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FSU Football: Cam Akers running at historic pace as a freshman

By Kelvin Hunt

TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 21: Running back Cam Akers #3 of the Florida State Seminoles looks to run the ball by safety Dee Smith #11 of the Louisville Cardinals at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 21: Running back Cam Akers #3 of the Florida State Seminoles looks to run the ball by safety Dee Smith #11 of the Louisville Cardinals at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images) /
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FSU football continues its history of great freshman running backs in the Jimbo Fisher era with Cam Akers chasing history.

FSU football running back Cam Akers heard the comparisons to FSU great running back Dalvin Cook before he committed to  FSU last year.

“You could be the next Dalvin Cook at FSU,” is probably a phrase he heard from recruiters and fans all day every day on the recruiting trail and social media.

It’s natural to compare the two since Akers ultimately choose FSU football over home team Ole Miss and others. Their running styles are similar, yet different at the same time. After nine games, Akers is on pace to break Cook’s freshman rushing record set in 2014.

In fact, there’s a solid chance he could crush it.

Cook ran for 1,008 yards in 13 games during his 2014 freshman campaign and had 192 plays from scrimmage while averaging 5.9 yards per rush with eight rushing touchdowns.

That was with Jameis Winston playing quarterback in an offense that ranked No. 16 in the nation. It’s the only season under Fisher where the offense relied on pass more heavily than the run.

Of course the 2017 FSU offense is historically bad with injuries taking its toll at multiple positions. In fact, Akers is one of the lone bright spots alongside fellow running back Jacques Patrick.

FSU Freshman Rushing Record

Akers has run for 736 yards through nine games with three rushing touchdowns and already has 154 plays from scrimmage. The ‘Noles have three guaranteed games remaining, and will have a fourth game if they win those three.

The three games remaining are against teams with awful run defenses. Akers is averaging 15.4 carries per game and 81.7 yards per game with both numbers surpassing Cook’s averages his freshman season.

He needs 276 rushing yards to surpass Cook’s freshman rushing record, and would do so if he meets his average per game over the three remaining games and then the bowl game.

Next: Comparing Cam Akers's first season to Dalvin Cook's first season at FSU

That’s impressive considering Aker’s is playing in an anemic offense when compared to other FSU offenses in the Fisher era.

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