Captain Kangaroo

Many people described @Hilltopper as an “urgent and bursty” pass rusher back in the day?

To be fair, it wasn't just him. We were completely guardable with one man at every position. If we had someone that TT needed to double team, that would have freed Hardman for some open looks. But TT had no issues guarding us straight up. To me, that's why the loss Nate and Okonkwo was a killer, and the loss of Sharrone isn't. Sharrone's too short to compete at today's P4 level (NCAA tourney). In the MAC he's fine, but in the tourney he gets exposed. All the Zips did. We needed to get bigger at guard this year. I think we did? Eric Mahaffey (not Fr, but year 2, 3 or 4) is the type of player we need if we ever expect to win an NCAA tourney game. I don't know if that type will ever play at Akron again.

More help is needed, but UA's run through an exhaustive list of coaches, AD's and losing programs for decades. Good luck finding anyone willing to shell out big bucks if they don't feel UA will spend that money wisely. I make my donation to football annually because I like Joe and feel he merits support. I have fun attending the games in the fall. The guy went 5-7 last year despite being hamstrung by a litany of handicaps beyond his control. He's a good coach who wants to be here. I expect 6 wins this season. Which is like 8-9 wins for a respectfully funded program. Infocision is a resource. I think it could be filled to 18-20 k on average and make money even with the University's football acumen and historical shortcomings. But it's easier to say "I wouldn't have built that stadium" and be off the hook. Goodrich has only been around a short while. He hasn't done anything stupid yet, so I have a some hope that he can at least get football pointed in the right financial direction. We'll see...

To be fair, Matt Kaulig isn’t donating via the Day of Giving. I think football gets a decent share of donations outside of today. I donated to football today, and my 💵 increased the total football amount by 50%!

By “so far” do you mean since 1893?

Gee was injured before the season even started. He’ll have had a full 12 months to rehab, so hopefully he’s good as new. You can see in the pic above Patrick’s not skipping leg day.😃 But whether or not that’s enough to keep him off the injury list in 2026, who knows? It’s a good sign that he’s a full participant this spring and not wearing a red jersey.

The Zips played at least 9 different OL’s yesterday. There are another 9 committed on signing day. So there are plenty of bodies to choose from in creating a solid 2-deep. The lines yesterday looked fine in pass protection. The RB’s didn’t do much so I can’t say much regarding the run blocking. I know bad offensive line play when I see it, and I didn’t see it on Saturday. Maybe it’s because the QB’s couldn’t get hit. Maybe the Zips DL’s aren’t great. Who knows…it was only one spring scrimmage. But overall our offense looks very promising.

I was able to attend today's scrimmage. Below are my notes. I will say - I am very excited for our offense! And I'm a very pessimistic guy who has soured on college sports in the NIL era. The Zips are legitimately 4-deep at WR, and have a QB that can get them the ball! Poffenbarger (#7) is the real deal. Based only upon today's scrimmage, he appears to be a poised version of Finley. His arm is "strong enough." His accuracy is excellent, but he doesn't seem to panic like Finley often did. He goes through his progressions and makes good decisions. Joey Castle looks to be the punter again Sean Patrick and Brandon Hills were the punt returners Poffenbarger got the starters reps. Ruggow was with the 2nd unit and Broughton was with the 3rd. Beals also got some PT and looks good for a guy who should be going to his high school prom next month Old friend and former Golden Gopher Marquise Williams busted a nice 30 yard TD. He played on the 2nd unit. Starting OL was 71(LT)/58(LG)/72(C)/52(RG)/50(RT) 83 and 84 got the bulk of the TE work #7 tossed a nice slant TD to Marcel Williams (#2) in tight coverage. Right on the money. Schramm had a so-so day kicking. Missed a 50 yarder badly to start the scrimmage. Nailed a 45 yarder with plenty of room to spare later in the day. Then missed a 35 yarder from the center of the field. Kyan Mason looks as good as ever. So glad he stayed. 2nd unit OL 57/70/62/58/75 Ruggow hit Jean Louis (#9)on a nice 25 yard slant. Overall, Ruggow has a decent day. #25 Chris Gee was present, but in a red jersey and didn't play. He looked to be in great shape. 1st Unit DL was: 16/5/97/10 2nd unit DL was: 90/52/51/50 Broughton hit Hills on a quick sideline pass that hills turned into a 40 yard scamper to the endzone. I look for Hills to have a big year. He had a standout scrimmage. Dwight Nonou and Israel Duncan got 1 team LB reps. Duncan (#92)is listed as a DE, but played LB. Reminds me a little of Dall. His hair is fantastic! #21 Catrell White dropped an INT from the hand of Poffenbarger. It was his one bad toss of the day...either that, or the receiver messed up his route. Who knows. First unit secondary appeared to be: 21/9/20/15/29 #81 Juke Sivon hauled in a 40 yard slant from Poffenbarger and took it to the house. Overall a great day for the WR's. Sivon is my "Sleeper of the Year".

He should. He’s earned it. I just hope he improves offensively.

NFL-bound Zips Offensive Tackle Gets Some Love on the NBA Starting Line up Show Yesterday. Frank Isola and Scal

Isola_Scal.M4V NFL-bound Zips offensive tackle highlighted on the NBA Starting Line up yesterday.

Sad to see a "rafterable" player leave so soon, but that's the way it will be for the rest of our lifetimes. I saw worthless talking head Clark Kellogg state "The mid-majors are losing their veteran players to P4 programs, but they're getting a better caliber of Freshmen than ever before. So it's a wash." You know what they say when a Freshman redshirts? "You're trading your worst year for your best (5th) year." The Zips now get a Freshman for his worst year, and P4 programs get him for his best years. Definitely a "wash." 🙄

Spring game kickoff is Saturday April 25th @1pm.

Guess the “Toes All In?” sales pitch is 0-2. He’ll need to try a different metaphor at his next stop. #foreveragoldeneagle

The portal is the new normal. 4- or 5-year commitments to a single school are passe’. It’s fun to be wanted, and flirt with other schools. You can’t tweet #foreverazip unless you leave Akron. And those tweets, which always contain noble references to God and family, are great for the ol’ ego too. It’s often as much about ego, and the grass being greener at the next school, as it is about money.