Mississippi native and former Clinton Arrow Cam Akers has signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Saints after a successful tryout, announced by the franchise on Friday.
Akers heads into his fifth professional season, spending time as a running back with the Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans, and Minnesota Vikings. He was selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft by L.A. and, so far, has accumulated 2,489 total yards with 17 touchdowns.
A season ago, Akers played in 17 games with two starts for the Texans and Vikings. He finished with a stat line of 444 rushing yards across 104 carries with two touchdowns. He averaged 4.3 yards when getting the handoff.
Akers played his prep years at Clinton High School, taking snaps at quarterback and running back. As a senior, he rushed for 2,105 yards, passed for 3,128 yards, and had 65 touchdowns on the way to being named Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year and a U.S. Army All-American.
He played his college years at Florida State, where he departed Tallahassee ranked sixth in school history in rushing yards (2,875) and total touchdowns (34). Akers is one of three players in FSU history to have multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Akers joins a busy backfield in New Orleans that also includes two-time All-Pro Alvin Kamara, third-year speedster Kendre Miller, and rookie Devin Neal out of Kansas.