MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Cameron Lyons has been into sports his entire life.
“I’ve been into football and sports in general ever since I can remember,” he said.
Lyons grew up around sports. His father is Shane Lyons, the athletic director at WVU.
“My dad didn’t have a big influence on me to play football. He wanted me to play the sport that I loved,” Lyons said. “After being around college football programs throughout my life, I knew that I wanted to pursue playing in college as one of my goals. It is pretty cool to have him as a fan of mine.”
Lyons is a 2017 graduate of Morgantown High. He finished his redshirt freshman year in May at the University of Akron.
Lyons played in all 12 games for the Zips last season and was one of five redshirt freshmen to play in every game.
“I actually didn’t realize that I was only one of five redshirt freshmen to play in every game, but it is pretty special,” he said. “It’s awesome to know that I could possibly have the chance to play in all the games for my four years of eligibility.”
He handled every snap on punts and kicks. He recorded two solo tackles. Lyons is excited about this season.
“I am really looking forward to next season, I think that we have a special group of guys on our team right now,” he said.
As a Mohigan, Lyons finished with 154 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and two interceptions. As a senior, he made 64 tackles and was a member of the 2016 team with a 10-3 mark.
“It was awesome being on that 10-3 team. I love keeping up with those guys and seeing where some of them are playing football at now,” he said.
Lyons is not the only Mohigan on the Akron roster. Maverick Wolfley is also a member of the football team.
“It’s awesome playing with Maverick in college,” he said. “We already had the experience of playing together and friendship, so I think it made the transition to playing college football easier and more fun.”
Lyons said playing football on the college level has its challenges.
“Playing football at Akron is really different than playing at MHS,” he said. “College football is a very large commitment of your free time, much like a job. You have days where you spend hours in the facility to lift, practice and get treatments to perform your best.”
The promise of playing time was one of the factors that made Lyons choose Akron.
“I decided to attend Akron because I had a great opportunity to play there,” he said. “I was able to start my redshirt freshman year and be put on scholarship, so that was a large factor in my choice.”
He knows it was the right choice.
“I like the friendships that I’ve made at Akron that I know will go far beyond my football days.”
Lyons also excels in the classroom. He was named to the Academic All-MAC team, as well as the Dean’s List.
“It’s awesome to be named to Academic All-MAC and dean’s list,” he said. “It is very rewarding to see your name on there and know that your hard work in the classroom is paying off and being recognized.”
But, Lyons said it is not easy balancing academics and playing football.
“It is very difficult managing academics and sports,” he said. “It’s a large commitment to both, and you have to be very organized and on top of them to excel and not get behind.”
Lyons is majoring in sport management.
“My goal following my college football career is to get into the field of sports management and work to become an athletic director.”
