Akeem Ayers is intent on being a strong Rams pass rusher — and an example for L.A. youth

The buildup was everything Akeem Ayers expected it to be.

He celebrated his homecoming with family and friends. He held a football camp at Verbum Dei High, his alma mater. He woke up every day this summer and put on gear that made it clear he plays for Los Angeles’ NFL team.

But when Ayers ran out of the tunnel for the Rams’ preseason opener against the Cowboys on Saturday, it fully hit him. That’s when he saw the Rams logos dotting the Coliseum, the jerseys filling the bleachers ... the sight of a football-hungry city. His city.

Home was now his professional home too.

“I grew up down the street from here and now I play for the NFL team in the stadium that represents L.A.,” Ayers recalls thinking to himself in that moment. “Wow, this it.”

Before going to the Tennessee Titans as a second-round pick in 2011, all Ayers knew was L.A. He grew up in Watts. He starred as a two-way player at Verbum Dei, chose UCLA from among a handful of top-flight programs and after three standout seasons declared for the draft.

Now, five years into a career that has included three teams and a Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots, the 27-year-old Ayers is a versatile leader of the Rams’ retooled linebacker corps. He’s also hoping to improve his sacks total — which waned once the Rams switched him to full-time linebacker last season — and be a role model.

“It’s a little different when you don’t have an NFL team,” Ayers said, after a training-camp practice Tuesday, about growing up in L.A. “You really don’t have, like, proof; proof that you can get out and do something great. Now that a kid growing up can see an NFL team and go to an NFL game, that’s really big.

“I want them to see me. That means a lot to me.”

The trip from Watts to the Coliseum takes no more than 30 minutes via the 110 Freeway. But Ayers admits that, at times, the journey felt much longer.

Kendric Knox, who coached him at Verbum Dei, described Ayers’ neighborhood as a “really rough spot.” When Ayers was a junior in high school, he told The Times he’d witnessed five shootings. His brother Ryan, two years younger, said he’d seen 10.

Ayers remembers playing with his head down, whether in local Pop Warner games or high school, and not thinking too much about his future. He grew up in an area where people typically stayed put. Nothing was guaranteed.

“We would take them on visits to local colleges to show them what they could achieve,” said Knox, who now coaches at Lynwood High. “For a kid like Akeem, I think that meant a lot. Just visualizing what football could give him if he kept at it.”

That was when Ayers first saw a game in the Coliseum, and also when his reputation as a dominant high school linebacker bloomed. Teams started running away from Ayers on every down, so Knox shifted him to middle linebacker. He also made Ayers a tight end so Verbum Dei could use his athleticism on offense.

That versatility led Ayers to UCLA, which he chose because he wanted to be close — but not too close — to home. The decision led him to the NFL and back to L.A., where he has become the Rams’ most experienced linebacker since veteran James Laurinaitis was released in the off-season.

Alec Ogletree shifted to the middle to replace Laurinaitis, and opposite Ayers is Mark Barron, who’s been a linebacker and safety during four professional seasons. Ayers is still adjusting to his transition — moving off the defensive line, where he started the 2015 season — and feels he can lend wisdom to younger teammates who take on similar challenges.

He’s also hellbent on being a disruptive pass rusher, which means working before and after practice on hand technique and quickness around the edge.

“He’s versatile in that he can rush, I mean that’s what he’s done most of his career and that’s how he won a ring,” Rams Coach Jeff Fisher said, adding that Ayers’ return to linebacker has been smooth.

This year for Ayers, however, won’t be defined only between the lines. He wants to be an example for local youth — so that they might work with their heads down and keep two eyes on the future.

“I would never have thought I’d be back here playing football, not in a million years,” Ayers said. “Now it’s about more than just the Rams, and more than just me. This is also about our city.”

jesse.dougherty@latimes.com

Twitter: @dougherty_jesse