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I'm more than okay with this. We're certainly still in need of a 3 & D guy (although not like Bowen played good defense) but I am hoping for a little more size. We have plenty of 6' guards on the roster right now.

Hot take Eric is the next Ali Ali. See you at Akron again in 2027

Sharron was one of my favorite Zips, but even his biggest supporters have to concede that he took a step back last year. I think it's telling that Groce - apparently armed with a bigger NIL budget - didn't bring him over. I think he has the potential to be a lead guard in a winning team, but he likely wanted to be paid like he already was one, whoch is his right. Tahj Staveskie is a pretty clear upgrade in terms of both current ability and experience. I really wanted Eric to stay, but there's no way Akron can pay him like a star (the rumored $700 K) when he hasn't proven to be that just yet. Obviously the potential is there, but the advantage schools like Cincinnati have with NIL is they can pay him that and not expect him to be the centerpiece of the team. I do think we need a player with some size and scoring ability to replace him. Amarion Dickerson is my dream target, but I'm not sure if we can pull that off.

I can't really speak about Young, but Eric attended Ford's press conference the same day he committed to Cincy. I feel it's telling how much respect and appreciation Eric had for Ford that he attended even though he knew he was leaving. Coaching change seems like a non-factor. In fact, maybe Groce left because he knew he was going to lose Eric and Young so he figured if he was going to have to rebuild anyway now was the right time to leave. Hilltopper threw a number out randomly (not sure if accurate) saying Eric was going to get $700k+, which to me sounds right when you hear what others at P5 schools are making. You can't walk away from that. Maybe he stays another year and improves his value further (mind you he would have to nearly double his value to make it worthwhile as he would have 2 years instead of 3 to cash in if he stayed at Akron). Maybe he stays another year and tears his ACL like Ipsaro did at Miami. Now all that money is gone and he doesn't have a head start on life.

I am really disappointed that we lost both of these guys. It reminds me when KD left the program we lost another West Virginia guard Tavian Dunn Martin and a center, Michael Hughs and Groce had almost a rebuild in year one and we had a losing season. (Jimond Ivey stayed and had a fantastic career at Akron) Sharron did not have a great 2nd season but he came on at the end with a fantastic game at Kent and played well in Cleveland. Eric has a lot of potential but I think for his development it would have been better for him to stay one year as a starter and put up the great stats and have payoff in year 3. I will be curious if he gets to be a starter in Cinn or just a role player. I also wonder if therse guys would have stayed but for the coaching change.

I see the same thing.

Why wouldn't they be able to? I'm sure there is a lot of embellishing going on in the portal to make players appear more marketable than they really are. I would imagine at the very least Akron probably did reach out to him at some point. Whether or not Akron decided on someone else and that offer is no longer valid, your guess is as good as mine. Edit: If he does come here I imagine he's a replacement for Bowen's role.

I kind of wonder with stuff like this, do players put teams in the top 3 who don't even really want them? Can they do that? Lol

FWIW, a friend within the program told me Joe and coach Rod have done a good job of mining the portal. Our OL will be no better than last season, but also no worse. The net/net here is that the team will be better because we have a QB who can quickly make reads, follow the progression and get rid of the ball. The OL is not the best, but it will not hurts us either. We may have a team that is exciting.

He has Cal Baptist written all over him.

He doesn't look bad or anything, but I wonder about the roster fit, with Steveskie, Head, Wilson, and Perkins on the roster...unless Perkins is going somewhere.

Apparently this kid is a big influencer on social media? My son knew who he was. He has 680 K followers on IG. No idea how good he is, though.

Love it, thanks for the update!!

It's not just you, I'd pass here too

Maybe it's just me but do the highlights not look that impressive? Especially for highlights.

Gee was injured last season, correct? Did Sean Patrick look like he's added any weight?

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.

His IG says he is announcing his commitment tomorrow at noon.

The offensive line last season was the most solid it has been in a long while. I know we had a lot of turnover at the position. Any word from coaches or eye ball test that would help you indicate how it appears?

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".

I still find her performance to be more impressive than anything else I will see on a basketball court during the course of a game.

A little off topic but Akron favorite Red Panda was the halftime entertainment at today's Cavs/Raptors playoff game. https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/F3ulDLZaIx

That's not accurate, however, his shooting percentages aren't anything to be scared of.