Akers draws on his Mississippi roots to stay grounded
Florida |
CLINTON, Miss. — Florida State running back Cam Akers took the stage at ACC Kickoff wearing a tailored suit with a striped gray and garnet tie contrasting a light gray buttoned shirt. The center of attention among media members, Akers may not have seemed in his element at the moment, but he gradually grew comfortable in the spotlight.
As a sophomore expected to help lead the Seminoles’ offense under new coach Willie Taggart in 2018, the laid-back Akers hopes to become a vocal leader for his teammates and match his standout talent on the field.
“It comes easy for me, but it’s not me as a person ■ College Countdown: Seminoles eager to rebound from 2017 season, C4
because I don’t talk a lot as a person,” Akers said of his efforts to lead FSU at the media event. “But you have to step outside of your box and do what you have to do for your team, and I’ve been realizing that every day. That’s what I’ve been trying to do.”
After a stellar freshman season, Akers has earned All-ACC preseason honors in anticipation of another successful campaign. Adding to the hype, some oddsmakers consider Akers as the ACC’s best option to win the Heisman Trophy.
Akers may have shed a few letters off his first name as he earned national recognition, but he remains grounded by humble ties to his hometown of Clinton, Miss.
“I’m still just Cameron Akers,” he says with a laugh in a Florida State office earlier this summer. “To a lot of people, I’m Cam. But at home, a lot of people still refer to me as Cameron. That’s what they’re used to. They’re not used to calling me Cam.
“I still feel like I’m Cameron, just a normal person.”
Staying grounded
Clinton, Miss., lies 15 minutes from Jackson, the state capital. In the 1970s when the crime rate began to climb in Jackson, people moved to the suburbs of Madison, Pearl, Brandon and Clinton. Friday night football strengthened these communities full of new residents trying to cement their place in a new city.
Akers’ red and white allegiances were forged at Clinton High School, home of the Arrows.
It’s where former FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher, recruiting coordinator Tim Brewster and running backs coach Jay Graham persuaded Akers, the highly rated five-star recruit, to look past scholarship offers from Ole Miss, Tennessee and Ohio State.
It also where Akers’ parents, teachers and coaches worked to mold him into a caring, charismatic and humble young man.
“We always try to instill it in the kids to be selfless and never make themselves bigger than a moment,” said Akers’ father, Conni. “It’s just something we kind of instilled in him growing up — to always be grounded and try to maintain a focus that they’re not better than anyone.”
When Akers was not in class or entertaining recruiting pitches from college football coaches, he was often in the school library, chomping on some beef jerky or Skittles, volunteering or socializing over games of Uno with friends.
Sarah Dill, Akers’ counselor since junior high, would help him with any difficult classwork. He quickly grew up before her eyes.
“Everybody wanted to go in and sit down and chat with him, so it wasn’t so much of a quiet place to read books as much as it was like a good place to just go and visit,” Dill said of Akers.
“He was always right in the middle of everything. He definitely contributed to the overall morale of the library and made it a good place to go to feel accepted and to feel like a part of the school environment.”
Torching the competition
While navigating his final year of high school and college recruiting hysteria, Akers never lost what mattered most to him as a football player despite the stubborn pull of college coaches.
“During the recruiting process, [Akers would say], ‘I’m not focusing on that. I’m trying to win the state championship.’ And [the recruiters] respected that,” Clinton coach Judd Boswell said.
“He was going to put his team first. And he was going to promote the community. And that’s from a 17-year-old kid that has the world tugging at him.”
Akers torched the competition throughout his high school career, amassing more than 13,000 all-purpose yards with 149 touchdowns as a quarterback and running back from 2013-16.
His senior year, the Arrows hoisted their first state championship trophy. Akers contributed 217 rushing yards with five rushing touchdowns and 228 yards passing with two touchdowns.
Still, Akers found a way to let his humility outweigh his star power.
“As talented as he is, it would be easy for him to not be so nice and let that go to his head, but he doesn’t,” Dill said. “His parents, I think, are very clear about, ‘Yes, he is very talented but he’s also a good person.’ And that’s important to them.”
Turbulent freshman season
It wasn’t easy for Akers to leave the high school that nurtured him or the state that helped raise him.
But he embraced a cause, vowing to become an ambassador for his home.
“Everybody in Clinton supported me, and not just me — the team — from Day 1 since I was a freshman. Just a lot of support and a lot of love,” Akers said. “I’m just trying to give it back and represent, not just Clinton, but Mississippi the best way I can.”
Akers did not have to wait long to a chance to represent his home, breaking former FSU running back Dalvin Cook’s freshman rushing record with 1,024 yards last season.
But Akers’ freshman season included turmoil, too.
Akers and quarterback James Blackman were the first true freshman duo to start for FSU at their positions in school history. The Seminoles rebounded from a dismal start to finish 7-6 with an Independence Bowl victory. During the season, FSU lost Fisher to Texas A&M and former Oregon coach Willie Taggart took over the program.
“[The team] kept fighting. We never would have imagined that Jimbo would leave or his staff, but that’s the nature of the business,” Conni Akers said. “We can’t cry over spilled milk. We just have to dig down and just do something like coach Taggart would say.”
Akers will become the featured running back in Taggart’s new up-tempo spread offense.
Akers says he loves the space and seams Taggart’s scheme seems to create. He jokes his 5.3 yards per carry last season “wasn’t enough” and wants to increase that average by a yard or two. He also says he left about 500 yards on the field last season by tripping or missing holes in the defense.
Akers has been diligent reviewing film of last season, learning new aspects of the game he hopes enhance his performance on the field this upcoming season.
When FSU kicks off the 2018 season at Doak Campbell Stadium against Virginia Tech on Sept. 3, Akers and the Seminoles have one mission.
“We’re trying to come out and show Florida State is back,” Akers said.
Giving back
Akers may be more widely known by his shorter first name, but he insists he is still the same person forever branded by Mississippi. The people that still remain in his home state are proud of the athlete he is, but most important, the demeanor he carries. He has fallen in love with the place that molded him and the people who love him just as feverishly.
Deon Hodges, Akers’ offseason trainer at the D1 facility in Madison, Miss., is proud of how hard Akers has worked to achieve success on the national scene, just like he did in high school.
“Working with Cam and both of us being from Mississippi, it’s a beautiful thing just to inspire the youth — the other up-and-coming athletes of the state,” Hodges said.
“Just saying, ‘Hey, you too can make it to this large platform if you dedicate yourself and put the right work behind it.’ Anything is possible with that,” Hodges said.
Akers echoes the sentiment.
“I know how hard it is to make it just out of Mississippi, period. If you’re putting in the work, it can get you away,” Akers said.
“I’m not just saying leave, but if that’s the best opportunity, don’t be scared to leave because there’s a lot of opportunity out here and there’s a lot of different things to experience.”
Akers hopes to keep serving as a role model for others while chasing wins at Florida State.
“Anywhere, anybody I deal with, I try to leave a legacy of a kind person, someone who’s a gentle person and just come off as somebody who’s loved by everybody,” Akers said. “That’s what I want to be.”