Akheem Mesidor (born April 5, 2001) is a Canadian-born

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

for the Miami Hurricanes. He previously played at West Virginia.

Early life and high school

Mesidor grew up

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, and began playing gridiron football with the North Gloucester Giants of the National Capital Amateur Football Association. He attended several high schools in the Ottawa area and Royal Imperial Collegiate of Canada in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

. Mesidor transferred to

Clearwater Academy International Clearwater Academy International is a Scientologist school located in Clearwater, Florida. The school serves grades Pre-K to 12 in a co-educational system. It was formed in 1997 after the merger of Jefferson Academy, A To Be School, and the Renai ...

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

before his senior year. Mesidor was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play

at West Virginia over offers from UCLA, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh.

College career

Mesidor began his college career at West Virginia. He played both defensive end and defensive tackle during his true freshman season and was named second team All- Big 12 Conference after recording 32 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks. Mesidor moved nose tackle entering his second season. He finished the season with 38 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks. After the season, Mesidor entered the NCAA transfer portal. Mesidor ultimately transferred to Miami over offers from USC, Auburn, and Tennessee. He was named a starter on the Hurricanes' defensive line despite not participating in the team's spring practices.

References

External links

West Virginia Mountaineers bioMiami Hurricanes bio
Living people Canadian expatriate American football people in the United States American football defensive linemen Miami Hurricanes football players Sportspeople from Ottawa West Virginia Mountaineers football players Players of American football from Ontario 2001 births {{defensive-lineman-stub