By Pete Pelegrin
Twitter: @PetePelegrin

Senior tight end Akil Dan-Fodio is one of nine current FIU players to have been on the Panthers' last bowl team. Dan-Fodio was a freshman on the 2011 FIU squad that won a program-record eight games and played in the St. Petersburg Beef'O'Brady's Bowl.

With FIU one win away from becoming bowl-eligible this season, several teammates have asked Dan-Fodio about his 2011 bowl experience. Dan-Fodio, whose first name Akil means one who uses reason and intelligence, stops and gets them back on track.

"I'm not going to lie going to a bowl game was a great experience," Dan Fodio said. "My teammates ask me what it was like. I tell them it was a great experience but at the end of the day we have to focus on Western Kentucky. If we don't get the "W" on Saturday then none of it matters."

Defeating the Hilltoppers on Saturday and getting back to a bowl game would mean a lot to Dan-Fodio and the Panthers. However, if Saturday is Dan-Fodio's final college football game he will cherish his time at FIU and look forward to starting the next game in his life.

Dan-Fodio, who already earned an international business degree from FIU, would like to remain in sports. Currently, Dan-Fodio is finishing a recreation and sport management graduate degree and will attend John Marshall Law School in Atlanta in January.

"I knew I wanted to own my own business at some point and that why I chose international business," Dan-Fodio said. "I want to own a law firm specializing in sports law."

Having a diverse educational background is just a snapshot of Dan-Fodio, who is from the Atlanta area. At Stone Mountain Redan High, Dan-Fodio was often called by his teachers, a "Renaissance Man" because of his variety of interests and talents.

Besides excelling on the gridiron and on a baseball diamond – he hit 20 home runs in high school – Dan-Fodio was an honor student and Georgia Merit Scholar finalist. He graduated in the top 10 percent of his class and earned an academic scholarship to FIU. Dan-Fodio was recruited to the Panthers by former FIU defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, now the DC at Florida.

Dan-Fodio also plays the piano and several types of drums. Dan-Fodio took up the piano at age 7 when he got interested in the piano at a friend's house.

"I stopped playing the piano temporarily when I was 11 because it wasn't the cool thing to do," Dan-Fodio said. "I kind of let my peers take me away from the piano and I took up the drums. Now I appreciate my parents having me take piano lessons. That's an incredible skill to have."

Dan-Fodio can still play the piano today as well as the drums. But it's his play on the football field this season that has helped FIU after injuries to starting tight ends Jonnu Smith and Ya'Keem Griner. Dan-Fodio has a career-high 21 catches for 238 yards this season. Not too shabby for a player who arrived at FIU as a quarterback, became a tight end his second season, returned to quarterback his third season and is now back at tight end. Dan-Fodio asked to make the position switches each season.

"Every time it was my suggestion because I wanted to get on the field," Dan-Fodio said. "Quarterback is my natural position but I thought I could help the team best at tight end."

And that's where Dan-Fodio hopes to help the Panthers against WKU. Dan-Fodio has already steered his teammates' focus to the Hilltoppers, where if FIU takes care of business Saturday then Dan-Fodio and the Panthers can create another "great experience" with a 13^th game this season.

"Akil is a real smart guy," said linebacker Luis Rosado, who was on FIU's 2011 bowl team like Dan-Fodio. "He brings a good vibe and gets everyone in the right mindset. The mindset that we have to stay focused, go all out and not play with any type of fear. We have to go out and play like animals. We got more one game to get to a bowl game. This is it."