Cam Akers took another visit to UGA over the weekend. Every one of them can be labeled with something like “ginormous” from here on.
Akers, who de-committed from Alabama in March, is rated as the nation’s No. 2 running back and the No. 15 overall prospect. He’s easily one of the five most important targets for the 2017 class given his ability and importance at a position of need.
That is clear, given the top player in Mississippi this year said he hears all the time from UGA running backs coach Dell McGee.
“Coach Dell McGee tells me every time he can that I need to go on and tell him I am coming so he can sleep at night,” Akers said.
Akers described both McGee and Georgia coach Kirby Smart in a unique way.
“They are both family men and also real good men about their business at the same time,” Akers said. “They know how to take care of their business but also make you feel at home.”
He said that UGA recruits his family hard and that’s been a consistent theme along his recruitment. That is also the way that any lucky program will sign Akers.
“If you can’t recruit my family, then you can’t recruit me,” Akers said. “Georgia just does a great job of talking to my family. Period. A lot of schools don’t single the family out. They single the recruits out. A lot of schools won’t involve the parents, but you can’t do that in my recruiting because my family will play a big part in where I want to go. Every school in my Top 10 recruits my family and not just me. That’s why they made my Top 10.”
Georgia is also well-positioned in another area of his decision: The current commits urging a top player like Akers to join them.
“I hear the most from the Georgia guys,” Akers said. “Richard LeCounte III is funny. They have put all of us in group chat.”
That’s the group direct message chains on Twitter and via text messages. A lot of UGA commits are in the chat, but Akers is also included even though he’s not committed.
“Richard is going to say something crazy every day,” Akers said. “We all came up together and went to camps together and we have grown up in this process. When we get together we will talk about any and everything. Girls. College. Football. Nothing. Whatever. We just talk. We just talk like brothers.”
Akers spent one day at Georgia but did not stay overnight.
“The best part was talking to the coaches and talking football,” Akers said. “The coaches at Georgia really communicate well with whatever they got planned for me if I go there.”
His mother and step-father were there.
“They just like the situation at Georgia and how it may unfold for me there with (Nick) Chubb and (Sony) Michel leaving,” Akers said. “That was big for them. They know that Georgia stresses the life after football with their players and that is big for them also. So they feel that is a good possibility for me. It means something and will be attractive to my family that their players all have great lives after football.”
What is left for him to see at Georgia?
“Just getting back up there and making sure that I continue to have a good feel for the people,” Akers said. “The guys and coaches there mostly. Because everything football-related they have already explained it real well.”
He’s not sure when he will return to Athens.
“Not sure on that yet,” Akers said. “Just whenever the opportunity to go back to Athens presents itself. That’s when I will look to go back again.”
The high school quarterback plans to study either kinesiology, business or communications at the college of his choice. He’s not sure about what would be the biggest reason why he might potentially choose Georgia in the end.
“Not sure about that,” Akers said. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. A lot of schools recruit me the same way. I’m just trying to figure out the real big differences that make my top choices really stand out when everything is telling me the same thing.”
Akers is not certain that UGA will get an official visit. He wasn’t even sure if he would label them a cinch school to crack his Top 5, either.
“I’m not sure yet,” Akers said. “I’m not sure about Georgia or anybody making my Top 5 yet considering it all right now. I don’t know who will make it at all.”
What does he play for? He has a unique answer to that.
“I play for my family, my parents, my Mom, my Dad, my brothers and a little sister and an older brother,” Akers said. “I also play for the state of Mississippi, too. I have got to help one day to try and feed my family but I also got to be a model for the state of Mississippi to show that good players and great people can come out of the state of Mississippi. So I play for my family, but also where I come from in Mississippi. I want to show people what a football player from Mississippi can do.”
Akers (Clinton High School / Clinton, Miss.) visited Auburn on Friday and UGA on Saturday. He was also in Metro Atlanta taking part in an annual FBU camp. Akers has been a part of FBU-related programs for years and that has aided his development.
When he was at the FBU camp, 247sports.com’s Jake Rowe reported that UGA running back Sony Michel jokingly referred to Akers as the program’s next commitment. Both Nick Chubb and Sony Michel were working the camp as guest instructors. Jeff Sentell covers UGA football and UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges. Unless otherwise indicated, player rankings and ratings are from the 247Sports Composite.