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Now that most of the portal chaos has settled down, I figured I’d take my usual shot at projecting the spring depth chart. QB: Poffenbarger Roggow This is the most talented quarterback room since Moorhead’s arrival when you look at it purely from a potential standpoint. Unfortunately, that doesn’t guarantee a worthwhile starter, especially since no one has proven production at the FBS level. It’d be easy to lump Poffenbarger in with Undercuffler for obvious reasons, but after watching some of Poffenbarger’s Albany film on YouTube, I think he shows much better touch than Undercuffler and seems to read the field better as well. Of course, that was a few years ago and at the FCS level, so we’ll see if Poffenbarger can reproduce that here. I also wouldn’t rule out Roggow, Broughton, or Beals getting meaningful playing time. The position should be wide open, and higher production from this spot would make a huge impact on the offense. Somehow, the best quarterback in this system has been one the staff inherited in DJ Irons. The 2022 offense averaged 26.6 PPG and 408.1 yards per game. Since then, the offense has averaged 20.5 PPG and 329.5 yards per game (conference stats only). For anyone wondering, that’s fewer points and yards than Arth’s final season. RB: Gant Patrick Somehow, in the NIL era, every scholarship running back from last season is back. I’m not sure Gant will be able to reproduce another 1,000-yard season with what is basically a brand-new offensive line and a new quarterback who’ll be reading the defense and deciding whether to give or keep on RPOs. Also, I expect Patrick to step into a larger role and create a bigger impact. Gee and Curry are more power-type backs who could contribute if they stay healthy. 2025 was the best rushing year under this staff. I’ve been pretty vocal about the need to run the ball more. In most cases, teams with a strong running game tend to win. The Zips averaged 124 rushing yards per game last season, which is decent, but only good enough for ninth in the MAC. For comparison, Ohio and Western Michigan both averaged over 200 yards per game on the ground. WR: Ma. Williams Sivon WR: Mason Louis WR: Monteiro Myers Outside of Williams and Mason, almost any receiver could be penciled into the depth chart at this point. I don’t know which of the incoming players will work their way to the forefront, but I do think this room has as much talented depth as any other year. 2022 might’ve had the best group of starters, but the 2026 group has a chance to be one of the deepest from top to bottom. If the drops can be limited, the passing game has a chance to be one of the best in the MAC again. TE: Cravaack Hook Cravaack took over TE1 duties last season and steadily got better as the year went on. I have to assume that played at least some role in Newell transferring to Toledo. Incoming Michigan State transfer Hook and JUCO addition Alexander will provide depth. The fewest amount of passes in the Moorhead era went to the tight ends last year. I’d think there’ll be more of an effort to get them involved in the passing game in 2026. OL: Honestly, it’s anyone’s guess who’ll be starting in 2026. I’m sure Lyons and A. Jones can be penciled in, but outside of that, I don’t know. The spring game should give a better indication. Coach JRod has improved offensive line play each year he’s been here, though he’ll definitely have his work cut out for him this coming season. There’s some ability in the room, but I can’t say this group is any more talented than last year’s squad. I’d actually say it’s a bit less, although that doesn’t mean they can’t outperform if the right combination can build early cohesion. DE: Durham J. Frazier DT: Hull E. Davis DT: Highland Mixon DE: Waye D. Frazier Similar to the offensive line, I can’t say this is a more talented unit with the losses of Laventure and Dall. The defense was the best it’s been during the current staff’s tenure in multiple MAC categories, including points per game (26.6), sacks (20), interceptions(8), and forced fumbles (7). Durham and Hull return as starters, so that’s a positive. Waye is an edge player from the portal who looks a little raw but has some physical talent. Highland looks like a really good pickup on the interior, even if he’s more of a run stuffer. This unit still needs a few more additions, as the backups produced next to nothing last season and the starting group doesn’t currently look as strong on paper. This time last year I was concerned about the DL, but the addition of Laventure after spring ball made a huge difference. Hopefully something similar happens this year, even though I do feel better going into 2026 than I did during the spring of 2025. LB: Hocker Jones I’m taking a shot in the dark projecting the linebacker depth chart. I’m frustrated, but not surprised, that Spriggs hit the portal. He was finally coming into his own and would have almost certainly been all-conference this coming season. That said, I’m not overly concerned about the position. Tibesar has consistently done a good job year over year getting production out of whoever is on the field. Talent isn’t the question — productivity is. Right now, nobody in the room has any meaningful FBS experience. If the spring “game” looks anything like last year, we probably won’t learn much more than we already know, which is that these guys are athletic and can get downhill in a hurry. Realistically, it’s probably going to take until game one before we have any real idea where things actually stand. CB: White McNeil CB: T. Thomas Hobson NB: AL. Branch AI. Branch S: David Somerville S: Flowers Hunter I’d expect the starters and backups from last year’s secondary to at least open spring as starters or newly elevated starters. After that, though, things could shift pretty quickly. The new cornerbacks coach clearly emphasized speed this offseason, and now he’ll have his own recruits in the room to start molding. Both nickelbacks are back, and there’s a solid group of safeties returning too — a unit that definitely had its share of highs and lows. With a year of legit FBS experience under their belts, I’d expect the safeties to be a lot more consistent in 2026. ST: I assume Schramm and Castle will kick things off as starters, but this room does not seem complete. Hills should have plenty of competition at kick returner as well. To wrap up, I want to touch on recruiting. I think this year’s class probably lands somewhere in the middle of the MAC. That said, if a home run was hit at quarterback, it could make this class look a lot better than it actually is. High-end quarterback play usually means more points and, more often than not, more wins. Until the NIL pool is competitive with the rest of the conference, I doubt there will be many, if any, years where Akron can realistically claim the top class in the MAC. On the flip side, there’s a lot of young talent on this roster — way more than during the Arth years — and honestly it’s mostly in line with the rest of the conference. So I don’t want to make it sound like not landing a top class means you can’t win. If it’s paired with strong coaching, winning seasons are still very much on the table.

I’m in Columbus for work later today and planning to make the quick hour-and-15 drive southeast. First game at OU, catch me behind the UA bench

Enrique announced on his Instagram today that he is starting the Freeman Family Foundation, a non-profit aimed at supporting youth and families in the community. As their first initiative, they announced the Freeman Future Leadership scholarship, which will be awarded to five students.

Speaking of alumni parents, I remember only one parent that used to post on this board and that was Kwan's mom. She was always very nice. I started thinking about Kwan and it looks like he has had a very successful career playing all over Europe and in Israel. I copied his Twitter picture and he looks great with a very handsome family.

why do you find it necessary to bring politics into a discussion of Enrique Freeman?

I don't know how many people caught it, but after the WMU game they interviewed Bowen on the radio. He brought up the possibility of getting some kind of waiver for an extra year of eligibility and Joe goes "Hopefully at Akron" and Bowen responded "Absolutely, I love it here these guys are the first ones to ever give me a chance at regular playing time"

IMO this just comes off as a coach trying to deflect the blame from himself. I don't follow KSU basketball, but this will be his 3rd straight losing season in conference play and 3rd straight year of missing the big dance. He's solely responsible for assembling this roster so if he's not happy with the players on his team frankly he has nobody to blame but himself.

Discuss whatever you wish guys, but as for me, I come to the forum in part to get away from the daily "controversy" cycle.

The NIL money at P4 programs has gotten so stupid that it forces players to choose getting a fat pay check and losing over staying with their teammates/friends, coaches, and winning championships. That's just the way it is now. No use lamenting it. Next man up.

This is fantastic.

It's a wonderful read. Shoutout to the announcers tonight. Miami OH fans watching the game had to be pissed hearing them essentially say Akron is still the class of the MAC despite the Sweaters being undefeated. Cleveland will be fun.

Kansas State won their first game without Tang. Nate put up a stat line of 33/9/5.

When I looked at the stats this morning, I noticed that in the last 6 games the Zips have not shot 40% from the 3 point line. In our lost to Troy and our narrow win st Eastern Michigan we shot the 3 point ball around 27% for those games. Earlier in the season against good out of conference teams including Perdue we were averaging well over 40% from 3. I even commented that this might be Groce's best 3 point shooting team. I hate that our three point shooting in trending downward at the end of the season. Not sure what is the cause except the grind of a long season. Also, Groce has been playing some players long minutes and there has been a greater emphasis on defense. In our loss to Miami we only shot 25% from 3. Hoping that we can regain our outside shooting touch in the remaining games.

I'm so ready for the Ball State vs. Sac State rivalry to really heat up.

He needs to realize that throwing money at players that are not high quality Big-12 starter level talents will not produce wins. I love Nate and think he made the right call in setting himself up for a lifetime but he and players of his talent level aren't difference makers at that level of college basketball.

Nothing says “I love you” more than snuggling on a wooden bleacher at 10pm and being serenaded by a 110 decibel woman’s clock countdown to a kid who’s just missed his 9th consecutive halftime promo free throw. Uh oh…I think I just gave @NWAkron more ammo.

Buffalo, Ohio, Toledo, and Kent in a 4 game stretch..not only going undefeated but winning by an average of 16.75 points is pretty impressive. MAC-C is going to be fun this year if Miami and us keep taking care of business.

Good for Ryan Prather. Watching RMU vs wright state and he hit a clutch 3 with under and minute left and then scored on a drive to the basket on the next possession to clinch the game for the colonials

2 things can be true. 1) Kent is and will likely always be classless 2) Tod sucks

Give Hardman credit for a game winner. I cannot remember an Akron game winning shot in the last 10 seconds this year. I really thought it was going to be a Tavari drive or pull up jumper for the last shot. Give Groce credit for the game winning play.

I also felt the Lord's presence when the rowdies were yell F___K you to Kent.

I understand Groce takes the kids to Christ Community Chapel that want to come so it's not a show.

Those t-shirts are the same t-shirts worn by the Ohio State football team. Easy way for young Christian athletes to witness & remind themselves "Jesus won" - that they're just playing a game that's intended to be fun; take the pressure off. Jesus won the greatest victory. Love to see it. *And people actually wonder how Groce continually recruits such high character kids 😆

Tavari was funny in the post-game interview messing around with Hardman and Lyles. Not a side you see too much from Tavari. Worth a watch. At the time we debated what the loss of Tavari to the portal would have meant to this year’s team. The fact that Young has hit a wall with his offensive growth answers that clearly for me. Tavari has been exceptional all around. One of my biggest issues with Tavari in the past besides not holding his own defensively was he was always a shoot first point guard. This year he is actually looking to distribute and because of that he is far more dynamic and effective. Good on him. 👍

Spread is zips -11.5. That’s seems way too high for a rivalry game

This just makes me want all Ohio MTE. There's 13 D1 teams in Ohio. I'm 99% sure Ohio State would chicken out, so you'd have a nice 12 team bracket. Dayton would probably be heavy favorites most years but the storylines would be extremely fun. Give us a great chance at big wins against Dayton, Cinci, and Xavier while also beating up the horizon. Put it in the Columbus area for fairness and I'd spend the weekend there for it.

Maybe they could play a game in March after they both lose in the MAC Tournament 😉

I think Nick being here could help Oggie's adjustment to Akron and the American system. It also gives the program an in in Nick's area of the world.

The difference between us and Miami is we played Murray State, Yale, and Purdue and they played Mercyhurst, Eastern Kentucky, and Air Force, and had our only H2H at Miami. Fully confident we would beat them at the JAR and will beat them in Cleveland.

Dunk of the year by Eric.

The spring roster is out, and according to it we’ve got several guys back that I assumed were out of eligibility — Lyons and Archer on the OL, plus David, Jarmon, and AL. Branch in the secondary. If that’s accurate, that would leave us with approximately seven scholarships still open. Based on how the roster looks right now, 5–6 of those should be allocated to the DL.

I was planning on bringing a group of 12 but had to do the 'adult' thing & cancel the outing. But still planning on bringing the same group to the KSUcks game!!! 🤞🙏🤞🙏

I think this might be our most complete game yet. The fact that we dominated a full 40 minutes in a true road game in Athens is awesome to watch.

Zips get the national game in the MAC- Sunbelt challenge!

He actually had TWO pick sixes in that Super Bowl. The only reason he didn't win MVP was because they stupidly voted for MVP before the game was over a which was before he ran back his second TD! And the "MVP" was another defensive back! Still pissed! 😁

Both Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid are hurt for Minnesota. Enrique may finally be active tomorrow.

I think Kent came into the JAR looking to play bully ball and in the opening tip wearing a protective mask Halligan says hold my beer and dives on the ball creating a scrum. Game on!!

Barre is not in sync offensively with his teammates yet, but his large presence was a welcome addition tonight.

Both these guys are fantastic. Evan is the prototype for me as a representative of Akron Basketball (and we’ve had alot of good ones). Smart, charismatic, funny, spiritual, family/teammate oriented… and the dude loves country music and Major League?! Come on. Especially right before the Kent game and their decades-long history of thugs and idiots. And I don’t know who the interviewer is, but I’ve watched a couple of his across multiple sports and he’s GREAT. Well prepared but not stiff, asks great follow-ups, and puts the athletes at ease. Great content… keep it up UA.

Today is the day. The only day of the year that my 12 year old is allowed to say the f word. F Kent St.

If they kept it open for the 16 people sipping on Bud Lights and didn't pull out the bleachers for the 800 tickets they could have sold, I think I'd return my diploma.

The bigger question is will the NCAA allow Whaley to play with an oxygen tank? He's going to need constant oxygen dragging his fat rear end up and down the court all night. Gillespie got in foul trouble the other night vs Miami. Fully expect that to happen again with our athleticism.

It's going to be interesting to see how Groce plans to handle the defense when Gillespie and 6'7" 290 pound Whaley are on the floor together.

Spaghetti Warehouse is garbage, even though it's one of the coolest places inside.

The watch party for the Arizona game was terrible, they have grown accustomed to the place being half empty or less since covid probably. Our group got sat at a table with a view of only 1 TV and it wasn't even on. They are severely understaffed and so many items on the menu are sold out, the waitress even said "yeah we always are out of a bunch of things on the menu". I hate to be so critical of a downtown business, I think downtown Akron needs places like this, but in its current state it isn't helping. I'd say it would be better off having this at lockview and they have a capacity of maybe 100. And also, any college cup match or march madness game should have a watch party in the JAR. The ones in 2018 were awesome and I wish they'd do it again. That's my rant for the day, looking forward to the game on Friday

Congratulations to Beto… …“Gui and Beto played important roles in our success last season, and we’re excited to reward them with new contracts. We expect them to remain key pieces within the group for years to come,” Sporting Director Dan Visser said. Ydrach, 24, famously netted the clinching penalty kick in the Hounds’ shootout win over FC Tulsa to secure the league title, and he also headed the game-winning goal in the team’s U.S. Open Cup victory over New York City FC in the Round of 32 last year. A Puerto Rico international with 17 appearances for his national team, Ydrach started 27 of the Hounds’ 29 regular-season matches as a rookie out of the University of Akron. …

Now we need some quality DL.

I saw somewhere that there's a good chance that the MAC goes to a 22 game schedule next season. Home and away against the other 11 teams.