if the coaches literally stared through him like he didn't exist. Still, he must have done something to grab the attention of linebacker coach Tom Matukewicz and head coach Jerry Kill.

"Coach Matukewicz gave me a call and told me to see Coach Kill, and I was on the team," Akisanya said. " It happened so fast."

Akisanya was now a Saluki, and prepared to wave goodbye to countless hours of sleep and video games that would now be consumed by practice.

If the tryout was intimidating, Akisanya's first official practice with the team made him nauseous. Butterflies roiled in his stomach while he attempted to prove himself to a team full of recruits and scholarship recipients.

"I was slipping and sliding everywhere. I was just doing too much," Akisanya said with a characteristic grin. "I wanted to show them my skills, and they told me to calm down."

The coaches told Akisanya he had already made the team - he didn't have to show off, but just play the game and work his way up.

But Akisanya felt as if he had more to prove as a walk-on. Other players on the team spoke of how hard they were recruited by SIU and other schools, Akisanya said. He couldn't relate to that, and felt stigmatized by his walk-on status.

Akisanya began to feel discouraged during the 2001 season when the Salukis ultimately went 1-10. Despite encouragement from his teammates, Akisanya felt as if he wasn't helping the team and considered quitting.

If Akisanya ever voiced his concerns, Kill doesn't remember. All Kill can recall is Akisanya's determination.

"Yemi is a product of not quitting," Kill said, perhaps not knowing how close that came to happening. "He's a guy that kept working, kept battling and didn't gripe or complain. When he got his chance, he took advantage of it."

Akisanya can easily recall the turning point in his mind - the time when he realized he was a part of the team, and not just another tackling dummy in a Saluki uniform.

A common practice drill involves a defensive player and on offensive player basically running at each other and attempting to drill one another into the ground. Akisanya took part in the drill against former receiver Nick Wafford.

"I hit Nick Wafford, and everyone stood up going, 'Yeahhh,' and giving me high-fives," Akisanya said. "I think that was the turning point right there."

From that point on, Akisanya shed the walk-on image and recognized himself only as another Saluki. He still had to work his way up, though.

After playing in 11 games on special teams his sophomore year, Akisanya found his way into the cornerback position his junior year. His spot as a defensive leader was solidified after tying for second on the team for interceptions, behind only safety Alexis Moreland.

"Yemi is an aggressive player, a playmaker," Moreland said. "He's a student of the game, always trying to figure out the opponent so he can get a jump on the ball."

Akisanya looks back on his experience now and describes it almost as a fairy tale. After trying to describe it as wonderful, unbelievable and a dream, Akisanya just shrugged his shoulders and said words couldn't describe what playing for the Salukis has meant to him.

Unfortunately, Akisanya and every other senior Saluki felt the slam of the first-round loss to Eastern Washington that signified the end of their fable. It might have hurt Akisanya the most of all.

He went from playing football video games to playing alongside predicted championship contenders, only to witness it fall apart.

"It was like a fantasy world, and now it's over," Akisanya said. "But you've just got to move on."

Catching up on sleep and murdering friends in bouts of Halo 2 are paramount in Akisanya's mind now. He'll receive his degree in management in a few short weeks, but doesn't plan on searching for a job too soon - at least not in his major.

Using his experience with the Salukis, Akisanya said he wants to explore the possibilities of a professional football career, a childhood dream of his. If that doesn't work out, Akisanya said, at least he'll have my education to fall back on.

No matter what, Akisanya will always fondly remember his days as a Dawg.

"It's a dream. It changed my life," Akisanya said. "Twenty years from now I'm gonna write a book about it."