MISSOULA – Montana football would love to move on from the current three-game losing streak. But during the skid, the Grizzlies seem to have found a new go-to receiver.
Sophomore Samuel Akem has always been a big target. Now the 6-foot-4 Oklahoma native is becoming a big weapon. Akem has totaled 17 catches for 199 yards and four touchdowns over the past two games. While the Grizzlies keep looking his way more and more often, Akem isn’t satisfied with the result.
“I’m always confident,” said Akem. “But like I told my guys all of the time, I’m like, ‘I could care less if I had one catch or 50 catches. I would rather get a W than the stats.’ What matters at the end of the day is the W or the L. Nobody cares about anything else.”
“His quarterbacks have a lot of confidence in his ability to do that,” said head coach Bobby Hauck about Akem’s ability to make plays. “To the point that maybe we’re not reading it as well as we need to all of the time, because they have a lot of confidence that he’ll come up with it.”
Akem’s recent surge has made him the top Griz receiver statistically this season, with 42 catches for 513 yards and eight touchdowns. He totaled 18 catches for 207 yards and two touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2017.
Akem will hope to play a big part in a victory this Saturday, when the Grizzlies head to Southern Utah. The defending Big Sky Conference champion Thunderbirds have struggled with a 1-7 record.
