Somewhere down the line, Florida State fans knew that Cam Akers was eventually going to be the main guy at tailback.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
In the midst of a potential breakout season, junior Jacques Patrick has suffered a knee injury and expects to be sidelined for the rest of the year. All the improvements he had made, all the huge runs this season that saved an anemic offense, all of it stopped short due to unfortunate injury luck.
Patrick will come back in 2018 and he will get his opportunities as a senior. If recovery from what sources say is a meniscus tear goes well, the offense could return to its strategy before the injury.
Right now, Akers has edged out Patrick by just 11 carries. Patrick seems to get more inside opportunities, while Akers is directed towards the outside.
Now it’s all on the hyped true freshman to become the bell-cow for a struggling offensive unit.
Akers’ commitment to Florida State seems like it just happened. Maybe because it did — it was back in December 2016 when Akers spurned Ole Miss and chose to play for Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles. At the time, it was considered a big steal to get the best running back in the nation out of his home state of Mississippi.
What made it even more impressive? The fact that Florida State took two more blue-chip running backs in Khalan Laborn and Zaquandre White. Both were 4-stars and top 150 players nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Nobody wants to lose a starter, but if there is one position where Florida State can afford an injury, it’s at running back.
So what will Fisher and his offense attempt to do from here on out?
The first change could be giving one back the large majority of the carries. That seems self-explanatory, but it needs to be noted how much a shift this might cause in play-calling.
With two legitimate options in the backfield, Fisher could rely more heavily on running the ball with a true freshman at quarterback. He’s been giving James Blackman opportunities, but it’s still not what he would be giving a veteran starter.
Patrick being out means that there’s going to be more variety in how Fisher calls a game. Instead of switching out backs and trying to convert short yardage situations, he might opt instead for another quick pass or roll out. The specifics are secondary to the point, but don’t expect the same strategy from here on out. Sophomore Amir Rasul and others probably aren’t ready for a No. 2 back workload.
Speaking of Rasul and others, it would not be surprising to see a more diverse mix of running backs getting reps. Another issue with Patrick being out is that he was also a solid receiving option out of the backfield. Akers does that too, but we simply haven’t seen as much from him.
Could options like Rasul, Laborn, or White be used in more of a “flex” role? The latter two did some of that in high school, so it’s not out of the question to see them begin to work their way into the offense. Rasul is a bit more of an unknown in this aspect, but one gets the feeling that if he had shown it, he would’ve been on the field more.
One silver lining is that this gives Akers more experience as the feature back, which is a role that he would probably have had anyway in 2018, even if Patrick stayed healthy for the whole season. He’s already improved right in front of our eyes, simply by learning to stay within the play and pick up the yards in front of him.
More reps helps with development and Akers can develop into a truly amazing player. There’s a reason why he was so highly-ranked coming out of high school.
Many have already written off the 2017 season for Florida State. That’s probably justified, but many are still invested in the players that will be around for the next few seasons. Akers projects to be one of those players that can turn into a superstar down the road.
Just halfway through his first season, he is now the focal point of the offense. In a few years, we might look back on this as where it all began.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login