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Dr. Z and I were able to attend the Signing Day press conference held earlier today. I think this is the 20th one I've attended, dating back to the Lee Owens days. There were no player videos...I guess there's not much need for those anymore, with all the information that's available on the internet. But it would have been nice to hear the coach walk through each individual player and provide thoughts. Only Coach Arth was present. None of the other staff members attended. Nor were there any players. No TV cameras. Nor was Elton Alexander present. I jotted down some of the comments from the Coach that I thought were interesting - Regarding the difficulty of recruiting on such a short time frame, he said: In the past (pre-2018 class), if you were hired in December every potential player was, in theory, still available. Now, more than half of them are committed. I believe the actual number is around 70%? It was easy to find great kids who weren't at the FBS talent level...and it was easy to find kids with FBS talent, who had issues with grades or other problems, but it was tough finding great kids with FBS-level talent. He said the turning point where the staff knew they could assemble a great class was after the first official visit weekend. The way he described it, it was the equivalent of holding a party, with no idea if anyone would show up. It ended up they received eight or nine commitments that weekend, and that was really the first time the staff thought "I think we're gonna be alright." He also mentioned that the kids who committed from that first weekend were instrumental in getting the remainder of the class signed. They really helped in the recruiting process. He specifically mentioned Zach Gibson stepping up and leading the "recruit-recruiting" process, as you'd hope a 4-year high school starter quarterback would. Coach Arth mentioned Peter Hayes-Patrick would be expected to vie for playing time immediately. I thought this was interesting, as Hayes-Patrick's commitment tweet mentioned playing for the Zips for "3-4 years." You could have taken the "3" to mean grades might be an issue. Apparently not. The Spring Game will be held April 13th at noon. Not all 2019 scholarships were used. There are a few "reserved for future use." On Xavior Gray, he loved the fact that he was never knocked down in any of the film he viewed. That was really impressive for someone so tall (6' 9"). On Demetrick Watts, he gave a neat story - - Humboldt State apparently disbanded their football team. Demetrick needed a team, and one of the present Zips player's father (I'll guess Bryce Peterson's, but I could be wrong) tipped the staff off regarding his availability. He came highly recommended. The staff originally thought he was a little on the small side and wasn't going to offer him. Apparently when a couple Zips coaches were recruiting other players in California, Demetrick tracked them down and introduced himself. In real life he was a lot bigger than they saw from his tape...and they ultimately offered him. They're very high on his potential. The strong presence of kids from the south in Arth's initial class, specifically Georgia, is a result of relationships the staff has in that region, and recruiting there will not be a one-shot deal. They expect to take advantage of those relationships in the future, especially when it comes to recruiting skill position players. That's the best I could do. I'm guessing UA will probably put the presser YouTube at some point?

No more late night posting for you.

The staff can not mention names if they are not signed, so there are no specifics. But coach Arth did mention they will explore grad transfers if it is a fit. It was also mentioned there are more walk-ons that will be added, only paperwork was holding up officially announcing them. Stay tuned...

presser video

Here is a bizarre one...the Orlando Sentinel writer thinks Bowden is still the Zips head coach. Not Terry either...it's Tommy. Time to hang up the typewriter old man... Peter Hayes-Patrick article and video

I think it means Juco to address grades than to Ashland

We obviously don't know how this will play out one year,two years on down the road.Players have to play before we know how good/bad they are. But,for those who wanted more NE Ohio recruits,it appears these guys have have made a BIG push in that direction. We will see how that translates to improvement in the program. But,if Arth et.al can coach 'em up and install a rational offensive system we should see some improvement if not this season but next.

2019 Akron Football National Letter of Intent Signees Name Pos. Elig. Ht. Wt. Hometown | High School | Previous School Randy Cochran, Jr. DB Fr. 6-0 175 Doraville, Ga. | Norcross Jordan Daniels OL Fr. 6-5 275 Huntersville, N.C. | North Mecklenburg Adetutu Daranijo $ DB Fr. 5-10 200 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | St. Thomas Aquinas Zach Gibson QB Fr. 6-3 215 Alpharetta, Ga. | Johns Creek Xavior Gray OL Fr. 6-9 315 Massillon, Ohio | Jackson Peter Hayes-Patrick RB Fr. 6-0 204 Orlando, Fla. | Winter Park Caleb Herring OL Fr. 6-7 320 Lakewood, Ohio | St. Edward Daniel Lavelle DL Fr. 6-4 260 Forsyth, Ga. | Mary Persons Quevan Lawson LB Fr. 6-4 225 Ashburn, Ga. | Turner County Kyshad Mack DB Fr. 6-1 200 Massillon, Ohio | Massillon Washington Michael Mathison WR Fr. 5-10 175 Covington, Ga. | Newton Tyson McDonald DB Fr. 6-2 195 Corona, Calif. | Eleanor Roosevelt Owen Murphy OL Fr. 6-6 270 Cleveland, Ohio | St. Ignatius Julian Richardson LB Fr. 6-2 210 Albany, Ga. | Westover Kyle Romenick P Fr. 6-2 220 Fort Mill, S.C. | Fort Mill Michael Scott $ LB Jr. 6-3 230 Tallahassee, Fla. | North Florida Christian | Iowa Western CC Keyshawn Swanson DB Fr. 5-11 180 Pensacola, Fla. | West Florida Corey Thomas, Jr. DB Fr. 6-5 200 Pittsburgh, Pa. | Penn Hills Jarred Uran LB Fr. 6-2 195 Cincinnati, Ohio | La Salle Kevin Walls WR Fr. 6-6 215 Westlake, Ohio | Westlake AJ Watts DB Fr. 6-1 208 Columbus, Ga. | Carver Demetrick Watts II LB Jr. 6-3 230 Riverside, Calif. | Hillcrest | Humboldt State Bryce Wilson DL Fr. 6-3 275 Lilburn, Ga. | Parkview $ Mid-year enrollee 2019 Akron Football Walk-on Commitments Name Pos. Elig. Ht. Wt. Hometown | High School Ryan Beckman OL Fr. 6-3 305 Avon Lake, Ohio | Avon Lake Nick Demchuk QB Fr. 6-3 200 Cleveland, Ohio | Benedictine Noah Garrett P Fr. 6-3 175 Mentor, Ohio | Mentor Taylor Griffin RB Fr. 5-11 195 Strongsville, Ohio | Strongsville Jory Mattox OL Fr. 6-3 290 Massillon, Ohio | Massillon Washington Jordan Maul DL Fr. 6-4 325 Steubenville, Ohio | Central Catholic Tank McClendon OL Fr. 5-11 270 Lima, Ohio | Lima Senior Mason McMillen LB Fr. 5-11 200 Wadsworth, Ohio | Wadsworth Shawn Naim WR Fr. 6-4 195 Rocky River, Ohio | Lutheran West Alex Robarge OL Fr. 6-5 325 Chagrin Falls, Ohio | Kenston Connor Shell LB Fr. 6-1 190 Bay Village, Ohio | Bay Village

I don't think that this has been posted yet? Channel 3 article https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/ncaa/akron-soccer-team-wins-male-collegiate-athlete-of-the-year-at-greater-cleveland-sports-awards/95-068a10af-c94e-4d48-9b11-165f870970d1

Yessir. I actually did it last night, but I haven't added the new walk-ons yet. The "few extra" scholarships comment Cap'n referenced caught my eye as well as the only "5 DBs on scholly" comment. What I have shows otherwise and actually shows we are completely full on schollies. Now obviously there are some things we don't know in regards to the extra scholarships. I.E. maybe Denzel Butler did transfer out of the program, Featherstone decided not to use his med redhsirt, the new freshman punter will be the only on on scholly, etc. Same goes with the DB comment. Does he include players listed on the roster as CB and S in that comment? Even if he doesn't I count 7. If you want to exclude Butler and somebody else, then we are down to 5. But that doesn't include "CB" and "S", so that situation isn't as bad as it looks, though I do agree if Butler is gone then we are very thin with players that actually play CB. Zips Football Scholarship Chart.xlsx

This is only part of the press conference (recorded by George). Questions answered in this edit of the press conference include: • Xavier Gray • Peter Hayes-Patrick • Players that fit • Defensive backs

Congratulations to our outstanding 2018 Zips!!! ??????❤️❤️❤️

Good start from a staff that got a late start.

Buffalo stays ranked at #23. Let's hope they can manage not losing until we face them. Would love the chance to knock off a ranked team at the JAR, especially Buffalo!

Would too bad if they are seniors? Not so much the kid from Richfield.

Looking at the MAC stats today. The Zips top rebounder (Ivey) is 15th in the MAC. Top scorer (Utomi) is 19th.