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Former Zips HC Lee Owens Steps Down @ Ashland


Captain Kangaroo

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Can't believe he's 66 years old?

 

When he was at Akron the guy never got his due. He brought in some great players...guys that Brookhart won a championship with...with no Stiles Center, and no Infocison...just a dilapidated Rubber Bowl.

 

It took him 9 years at UA to get the Zips to a "nice" 7-5. His tenure at Ashland was "very good," but not "great." But it does make you wonder what he could have done had he stayed at UA. He was loyal to Ashland for 22 years, so if he continued at Akron there's a chance he could have been that long-tenured, "Solich-like" coach? And with improved resources, 8 or 9 win seasons wouldn't have been crazy talk. We'll never know...

 

Enjoy retirement, or whatever comes your way, Lee. 

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  • Captain Kangaroo changed the title to Former Zips HC Lee Owens Steps Down @ Ashland

I didn't really follow Akron football closely till Lee was hired.  I was a sophomore at Malone & was proud of the fact I was from Akron & finally got really excited about Akron football when Lee took over. I thought he'd bring in most of the local MAC-caliber players. He brought in many.  I still remember the very first play of the Lee Owens' tenure at UA. We were at the Rubber Bowl -v- EMU.  We had Lew Lawhorn, a transfer WR from Temple who returned the opening kickoff for a TD.  It was a competitive & entertaining game that EMU finally won w/ their stellar QB Charlie Batch. (Man did Charlie Batch throw a beautiful ball. Smooth as silk.)

Edited by Blue & Gold
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Owens and Ashland lost to a very good IUP team in the DII playoffs. He brought in some really talented players when he was here, NFL caliber. Charley Frye, Chase Blackburn, Dom Hixon, Dwight Smith all made it. Had some good O-lineman also. He and Paul Winters had solid offenses. Blackburn and Hixon won Super Bowl rings I believe. Dwight Smith intercepted at least 2 for pick sixes in the Super Bowl if I am not mistaken. Best athlete I ever saw at Akron. Owens was 7-5(6-2 in the MAC) the season he got fired if I am not mistaken.  Imagine going 6-2 and not winning the division. He got caught in a change of bosses in the Athletic Department. Certaily left a soilid foundation for Brookhart, Moorehead et. al.

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6 hours ago, Lee Adams said:

Dwight Smith intercepted at least 2 for pick sixes in the Super Bowl if I am not mistaken. Best athlete I ever saw at Akron.

Hmmm. I've been thinking about this a lot since reading it and I believe you are correct. He was a dominant player and I can't think of another Zip who dominated the way he did. 

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I think Dwight is the Zips only 1st Team All-American.  Was he a consensus 1st Team pick?  I believe he led the nation in INT's his senior year.

 

He should have been named Super Bowl MVP the year he returned 2 pick-6's for the Buccaneers.  I don't remember who was named MVP but it was probably Tampas QB... Trent Dilfer? 

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6 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

I think Dwight is the Zips only 1st Team All-American.  Was he a consensus 1st Team pick?  I believe he led the nation in INT's his senior year.

 

He should have been named Super Bowl MVP the year he returned 2 pick-6's for the Buccaneers.  I don't remember who was named MVP but it was probably Tampas QB... Trent Dilfer? 

Safety Dexter Jackson.

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31 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Safety Dexter Jackson.

After Googling that, I see Dexter Jackson also had 2 picks. Oakland's QB threw 4 picks that game?!

Dwight returned his 2 picks for scores.  How is it that Jackson was named MVP?  What else did he do to alter the outcome of the game?

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9 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

 should have been named Super Bowl MVP the year he returned 2 pick-6's for the Buccaneers.  I don't remember who was named MVP but it was probably Tampas QB... Trent Dilfer? 

The second happened very close to the end of the game after the votes were in. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/5/2022 at 8:06 AM, GP1 said:

Other than a huge basic fact being wrong as well as the headline, it's a nice article.  

Please enlighten us on the basic fact that is wrong. I'm sure you disagree with the headline, but he was a coaching icon for that area of Ohio through his time as a high school head coach and almost twenty years as a consistent winner at Ashland.

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8 minutes ago, InTheZone said:

Please enlighten us on the basic fact that is wrong. I'm sure you disagree with the headline, but he was a coaching icon for that area of Ohio through his time as a high school head coach and almost twenty years as a consistent winner at Ashland.

"J.D. Brookhart, had two winning seasons in the first two years after Owens’ departure (using Owens’ recruits)."

 

While it is true that a second season coach still has some remnants of the previous coach's players, this statement makes it appear as if only Owens'recruits were on the team. It ignores significant contributions from some players Brookhart brought in. It's lazy journalism. 

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On 12/5/2022 at 2:32 PM, Blue & Gold said:

I think Dwight is the Zips only 1st Team All-American.  Was he a consensus 1st Team pick?  I believe he led the nation in INT's his senior year.

 

He should have been named Super Bowl MVP the year he returned 2 pick-6's for the Buccaneers.  I don't remember who was named MVP but it was probably Tampas QB... Trent Dilfer? 

Just reading this thread. I agree Dwight was the most talented and athletic player to lace 'em up (#Zipemup) for UA.  He led the nation in INTs his senior season and was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.  If I recall correctly he had SIX interceptions just in the month of September. In four games!  He came to Akron from Detroit because of his size, a 5-10 safety probably could not be recruited to a P-5 school, but he had great strength, and obviously great hands -- always wondered how he would have done on the offensive side of the game.

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5 minutes ago, Z.I.P. said:

Just reading this thread. I agree Dwight was the most talented and athletic player to lace 'em up (#Zipemup) for UA. 

I forget the year and I think the opponent was Kent, but he had the greatest single game effort in Zips history. I remember a kick return for a TD and at least one int for a TD. Someone help my memory. 

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3 minutes ago, GP1 said:

I forget the year and I think the opponent was Kent, but he had the greatest single game effort in Zips history. I remember a kick return for a TD and at least one int for a TD. Someone help my memory. 

He also stripped a Kent running back of the ball about 3 yards from the end zone in that game. The only other Zips game I witnessed where a single Zips player had such an impact on the outcome was Jason Taylor against Virginia Tech at the Rubber Bowl. That was an atrocious Zips squad, and JT’s dominance almost got us the “W.”

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