FSU tailbacks hope to keep improving vs. UM
TALLAHASSEE Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher wants highly regarded freshman running back Cam Akers to heed to the same advice he gave Seminoles all-time leading rusher Dalvin Cook.
“Every run is not touchdown,” Fisher says.
For players like Cook, Akers and junior Jacques Patrick, long runs and touchdowns used to come a dime a dozen during their high school careers. After all, Cook had more than 4,200 yards rushing at Miami Central, Akers rushed for more than 5,000 yards at Clinton High in Mississippi and Patrick gained nearly 8,000 yards at Orlando Timber Creek High.
Fisher wants Akers to grow more accustomed to taking short runs to help the Seminoles move the football while being patient for the longer, more explosive plays that will eventually develop with time and experience.
“You'd rather say whoa than giddy-up,” Fisher said of Akers on Monday ahead of the unranked Seminoles’ game against No. 13 Miami (3-0) Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.
“That's a learning curve part of growing up and learning to play, and I said this before, I had the same thing with Dalvin. Dalvin would come off frustrated and mad, and he'd have a six-yard run or a four-yard run or a three-yard run sometimes. Listen, that's what was there. That's a good play.
“[Akers’] big plays will come … He’s doing some outstanding things.”
Florida State’s running backs have large shoes to fill replacing Cook, whose rookie season with the Vikings ended Sunday after a torn ACL.
But Fisher is proud of the progress Akers, Patrick and sophomore speedster Amir Rasul have made that was evident in the team’s first victory last week at Wake Forest.
Before accounting for 149 yards rushing against Wake Forest, the 51st best run defense in the country, the Seminoles averaged 72 yards per game during their losses to Alabama and NC State, teams with the second- and eighth-best rushing defenses in the country.
The breakout rushing attack is an encouraging sign for the Seminoles as they prepare for Miami’s 46th-ranked run defense, which has allowed at least 130 yards rushing per game this season.
Patrick led the Seminoles with 120 yards rushing, including a 69-yard run in the first quarter that set up a field goal and a bulldozing one-yard run in the second quarter that allowed the Seminoles to keep pace in the 26-19 win over the Demon Deacons.
“Jacques was outstanding in the game,” Fisher said. “I mean, catching the ball out of the backfield, blocking, picking up blitzes, running with authority, running physical. That goal line run he made down there, I mean, pushing the pile … taking his body and running through tackles and getting that extra [yardage]. I thought he was outstanding in the game.”
Akers finished with 58 yards on 14 carries, including a 27-yard run early in the third quarter against Wake Forest.
Rasul, who Fisher insists will become a greater part of the offense moving forward this season, made the most of his first four carries of the season with a crucial 9-yard run late in the fourth quarter.
Patrick believes FSU’s rushing attack will continue to improve because “we’re the hardest working group in the country.”
With their heated rivalry game against Miami on Saturday, the Seminoles will need to rely on big plays from their running backs as the developing offensive line and true freshman quarterback James Blackman continue to gain experience.
“We found a way to win, and next week, we’ll try to find another way to win,” Patrick said.