Under the bright lights of the Kibbie Dome, the Idaho defense found itself in need of a goal line stop against a potent Eastern Washington offense.
In order to pull off the upset, redshirt junior linebacker Charles Akanno and the Idaho defense needed to come up with the biggest fourth down stop of the game.
As the Eagles threatened to score on the Vandals one-yard line, Akanno and the rest of the defense denied the Eagle touchdown, bringing the Idaho offense back on the field and killing Eagle momentum.
Akanno finished the Eastern Washington game with a memorable performance — nine tackles for loss and a forced Eagle fumble.
This shouldn’t come to as a surprise to anyone who pays attention to Idaho football — Akanno has been a staple for this Idaho defense the past few seasons.
Despite facing the tall task of filling the shoes standout Idaho linebacker Kaden Elliss left behind, Akanno has made the transition look seamless.
Charles Akanno rushes against Northern Colorado on Saturday | Idaho Athletics
“Charles (Akanno) is a leader by example. He leads by working hard in the weight room and always grinding,” Idaho Head Coach Paul Petrino said. “He’s really tried to takeover where Kaden Elliss left off and continue to make a lot of those plays he made.”
Akanno said Elliss’s influence will always have an impact on him and has helped shape the player he is today.
“I’m really happy that I played behind (Elliss) because he taught me a lot,” Akanno said. “That guy is one of the most hardworking players I have ever been around… Trying to implement some of his game into my game has been helping me.”
Idaho defensive line coach Luther Elliss says that the relationship between Akanno and Kaden Elliss was always strong.
“They were great teammates and really cared about each other,” Elliss said. “Kaden would always try to help everyone get better and (Akanno) is the same way today.”
With little football experience coming into the Idaho program, the learning curve has been easy for the Vandal edge rusher.
“You know (Akanno) didn’t play a ton of football growing up. He didn’t play as much in high school or as many years as a lot of people do,” Petrino said. “Each year he has gotten better on his technique and continues to grow and get better.”
Petrino said Akanno’s work ethic has made him the player he is today for this Idaho defense.
After Akanno’s stellar performance against the Eagles, the junior linebacker picked up national recognition. Akanno received the National FCS Defensive Player of the Week and the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week awards, further solidifying that opposing offenses should keep the defensive playmaker on their radar.
If there is a stat that goes unnoticed it might be Akanno’s ability to break up passes at the line of scrimmage. Akanno currently ranks eighth in pass deflections amongst all defenders in the Big Sky Conference. Luther Elliss said Akanno’s ability to block pass attempts is one of his greatest strengths.
“He’s probably the best I’ve seen here in Idaho so far in deflections,” Elliss said.
But if there is any part of his game that doesn’t get enough recognition, Elliss said it’s the mind Akanno brings on the football field.
“He understands the game and understands what he needs to do to play well,” Elliss said. “I think he is just a great student of the game and I don’t think people recognize that because he is so athletic.”
Going into another tough matchup Saturday against No. 5 Weber State, Akanno will have to lead by example once again if the Vandals hope to pull off the upset.
Chris Deremer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @chrisDEREMER