WILLIAMSBURG — As the William & Mary Tribe get ready for the 2025 football season, WYDaily caught up with some of the team’s players ahead of Saturday afternoon’s kickoff.
Ryan McKenna, the Tribe’s center, began playing football in the 6th grade, falling in love with the sport. When he hit 8th grade, he knew he wanted to play in college.
“Moving into high school was a big year for me in terms of seeing if I could do it. I really had to figure out whether I wanted to play offensive or defensive line and go from there,” McKenna said.
McKenna began his career with William & Mary during his sophomore year in 2022 as a walk-on. In his first season, he started all 13 games for the Tribe at center and was tied for first nationally with zero sacks allowed.
McKenna was part of the Tribe’s success in 2022, helping secure the CAA Championship.
“We really want to return to the successes and heights that we achieved in the 2022 season. We won the CAA championship and made it to the third round of the playoffs was huge for our program. It’s had lasting impacts the past few seasons because of it. We’re trying to piece-apart what made that team so special, and really, we’ve been focusing on the relationships that we had amongst the guys on the team during that season,” McKenna said.
In his junior and senior seasons, McKenna was named to the Virginia Sports Information Directors All-State second team and earned CAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll accolades. In 2024, he earned the William & Mary Provost Award for academic excellence.
McKenna enters his sixth year with the team as captain of the offensive line for the second year in a row.
“It’s a great honor. This will be my second season being a captain, which is awesome within itself. This year, I’m trying to see myself more as a normal one of my teammates and just be able to interact with them all individually and not have them treat me any differently because I’m a captain or have earned a leadership role. I want to have that open connection with all my teammates that I need to be an effective leader,” McKenna said.
As captain, McKenna has rallied the offensive line around the idea of playing a complete four quarters of football.
“We’re working on ourselves, we’re going to be focused to know the new offense that we’re working through, but also connected enough with one another and enough stored reps so that we can really lead the offensive line if we need to. We’re keeping our focus on being the best we can be and communicating so that we’re not slowing down any other operations,” McKenna said.
Now in his final year with the team, McKenna couldn’t imagine playing anywhere else.
“It’s been a long six years, but I certainly wouldn’t trade it for anything. It makes me think a lot about my future plans going forward. The dream is the NFL, and I know what it takes, seeing people like Charles Grant and Colby Sorsdal and knowing them as players has been really inspiring, and it’s obviously a level to aspire to, but it would be silly for me to put all my eggs in one basket. If it happens, it happens, but I’m preparing for the alternatives,” McKenna said.
McKenna is taking it all in stride as he suits up for one last season opener.
“It’ll be emotional. I don’t think it will hit me until a couple months down the road. It’s a mixture of a bunch of different emotions, but I’m looking forward to the next 12 guaranteed opportunities to play alongside our team this year,” McKenna said.
For more on all things William & Mary football, visit tribeathletics.com.