Elvis Akpla reunites with his high school quarterback on Saturday
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Akpla Returns to Football Roots, Faces Old Friend on Saturday
10/7/2011 11:11:00 AM | Football
Elvis Akpla has Portland State QB Connor Kavanaugh to thank for his early success in football
Long before Elvis Akpla famously spent hundreds of summertime hours working with his Montana State quarterback DeNarius McGhee, he did so in much less likely circumstances with his high school quarterback.
Akpla and his high school quarterback threw for so long they would often finish after dark. “We figured if we were 6-for-10 when it was dark we'd be 9-for-10 or 10-for-10 if it wasn't,” Akpla laughed.
Montana State's senior receiver and his former high school quarterback will get together again Saturday afternoon in Portland's Jeld-Wen Stadium not as teammates but foes. Connor Kavanaugh, one of Akpla's most treasured former teammates, leads Portland State's explosive Pistol offense into the showdown of the Big Sky Conference's two 2-0 teams.
“He's a great guy,” Akpla says with a smile. “He's the hardest worker out there, a great leader. We throw together sometimes when I'm home.”
While Akpla was new to football in high school, playing for the first time his junior year, Kavanaugh seemed born to the game. He led their squad to a state title, was named Oregon Class 6A First Team All-State and state player of the year as a junior, threw for over 3,200 yards and 34 touchdowns as a senior and nearly 7,000 yards in his career.
Kavanaugh's success wasn't an accident, says the player who had a front-row seat for all the hard work he put in. “We'd throw together for hours,” Akpla said of his time at Portland's Lincoln High School with Kavanaugh. “He is such a hard worker.”
If Akpla's praise sounds familiar, it's because it rings so true with his current quarterback, McGhee. “They're not necessarily similar as players, but they are in their impact on their team,” Akpla says of Kavanaugh and McGhee. “Both those guys are hard workers and great leaders.”
A Senegalese immigrant as a young child, Akpla may have come later to football than some. But his transition has been complete. He has become a leader of MSU's productive and veteran receiver group, and has helped instill toughness at a position where that is not always the case. His journey to MSU took him from Portland, where his mother moved her young family from Africa, to Eugene, where he competed in track and walked onto the Ducks football team.
Soon, Akpla followed a pair of fellow UO football players, quarterback Cody Kempt and defensive end John Laidet, to Bozeman. “It's been great,” he said of his decision. “I love it at MSU.”
Akpla's transition from a fast guy playing football to a wide receiver who once ran track has not been lost on MSU head coach Rob Ash. “Elvis is a complete football player,” Ash says. “He embraces the details and nuances of the game. He is a good blocker. He runs his routes hard. And he has provided a wealth of intangibles to our program. He is a really important part of our team.”
But competing against a one-time teammate, he says, will bring back good memories of his early years in the game. “It will be fun,” Akpla says with a smile.
Akpla and his high school quarterback threw for so long they would often finish after dark. “We figured if we were 6-for-10 when it was dark we'd be 9-for-10 or 10-for-10 if it wasn't,” Akpla laughed.
Montana State's senior receiver and his former high school quarterback will get together again Saturday afternoon in Portland's Jeld-Wen Stadium not as teammates but foes. Connor Kavanaugh, one of Akpla's most treasured former teammates, leads Portland State's explosive Pistol offense into the showdown of the Big Sky Conference's two 2-0 teams.
“He's a great guy,” Akpla says with a smile. “He's the hardest worker out there, a great leader. We throw together sometimes when I'm home.”
While Akpla was new to football in high school, playing for the first time his junior year, Kavanaugh seemed born to the game. He led their squad to a state title, was named Oregon Class 6A First Team All-State and state player of the year as a junior, threw for over 3,200 yards and 34 touchdowns as a senior and nearly 7,000 yards in his career.
Kavanaugh's success wasn't an accident, says the player who had a front-row seat for all the hard work he put in. “We'd throw together for hours,” Akpla said of his time at Portland's Lincoln High School with Kavanaugh. “He is such a hard worker.”
If Akpla's praise sounds familiar, it's because it rings so true with his current quarterback, McGhee. “They're not necessarily similar as players, but they are in their impact on their team,” Akpla says of Kavanaugh and McGhee. “Both those guys are hard workers and great leaders.”
A Senegalese immigrant as a young child, Akpla may have come later to football than some. But his transition has been complete. He has become a leader of MSU's productive and veteran receiver group, and has helped instill toughness at a position where that is not always the case. His journey to MSU took him from Portland, where his mother moved her young family from Africa, to Eugene, where he competed in track and walked onto the Ducks football team.
Soon, Akpla followed a pair of fellow UO football players, quarterback Cody Kempt and defensive end John Laidet, to Bozeman. “It's been great,” he said of his decision. “I love it at MSU.”
Akpla's transition from a fast guy playing football to a wide receiver who once ran track has not been lost on MSU head coach Rob Ash. “Elvis is a complete football player,” Ash says. “He embraces the details and nuances of the game. He is a good blocker. He runs his routes hard. And he has provided a wealth of intangibles to our program. He is a really important part of our team.”
But competing against a one-time teammate, he says, will bring back good memories of his early years in the game. “It will be fun,” Akpla says with a smile.
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