Akheem Mesidor (born April 5, 2001) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

-born

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

. He previously played at

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

Early life and high school

Mesidor grew up

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and began playing gridiron football with the North Gloucester Giants of the National Capital Amateur Football Association. He attended several high schools in the Ottawa area and Royal Imperial Collegiate of Canada in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

. Mesidor transferred to Clearwater Academy International in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

before his senior year. Mesidor was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play

at West Virginia over offers from UCLA, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh.

College career

Mesidor began his college career at West Virginia. He played both defensive end and defensive tackle during his true freshman season and was named second team All-

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

after recording 32 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks. Mesidor moved nose tackle entering his second season. He finished the season with 38 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks. After the season, Mesidor entered the NCAA transfer portal. Mesidor ultimately transferred to Miami over offers from USC, Auburn, and Tennessee. He was named a starter on the Hurricanes' defensive line despite not participating in the team's spring practices.

References

External links

West Virginia Mountaineers bioMiami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mesidor, Akheem Living people Canadian expatriate American football people in the United States American football defensive linemen Miami Hurricanes football players Sportspeople from Ottawa West Virginia Mountaineers football players Players of American football from Ontario 2001 births