Clinton running back Cam Akers sat in front of TV cameras and reporters Tuesday night at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in Jackson and made the biggest decision of his life.

People have been clamoring in his ear for months now asking where the top-ranked prospect in the state of Mississippi was going to college.

That decision was made Tuesday night. With six hats lined up on the table in front of him and the flashing lights of the photographers and TV cameras, Akers announced during a live broadcast on HSFnetwork.com his decision, picking the Seminoles’ hat and officially committing to play football at Florida State University.

It seemed to many people that Akers narrowed his decision down to three schools, with Florida State, Ole Miss and LSU as the front-runners to land his signature. Akers was also considering Ohio State, Tennessee and Georgia. 

Akers was widely considered as the top high school prospect out of Mississippi and by some, the best prospect to ever come out of the Magnolia state. The five-star recruit was ranked as the eighth overall commit in the class of 2017 and the second ranked running back in the class, according to Rivals.

The Seminoles and head coach Jimbo Fisher won the long time battle for Akers and are getting a once in a generation type talent at running back.

The recruiting process with Akers for Florida State started in January when the Seminoles offered it to him. Five months later, Akers took an unofficial visit to Tallahassee.

Jimbo Fisher was heavily involved with the recruitment of Akers, which is rare for a head coach to do, and the strong relationship between Akers, Fisher and FSU running backs coach Jay Graham is ultimately what won Akers over.

Fisher made an in-home visit to Akers on Dec. 11 and the recruitment started to change since then.

As an early enrollee, Akers will join Florida State in January and will go through all of spring practice and get acclimated to the program.

It’s hard to turn down a powerhouse program in Florida State.

With a pro-style offense, the past history of Florida State running backs going to the NFL and an opportunity to be the starting running back right away, the fit for Akers was clear.

For Ole Miss, it’s a damaging loss on the recruiting trail and a recruitment loss that will haunt the Rebels for a while.

Head coach Hugh Freeze and his coaching staff spent the past couple of years recruiting Akers. The staff developed a good relationship with Akers, his family and his former coaching staff at Clinton. Akers seriously considered Ole Miss and was very interested in being the feature back that the Rebels have strived to have for years. There are too many question marks surrounding Ole Miss, from a disappointing 5-7 season to an NCAA investigation hanging over the heads of a program.

Akers would’ve been the headliner for the 2017 recruiting class for Ole Miss. It just wasn’t the right fit.

Over the past couple of weeks, the decision became simple for Akers. Florida State was an opportunity he could not pass up.

Akers proved all season long how big of a talent he truly was. Playing quarterback at Clinton, he rushed for 2,105 yards and 34 touchdowns and passed for 3,128 yards and 31 touchdowns. His stellar numbers and athletic abilities helped lead Clinton High School to their first 6A state champion in school history.

In the end, Florida State is getting a future star tailback and Ole Miss missed out on one of the best prospects to ever come out of their own state.

Akers made the best decision for him and that’s all we and himself can ask for.

Sports editor Dylan Rubino can be reached at dylan.rubino@dailyleader.com or 601-265-5305.