WAYNESBURG — Dan Andreassi was doing his job well, but he wasn't getting many chances to do it.

So Waynesburg College football coach Rick Shepas decided to put him where the action is.

And the Butler graduate responded.

Andreassi had 15 tackles and 22 assists as an outside linebacker for the Yellowjackets in 2005, when the team finished 4-6, 2-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

"The kid was a sophomore and one of our best athletes," Shepas said. "But the play wasn't coming his way often enough.

"I wanted him to make more of an impact."

This season, Andreassi was shifted to middle linebacker. He wound up third on the team in tackles with 37 solos and 24 assists, and Waynesburg wound up 6-4 overall, 5-1 in the PAC.

The Yellowjackets won five of their last six games. The only thing preventing them from winning the PACwas a 30-3 loss to eventual league champ Washington &Jefferson.

"Danny is such a versatile player," Shepas said. "He can plug up the run or drop into pass coverage."

Andreassi had a sack, an interception and a fumble recovery this year. He had two sacks, three interceptions and recovered a fumble last year.

This wasn't the first time he changed positions for the good of the team, either.

During his senior year at Butler in 2003, Andreassi played free safety. He took over at quarterback for the final two games after starter Brandon Dunn-Setnar went down with an injury — and Andreassi won both games.

"I had a lot of fun those last two games,"Andreassi said. "Being a senior, it felt good to lead the team that way. I hadn't played quarterback on a regular basis since my freshman year."

"We really didn't have an available backup with any kind of experience. We put in a limited package for him and he did fine,"Butler coach Garry Cathell recalled. "Danny was one of those kids you could ask to do anything."

Recruited by then-Waynesburg coach Jeff Hand as a free safety, Andreassi was asked to change positions again and moved to linebacker.

"I was hesitant about it at first,"Andreassi admitted. "But it didn't take me long to realize it was the best move for me. It put me closer to the line of scrimmage, and my strong suit has always been in run support."

Andreassi is not alone among defensive stalwarts at Waynesburg. Linebacker Brandon Steele led the Yellowjackets with 84 total tackles and had 7Z\x tackles for loss. Defensive lineman Mike Czerwein had 68 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 9Z\x sacks.

And all three players will be seniors next year.

"We only lose one senior off our defense and that's safety Anthony Taylor," Shepas said. "We'll be counting on our defense because we're losing some key personnel offensively."

Two first team All-PACtailbacks, the quarterback and top receiver were all seniors for Waynesburg this season.

"We expect to win the PACnext season,"Andreassi said. "We're already talking about it. That's our main goal."

Cathell isn't surprised the way Andreassi has blossomed at Waynesburg. He is 5-foot-11, 205 pounds now. He weighed 185 pounds as a senior at Butler.

"He's filled out and it's all muscle,"Cathell said. "He's an unselfish player who does what he can for his team.

"He's a sure tackler and he's matured physically. Waynesburg found itself a great player and a great leader."