Tigers’ Akins left UConn game for his son’s birth

Memphis linebacker says baby adds motivation

Memphis linebacker Curtis Akins left the locker room after halftime expecting to finish off the Tigers' win over UConn.

After the first series, defensive coordinator Chris Ball came over to tell Akins he needed to leave. His girlfriend was about to deliver their first child.

"When they told me. 'Go have your baby,' everybody on the sidelines was giving me hugs and I knew what time it was. Five minutes after I got there, she had a C-section," Akins said Tuesday.

Curtis Akins III came out weighing seven pounds much to the delight of his parents. In that moment, the Tigers' win was secondary as Akins, one of the team's senior leaders, had pride seeing his son for the first time.

"I feel like that's probably one of the best feelings in the world when you hold your son," Akins said.

Akins already embraced the challenges of being a new father when he had to change shirts before practice Tuesday after he had been peed on. It's one of several things he said he'll have to adjust to, but he said being a new parent gave him even more motivation being on the field.

He also joked that he's working on Tigers coach Mike Norvell to already offer his son a scholarship.

"I just told (my son) today before I left that he's all in for Memphis," Akins said.