Favour Akih

Physical Profile

Listed at 6-0, 190 lbs. Taller than 73% and heavier than 35% of 2026 Running Back prospects in the SEC Scouts database (138 with a listed size).

Play Style

Based on his production and profile, Akih is a downhill one-cut runner, not a finesse back. His roughly 7.0-yard average on a heavy junior workload points to good vision and the ability to press the line before cutting, and his track speed lets him turn a seam into a long gain. His linebacker background suggests he takes on contact rather than avoiding it. He did not handle much receiving work in high school, so his route running out of the backfield is still largely unproven.

Strengths

• Proven production as a feature back: as a junior in 2024 he ran for roughly 1,650 yards on 236 carries (about 7.0 yards per carry) and was named First-team All-Ohio and All-Central District.
• Real long speed backed by a 10.90 100m, which gives him the ability to finish explosive runs instead of getting caught from behind.
• Physical, defensive mindset from playing linebacker at Hayes as a junior. That background tends to show up as willingness in pass protection and as a runner who initiates contact.
• Looked sharp even when not fully healthy: in his only real senior-year action (three quarters vs. Worthington Kilbourne) he ran for 110 yards and a touchdown.
• Was highly valued by top programs: he had finalist offers from Ohio State, Miami and USC, and Michigan's running backs coach visited him in person.

Areas to Improve

• Health and film gap: he played almost none of his senior season and had ankle surgery. Evaluators are working mostly from junior film, and he has to prove his burst and cutting ability are fully back.
• Three-down skills: Ohio State coverage describes his main task as developing into a three-down back. That means receiving routes, catching the ball consistently, and reliable blitz pickup against Big Ten pressure.
• Adding functional mass: he needs to get from 190 into the 200-205 range to take inside-zone punishment across a full college season while keeping the speed that is his edge.

College Projection

He is a true freshman at Ohio State in 2026, wearing No. 29. Enrolling early paid off: he got meaningful spring reps while Bo Jackson and Isaiah West were limited by shoulder injuries and Legend Bey dealt with nagging injuries. The realistic Year 1 role is RB3 or RB4, getting situational carries and special-teams snaps, and the program has been willing to play true freshman backs when injuries hit. The likely timeline is a rotation role by 2027 and a push for the lead-back job in 2027-28 if the ankle holds up and his pass-game skills improve.

NFL Outlook

He has a Day 2-3 ceiling as an early-down back with enough speed to be a home-run threat. That is realistic if he shows the burst from his junior film is back after surgery and becomes a reliable pass protector and receiver, which is the gap between a two-down back and a draftable three-down back. Running backs coming through Ohio State's program get NFL exposure, but his stock will depend on staying healthy and producing on third downs more than on his recruiting ranking.

Best Fit

A pro-style or gap/zone run scheme with a heavy running game that rotates backs, such as Ohio State's, suits him best. A rotation protects his lower body while he develops, and the physical, downhill running game plays to his one-cut style. He is less suited to spread offenses that want a scatback who lines up in the slot until his receiving skills develop.