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Preseason ALL-USA selection Cam Akers could leave mark as Mississippi's all-time best

Clinton quarterback Cam Akers strikes the Heisman pose during the Dandy Dozen photo shoot on July 25.

Clinton quarterback Cam Akers strikes the Heisman pose. (Photo: Clarion-Ledger)

The story of Cam Akers isn’t one of a late-bloomer; the kid has always been great at football. No, it’s a tale of a great player becoming an even greater one with a shot at being one of the greatest after a life experience forced him to grow up quickly.

Akers was 6 years old when he started playing football, and his parents realized then that his athleticism was much different compared to the other kids on the field.

By age 12 his youth football coach, Arico Harper, was calling him a “legend,” running for a record six touchdowns in a game and 36 in a season.

Now, after recently turning 17, Akers has entered his senior season at Clinton (Miss.) as the top uncommitted offensive prospect in the country, according to major recruiting services, after three years of superior play at the varsity level.

Clinton plays Akers, an American Family Insurance ALL-USA preseason selection, at quarterback — but he’ll be a running back in college — and is certainly a standout skill position talent in a state best known for producing linemen. He is the first running back recruit to be ranked as the No. 1 player in the state since former Brandon great Jerious Norwood in 2002. What sets Akers apart even further is he has a significant chance to be regarded as the best high school football player Mississippi has seen in years.

How many? Well, it depends who you ask and how far back you want to go.

“Akers is as talented as or more talented than any one of them in the past 25 years or so,” said South Panola coach Lance Pogue, who has coached against Akers in each of the past three seasons.

“Cam Akers was the best sophomore I ever coached against,” said Biloxi head coach Bobby Hall, who first started coaching in Mississippi in 1980.

“I have never seen an athlete like Cam,” said former Clinton offensive coordinator Paul Anderson, who is now the Copiah Academy head coach. “I can see why people bring up Marcus Dupree.”

Akers inspires comparisons to the all-time greats like Dupree, who broke a national high school record in 1981 at Philadelphia with 87 career touchdowns, because he has been so good for a lengthy period of time (Akers has started at quarterback for Clinton since his freshman year.) He entered 2016 with the kind of high school football resume that elicits responses such as, “What?” “How?” and “Wow.”

  • 5,012 career passing yards
  • 47 career passing touchdowns
  • 2,998 rushing yards
  • 37 career rushing touchdowns

“He’s probably the best competitor I have ever been around,” Arrows coach Judd Boswell said. “He’s a great athlete, but what sets him apart is his competitive nature. It’s unequal to anyone I’ve ever played with and anyone I’ve ever coached.”

Boswell likely has Akers’ mother, Angela Michael Neal, to thank for that.

Akers was 10 years old when Neal was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in October 2009.

Akers saw his mother battle side effects of chemotherapy: hair loss, extreme weakness, decreased appetite, vomiting, darkened skin color and mouth sores.

Akers then saw his mother come out on top. Neal beat cancer in 2011, receiving the all-clear from doctors that July.

“That instilled something in Cam,” said his father, Conni. “He learned that if his mom can go through that type of something, there is nothing that can stop him from getting what he wants.”

Akers’ preparation, work ethic and passion all intensified after seeing his mother’s battle, those close to him say.

“That experience,” Neal said, “was a critical factor in helping to mold the Cam Akers we see today.”

He’s the guy who, in the eighth grade, left a game against Pearl after scoring a touchdown because he was dehydrated and vomiting only to re-enter and immediately score another touchdown. He’s the guy who ran a 4.44 in the 40-yard dash and had a vertical of 40.6 inches the morning after prom in April. And he’s the guy Clinton hopes will lead it to its first state championship in football.

Either way, Akers is a guy Mississippians will talk about 25 years from now.

“I want to be brought up as possibly the greatest player to come through Mississippi and definitely out of my city, Clinton,” Akers said. “I want to be remembered as a leader figure on and off the field and someone who always does the right thing and makes the right choices.”

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