SHEPLEY'S NFL DEBUT
Windsor man now a 49er
Walking onto an NFL field as a player was always going to feel a little surreal for Windsor native Dakoda Shepley.
After all, only a handful of talent from the area ever make it that far.
Shepley joined a select group that includes Tyrone Crawford with the Dallas Cowboys and Luke Willson with the Baltimore Ravens when he dressed Sunday for the San Francisco 49ers.
What added to an otherworldly experience was the bizarre setting dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 49ers were playing a home game in Arizona, banished from the Bay area by COVID restrictions, in an almost empty stadium save for 100 or so family and friends.
“It was cool but it’s so totally different this year,” the 25-year-old said Tuesday. “But, it still had the high energy you’d expect with an NFL squad. It was amazing how cool it still felt, like the realization of a goal I’ve had for a long time.”
The endless training, weight room sessions and film study paid off when Shepley was promoted to the active roster from the 49ers’ practice squad just a day before their game against the Washington Football Team.
Another odd footnote — his first regular-season NFL game was against a team that does not have a nickname.
Shepley thought he might be activated because of injuries to the team’s offensive linemen. One was out with a concussion, another has a knee injury and a third was injured at practice.
“We’re really short on O-linemen right now,” the 6-foot-5, 290-pounder said. ”It’s a numbers game, I figured I might be up.”
He called Rob Mcintyre, his coach at Holy Names Secondary School, with the good news.
“I talked with Dakoda Sunday morning. He was pretty excited,” Mcintyre said.
And just how did a young man celebrate such a huge career moment after Saturday’s walkthrough practice?
He headed back to his room to study more game film.
“He’s a hard worker,” Mcintyre said. “And he’s learned to love the game and the work necessary to be successful at it.”
Not unlike Crawford and Willson, who put countless hours into off-season training looking for the tiniest edge, a bruising plan that has given each man nine years in the league.
Unlike Crawford and Willson, who caught the attention of NFL teams with four years in NCAA Division I Football, Shepley honed his craft for four years at the University of British Columbia, one of Canada’s top university football programs.
“Immediately you could see that Dakoda was an above-average athlete for his positional group and this is what set him apart from his opponents on the field,” UBC head coach Blake Nill said. “Few that I have coached have had the level of aspiration that Dakoda maintains. He simply believes in himself and that he can achieve anything he sets his mind to.”
Shepley’s first taste of the NFL came in 2018 when he played three exhibition games with the New York Jets before getting cut.
He spent the 2019 season in the Canadian Football League, appearing in 14 games at right guard for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Off-season is geared to improving on strength, speed and skills. It starts at a training centre in Plymouth, Michigan, and then moves to Dallas to work with Duke Manyweather, who specializes in training NFL O-linemen.
“I’m just kind of a sponge around them,” Shepley said. “I want to surround myself with people who are in the position I want to be some day.”
When the 2020 CFL season was cancelled by COVID, Shepley sought his release from Saskatchewan so he could pursue another NFL opportunity.
“He has a rare athleticism for a person his size. Very much like Tyrone has,” Mcintyre said. “He’s smart and driven to succeed.”
After just four training camp practices with San Francisco, they signed him to the practice squad in September.
“It’s been a long time coming to get myself back in the league,” he said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”
Shepley never took a snap in the loss to Washington. He’s still waiting to hear if he’ll dress for Sunday’s game in Dallas against Crawford and the Cowboys.
“I was thinking about that today and how cool it would be to get a photo with him after the game, two Windsor guys in the NFL.”
With COVID travel restrictions, family can’t even fly out on late notice to see him wearing No. 61 in person.
“I haven’t seen my family since April,” he said. “This will be the first time I haven’t been home for Christmas but that’s fine if I’m in the NFL.”
The 49ers have three games left to the regular season. After Sunday’s game, they play the Arizona Cardinals Dec. 26 and then host the Seattle Seahawks Jan. 3.
It's been a long time coming to get myself back in the league ... It's a step in the right direction.