Akers, a Mississippi native, went to Clinton High School where he played both quarterback and running back. He rushed for 2,105 yards and 34 touchdowns while passing for 3,128 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior. He finished his high school career with 13,243 yards total and 149 touchdowns.
Akers was then selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl where some of the best high school prospects play against each other. He was a five-star recruit He was ranked ninth in ESPN’s 300 recruiting database, seventh in 247 Sports, and third in Rivals rankings.
He committed to Florida State on December 26, 2016 over other schools like Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State among others.
His first 100-yard game for the Seminoles didn’t come until the fourth game of the season. (Two of the games were rescheduled due to the hurricane.) He had a 20 carry, 121-yard performance against the University of Miami. Akers followed that performance with 115 yards and his first touchdown in a 17-10 road victory over Duke.
In a November game against Syracuse, Akers carried the ball 22 times for 199 yards and two touchdowns. He would match the two touchdowns in the last game of the regular season against Louisiana Monroe. He had 117 yards in a game Florida State had to win in order to become bowl eligible. “I got to give a lot of credit to my o-line. A lot of credit to my coaches and teammates,” Akers said.
Akers helped the Seminoles win four straight to avoid its first losing season since 1976. Next year will be a new beginning as new head coach Willie Taggart, formerly of Oregon takes over for the departing Jimbo Fisher who left for Texas A&M.
The bowl game was played in Shreveport, Louisiana which is a little over three hours from Akers hometown of Clinton, Mississippi. “To be able to do it in front of a lot of my family and a lot of people I went to school with I loved it,” Akers said.
The Seminoles open next year at home against Virginia Tech.
