Sad News: David Shanahan will play off season owing to his health condition.
Kerry’s David Shanahan included in Georgia Tech ranks to face Florida State
A native of Castleisland in Kerry, David Shanahan created his own slice of history back in May 2020 when it was revealed he was to become the first player born and raised in Ireland to take on a football college career in the States.
For their grand return to the Aviva Stadium later on today to face Florida State in the latest edition of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic (kick-off 5pm), Georgia Tech will have amongst their ranks a man who has a strong familiarity with this part of the world.
A native of Castleisland in Kerry, David Shanahan created his own slice of history back in May 2020 when it was revealed he was to become the first player born and raised in Ireland to take on a football college career in the States. While the covid-19 pandemic meant it was another 12 months until he officially began his scholarship in Georgia – he was initially set to arrive there in January of that year – Shanahan played his first game of American football for the side commonly known as the Yellow Jackets against Northern Illinois on September 4, 2021.
A gifted Gaelic footballer during his youth, Shanahan is one of four punters listed in Georgie Tech’s team roster for 2024. Although it is located over 170 miles from his hometown in East Kerry, getting the opportunity to line out for the Yellow Jackets at the Lansdowne Road venue should prove to be an emotional experience for Shanahan.
Georgia Tech will certainly be hoping for a similar outcome to the college’s last visit to the Aviva back on September 3, 2016. In the very first Aer Lingus College Football Classic, running back Dedrick Mills produced a late four-yard touchdown to snatch a 17-14 victory for Georgia at the expense of Boston College.
That game doubled up as an NCAA Division I FBS contest and it is in the same competition that Georgia and Florida State will also lock horns today.
Whereas 40,562 spectators were in attendance eight years ago for the maiden Aer Lingus Classic, last year’s clash between Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Navy Midshipmen attracted a seismic crowd of 49,000.
With today’s game officially sold out, it is predicated there will be a raucous atmosphere at the south Dublin ground. In this regard, the fact that an astonishing figure of more than 25,000 Americans are estimated to have crossed the Atlantic in order to attend the game will significantly help matters.
While Georgia had an overall record of seven wins and six defeats in 2023, a consistent Florida State ended the year with an impressive 13 victories and just one reversal to their name. That solitary loss was a heavy one (63-3) at the hands of Georgia Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl, but given their 2023 season also saw them being crowned champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Mike Norvell’s side will be confident heading into their opening fixture of 2024 in Dublin.
