Cam Akers (born June 22, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

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 ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

, and was drafted by the Rams in the second round of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

Early years

Akers attended Clinton High School in

Clinton, Mississippi Clinton is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. Situated in the Jackson metropolitan area, it is the tenth largest city in Mississippi. The population was 28,100 at the 2020 United States census. History Founded in 1823, Clinto ...

, where he played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and running back for the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team. As a senior, he rushed for 2,105 yards and 34

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

, and passed for 3,128 passing yards and 31 touchdowns. For his high school career, he had 13,243 yards and 149 touchdowns. Akers was named MS Gatorade Player of The Year He also played in the

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

and won the

U.S. Army Player of the Year Award The All-American Bowl Player of the Year Award (formerly known as the Hall Trophy and U.S. Army Player of the Year Award) has been awarded annually since 2000 to the most outstanding high school football player in the United States The Uni ...

in 2016.

College career

Akers was rated as a five-star recruit and was ranked among the top recruits in his class. He committed to

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

to play college football. During what was a generally forgettable 7-6 season, Akers set the team freshman record for rushing yards during the

2017 Independence Bowl The 2017 Independence Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2017, at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The 42nd annual Independence Bowl featured the Southern Miss Golden Eagles of Conference USA against th ...

, bringing his season total to 1,025 yards. This broke the previous record of 1,008 which was set by

Dalvin Cook Dalvin James Cook (born August 10, 1995) is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, where he finished his career as the school's all-time lea ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. On December 14, 2019, Akers announced he would be skipping the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

to enter the

College statistics

Professional career

Akers was selected by the

in the second round, 52nd overall, in the

2020

In Week 11 against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, Akers scored his first career touchdown on a four-yard reception in the third quarter in a 27–24 victory. In Week 14 against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, Akers rushed for 171 yards on 29 attempts which marked the sixth-most rushing yards by any NFL player in a single game during the 2020 season and fourth-most by a Rams rookie in a single game in franchise history. The Rams won the game by a score of 24–3. Akers was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in Week 14. In the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, Akers rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown and caught 2 passes for 45 yards during the 30–20 win. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, Akers rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown during the 32–18 loss.

2021

On July 20, 2021, Akers tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

while working out shortly before the start of training camp. Akers was expected to be sidelined for the entire 2021 season, as he was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list to start the season. However, Akers was activated to the active roster on December 25, 2021, 5 full months after his injury. Akers returned to action in Week 18 against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, where he rushed for 3 yards on 5 carries, and caught 3 passes for 10 yards. In the Super Bowl, Akers had 13 carries for 21 yards and 3 receptions for 14 yards in the Rams 23-20 victory against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

2022

Akers was expected to start Week 1, but ended up only getting 3 rushing attempts for 3 yards. Akers requested a trade from the Rams after Week 5, and did not play Week 6, 7, or Week 8. Akers returned to practice on November 3 and later denied requesting a trade. Against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

in Week 16, Akers rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns in the 51-14 win. He then rushed for 123 yards on 19 carries against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

in week 17 and 104 yards on 21 carries against the

in week 18 and 3 catches for 24 yards, finishing the season with three consecutive 100 yard rushing games.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

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Los Angeles Rams bioFlorida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akers, Cam 1999 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American players of American football American football running backs Florida State Seminoles football players Los Angeles Rams players People from Clinton, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi