FSU Football should enjoy Cam Akers turnaround before early departure

Jason Parker

WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 19: Cam Akers #3 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the first half of their game at BB&T Field on October 19, 2019 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

FSU football fans should take a moment this season to realize the fun they are seeing from a running back who had quite the down season in 2018.

Entering the 2019 season for the FSU football team, I will admit to being one of those writers that covers the Seminoles who put all the pressure on running back Cam Akers and insisted that he needed to show up better after going from over 1,000 rushing yards as a freshman to just 708 yards as a sophomore.

Through six and a half games – halftime of last Saturday’s game against Wake Forest – Akers had already topped that number and wasn’t done. True, he has MANY more carries (to the tune of just seven less so far in 2019 than in all of the 2018 season) but the numbers show who may be the best back in a group of great ones to come through recently.

It also hit me and many other FSU football fans in watching Akers go for 199 combined yards and two touchdowns this week: we are going to likely see the final five regular season games – and hopefully a bowl game – for the man from Clinton, Mississippi in a Seminoles uniform in the coming weeks.

It’s nothing personal as we all had the idea this was coming before the start of the season. While his sophomore slump was noticeable to many, the thought was that a turnaround would get him back into the early round draft conversation – and man, has it!

So far this season – through seven games – Akers has gone for a combined 923 yards (773 on the ground alone) and 11 combined touchdowns. Through all of last season…all 12 games…he had a combined 851 yards and eight touchdowns during a season that had many wondering what happened with the top running back recruit in the 2017 class.

Don’t forget about Cam Akers. pic.twitter.com/gkQGlqXLOf
— ryan (@StillRyanFive) August 31, 2019

2️⃣4️⃣8️⃣ all-purpose yards.
1️⃣9️⃣3️⃣ rushing yards.
3️⃣6️⃣ carries (school record).
3️⃣ touchdowns.
1️⃣ Cam Akers!#DoSomething | #OneTribe pic.twitter.com/5jQjNS53lD
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) September 8, 2019

It’s the dangers that fans of the Seminoles have seen in recent seasons – it started with Devonta Freeman leaving early after the 2013 title season where he went for over 1,000 rushing yards and Dalvin Cook doing the same thing three seasons later after a magical run that ended with the Orange Bowl title.

This week, he faces a Syracuse game that is giving up about 148 yards a game rushing – which Akers has topped twice this season. So, take a moment in the next five games – six with a bowl appearance – and enjoy watching the rebirth of the man wearing No. 3.

Jason Parker

Jason Parker joined ChopChat in March 2016 as co-expert while also writing for a year with FanSided, focusing on college football and the NFL. He has spent 15 years in the sports media business - including over a decade working for TV stations in both Tallahassee and Miami. There, he has covered events that include everything from the Super Bowl to the NBA Finals to countless bowl games and National Championships. Jason added writing sports on the web to his resume in 2014, serving as a staff writer and college football insider for another site before becoming editor-in-chief. He graduated from FSU with a B.A. in Communication and may be the biggest 'Noles fan there is. Jason resides in South Florida surrounded by way too many fans of the 'Canes, but at least they aren't as many Gators.