FSU Football: Cam Akers ranked No. 2 sophomore for 2018 season
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football running back Cam Akers is receiving plenty of love going into this sophomore season.
FSU football didn’t have a lot of bright spots in the 2017 season after beginning the season in what was the most hyped college football opener of all time against Alabama.
The Noles lost that game after self-imploding in the second half which was only foreshadowing for the rest of the season.
One of the lone bright spots was true freshman running back Cam Akers, a former five-star recruit FSU plucked from Mississippi in the 2017 class.
Akers came with a lot of fanfare and expectations following in the footsteps of the greatest FSU running back of all time in Dalvin Cook.
Despite not having much of a passing game while playing against some great defenses that stacked the box against the run because they didn’t respect the pass, Akers flourished a true freshman.
He broke Dalvin Cook’s FSU rushing record with 1,024 rushing yards. He has four 100 yard rushing games with seven touchdowns, and 16 receptions for 116 yards with one receiving touchdown.
That’s why one Bleacherreport writer has Akers as the No. 2 ranked sophomore going into the 2018 season:
"Akers is a 5’11”, 213-pound dynamo who looks like a prototypical running back and is just waiting to become one of college football’s biggest stars.With Francois back and a ton of talent around him, this could be a year where everybody knows his name by the end of the year. Akers is a star, and everybody knew it when he was one of the most coveted prospects in the nation in the 2017 class.He didn’t disappoint in his first season in Tallahassee."
Thoughts
Akers does have the potential to have a breakout year in Willie Taggart’s offense because he’ll be featured heavily in the run-oriented Gulf Coast Spread attack.
It won’t have much to do with Deondre Francois as the quarterback as it’ll be James Blackman at the QB for my money.
Also, Akers should be bigger and stronger with the experience of last year paying dividends in regards to not missing as many holes or cutback lanes.
The threat of the vertical attack should force opposing teams to respect the pass more which will allow Akers and the offense line to go up against more favorable run blocking situations.
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There’s no question Akers is one of the top returning players in the ACC, but it’s great to see him getting love on a national stage as well.