Kelly Akharaiyi looking to fulfill potential as a top receiver for UTEP

In retrospect, the expectations surrounding Kelly Akharaiyi last year weren't terribly realistic.
He was brought in from Tyler Junior College to step right into a No. 2 receiver slot and his copious talent even teased the potential to work his way to No. 1.
What that overlooked was that he played one year of junior college on a team that used a run-and-shoot-style offense so different from what UTEP does as to be almost inapplicable.
Through the first nine weeks of the season that showed as Akharaiyi went through what in retrospect was a typically tough adjustment to the speed of the FBS and a radically different offense.
In the final three games, the talent began to emerge as Akharaiyi galloped down the stretch, then he turned that into a productive spring.
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This fall UTEP is again counting on Akharaiyi to be a go-to No. 2, the compliment to returning 1,000-yard receiver Tyrin Smith, and this time around that seems much more realistic.
"Personally (last year) was very defeating to me," he said. "I felt like I could have put more of myself out there, I could have done way better. But it’s last year, I have to move away from that and move forward. I had a lot of things on my mind halfway through the season and once I let all of that go I felt better, I felt like myself again.
"Now I know the playbook way better than I did last year. The main part is the elevation from knowing the playbook. I’m a little more confident and playing more consistently, getting a better connection with Gavin (Hardison). That’s all gotten better."
Coach Dana Dimel says it goes further than that.
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"Akharaiyi is really practicing at a high level right now, these first few days of camp are even at a higher level than spring," Dimel said. "He's preparing in a way we need him to prepare knowing what kind of athlete he is. The preparation is meeting the athleticism now.
"With Kelly there was a learning curve. He was raw, he was in a run-and-shoot offense that used all these receivers and the routes were more pattern-read routes, not specific routes. There was a big learning curve and he got that behind him. He's always learning but we really expect him to have a really big year for us."
They need to. UTEP's major offensive loss was the graduation of receiver Rey Flores (after six years; he graduated last year with a master's degree) and after Smith, there is little proven production returning.
Akharaiyi ended up as the Miners' No. 3 last year, something he accomplished by putting up 137 of his 275 receiving yards in the last three games. He had 99 in Week 11 against Florida International when he had a 68-yard touchdown reception.
Behind him UTEP returns essentially everything at the wideout position and will be counting on that large cast for depth. That's going to start with Jeremiah Ballard, Marcus Bellon, Jostein Clark and Emari White, each of whom have had big moments early in camp.
Bellon made a major impact last year as a punt returner in his first year after transferring from Santa Barbara Community College and now is looking to translate that into a receiving role.
"I would say the biggest thing is knowing the playbook," Bellon said, in a bit of an echo of Akharaiyi. "At this time last year I was still trying to learn the hand signals, know the playbook. Now I can play way faster, I know everything.
"I think I can make big plays, make people miss and score, make those long touchdowns."
UTEP is going to need to find new people to do that at receiver, which is a major emphasis of July.