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As others have already said, it wasn’t a true spring game—just a “thud” practice—but it was still great to watch the players move and compete. QB: Finley is head and shoulders above the rest. Roggow and Broughton each had some good moments, but if the season started today and something happened to Finley, I’m not sure either one is ready to lead us to a win just yet. Like I mentioned before, Broughton’s smaller frame is probably part of the reason we were able to land him, but he’s special and he’s only going to get better. He also lined up at receiver a bit. RB: There weren’t many run plays, and the few they did call were blown dead pretty quickly, so there wasn’t a whole lot to take away there. That said, the backs caught the ball really well out of the backfield, and you could easily see their talent from that angle. Gant and Patrick are the two to keep an eye on. Patrick still needs to put on a little more mass, but once he does—look out. WR: I’m calling it now—Kyan Mason will be all-conference this season as a redshirt freshman. He’s dynamic, and our defense had a tough time covering him all night. Polk and Davis look like they’ve kept progressing and should both have solid seasons. I was expecting more from Hills. He got separation a few times, but just couldn’t haul it in. His catch radius seems somewhat limited. He’ll probably be used more on the short stuff. It was good to see Adams back out there, but he doesn’t look quite like the explosive receiver he was before the injuries. He’ll help us, no doubt, but expectations should be tempered. And once again, another spring and another strong showing from Walker—caught almost everything thrown his way, including a tough grab against Reed to end the period. TE: Backups Whisner and Witherspoon saw a lot of action at tight end tonight. Witherspoon was a bit up and down as a receiver—dropped a few easy ones but also came down with some tough, contested catches. He moves well and has all kinds of length. Pretty sure I saw Newell and Cravaack out there too, just don’t remember them getting many reps. OL: Western Kentucky transfer Darrell Johnson looks to have the inside track at left tackle. He’s got all the physical tools and should be solid. Morris and K. Davis looked really good at center and left guard. Right guard and right tackle still need to be sorted out. Based on what I saw tonight, I’d say transfer Allen Jones has the edge at right guard. Right tackle looks like it’s between JUCO signee Massai King and Jonas Mann. Pretty sure I saw Mann take a few snaps at left tackle too. DL: There was some good out there, but overall, we need immediate help. Arizona transfer Cyrus Durham is the real deal and will help soften the blow of losing Nunnally. Dall looked ready on the opposite side. Inside, Ronald Hull looks good to go. Beyond that, when it comes to starting D1 talent, that’s about it. The rest of the group has potential and might provide depth in 2025, but that’s where things stand for now. The portal and JUCO are going to be critical for our D-line moving forward. LB: Similar to running back, it’s tough to get a full read in this type of practice. That said, our backers move well and can fly downhill when needed. Spriggs came up with an interception when a receiver wasn’t expecting the ball. DB: The defensive backs rotated a lot and played all over the place. I actually thought Jarmon looked the best tonight. If I had to guess, I’d say the starters will be Jarmon and Reed at corner with DeWalt at the nickel. Tranfer Ben Kamara looked good too. We might not have an elite secondary, but we’ve got guys who move well and have plenty of length. The safeties rotated quite a bit too. The biggest thing that stood out to me was seeing Daymon David on the sideline in a red jersey. ST: Wiley looks like a completely different kicker than he was a few years back. When he connects, the ball jumps off his foot. I’d be surprised if he’s not our starter. Hard to say much about the punting, other than there was plenty of hang time—kicks kept smacking the ceiling. I came away feeling really good about our offense. This group has a real chance to be the best we’ve had under Moorhead. Defensively, though, I’m not too confident about our D-line depth. There’s too much youth and inexperience, and we definitely need more help for this season. I think we’ll be solid at linebacker and in the secondary. Now we just have to wait and see who hits the portal and who we can bring in.

What a waste of John Groce's work ethic and talent. He does all the heavy lifting of identifying young talent, nurturing it, living through the tough times...and when it comes to graduation day, a new "dad" with a fat wallet buys his way onto the scene and walks John's players across the graduation stage, taking pictures and smiling with his arm around them. John's left with a few hollow tweets, and yet another rebuild. The Zips steal no one's players. We get Freshman, castaways and reclamation projects. Groce works his ass off to get those guys into a cohesive, championship unit that the school and fans can be proud of...until the next April when another new fat billfolded MF'er buys his way onto the scene and strips the Zips down to the frame again. Go Zips...

I've been lurking for the past few years, not posting at all and just an occasional visit to the site when I want to learn the real story of what's happening in U of A Sports, since there is no legacy media reporting unless you want to pay for the ridiculous Beacon, although when they do write, Brad Bourneval and Mike Bevin do a nice job. I can always count on @TennZip, @Hilltopper, @clarkwgriswold, @72Roo @Spinand @Blue & Gold to give great insights to the Zips programs. Any-hoo, I wanted to take a moment to recognize both Softball and baseball. I went over to Firestone Stadium this past week and joined the "dozens" of Zip fans and a teeny sliver of administration folk to watch the women play. They made Akron proud, in my opinion. They battled back after a lethargic start and was competitive going forward. Great coaching by Coach Nicholson, and, although not on the level with Miami or Ohio, still a wash with the other three teams. Way to go Zips! And baseball...it may look like it's the same ol' - same ol', but I watched a lot of their games and they too have improved, and Coach Faulds has done a nice job with what he has to work with. The major difference, once again in my opinion, is they need at least another power hitter, and as always, pitching hurt. If they could get two strong starters, and one more closer, they could be in the hunt for a tournament slot in the next two seasons. Anyway, just wanted to post something about the men and women who go pretty much un-noticed on campus and in then news. Go Zips!

Once a kid mentally decides to enter the portal, whether that's actually in December/April or weeks or months before the window opens, there is nothing the program can do to control that kids actions anymore. If an education is not important to that player, they check out entirely, often not bothering to finish their courses. There is nothing the program can leverage against the kid to enforce his actions. Meanwhile, the kids who stay suffer collectively due to their actions. Once the portal changed, this education requirement should not be enforced. The programs who are still maintaining the requirements are rich enough to fake it. The problem isn't all on the kids currently in the program, it's the kids who check out mid semester because they know they are hitting the portal.

With all the recent conversation about Akron football APR scores it makes me feel even more grateful to have Groce running a basketball program that we can be proud of. On numerous post game interviews over the years I've heard him talk about players getting their degrees and praise individuals success in the classroom. He's the embodiment of what a college coach should be. He could be looking to cut corners and bring in unruly characters in hopes of adding an extra win or two, but he's not. He genuinely seems to care about his players and their long-term futures.

If this was 2014, I get it. But nowadays...how do you even calculate who is credited for a player's graduation after they've been at 4 different schools? We get 40 new kids every season and the NCAA is complaining about them not graduating? Who knew? When Joe signed on, at his press conference he stated "I don't just want kids to get degrees...I want my kids to get meaningful degrees (not just major in eligibility)". That noble goal lasted about 47 minutes, then the portal concept blew up and put the kibosh on any football-academic fantasies. The bulk of today's players are no longer in college for an education. It's a job. Their goal at UA isn't to get a degree, it's to perform good enough to get noticed by a bigger program. Along with the training tables being cut last year, was the academic support staff reduced too?

Hello - Just registered to tell you all you are getting a quality person. Dr. Tire is very approachable and yes, brings energy. GW, like most smaller private liberal arts schools, is having big financial challenges, which he dealt with here from day one. We are also in the midst of a Presidential search on campus as well, this is a critical time for the future of the school. He picked the right time to strike oil and move up the chain. We wish him well. He really didn’t do much hiring, he did hire Cris Reisert as football HC (from Tiffin up your way) to replace the young juggernaut Tre Lamb (now already HC at Tulsa) and he just hired Penn State assistant Terri Williams as head women’s hoops HC. The financial resources at GW, for a D1 program, are scarce, which made his job, especially hiring/fundraising, challenging to say the least. I read some posts mentioning a thin budget at Akron. Goodrich can easily adapt and get your fundraising apparatus kicked into gear. Go Dawgs. Go Zips.

Win 6 to become bowl eligible which will create a national “Free Akron” campaign that will shine the light on the ridiculous irony in the NCAA rules.

The hits just keep on coming and coming! The program looks bad. Joe looks bad. The NCAA looks bad and like clowns. But most of all the university, that has excellent students pursuing excellent degree programs, looks bad. Despite all this I believe building a quality, winning football program is achievable. I'm tired of feeling bad every time football is mentioned. I'm hoping Nemer and Goodrich are the people we need. The right people can do amazing things.

This is about as excited as I can get over a back up QB. He was a really impressive player out of HS. He will be a big improvement over Bullock. Strong, athletic kid. His dad is probably the most accomplished UA football player ever, if you look at the breadth of his overall football career. He played in the USFL and has coached high level positions at P5 and NFL staffs. His name usually pops up whenever the Zips decide they need a new HC (about every 3 years) He came to the Zips from Arizona State while I was at UA. He used to wear a burgundy corduroy jacket around campus that was swag from being on Arizona State's Rose Bowl team. Great player. To be eligible to play for the Zips in the fall I recall Mike Sr. had to take something insane like 24 credit hours over the summer, and he did it.

Freeman and the Pacers will be in Cleveland for the 2nd round of the playoffs. How cool is that for Enrique!

Looking forward to three-peat next year! With that being said, I have transferred to the City of Pittsburgh. Don’t think it’s possible to change my username on here so I may just end up making a new account. Plea$e re$pect my decision.

Great victory today by the lacrosse team. Robert Morris is an established program in the sport- having fielded a team for over 25 years with decent success. Back and forth even contest between the teams. Akron made the plays in the 4th quarter. This is their 6th year of existence including the covid years. This year's team set a number of firsts, including- without any stat sheets available: 1. most wins in a season- 9 2. most conference wins- 4 3. first time to make the tournament 4. Co conference regular season champions 5. most assisted goals per game in the conference- to me a measure of "teamism" 6. All eight seniors will graduate in 2025! Great day for all to be proud of these zips!

We can criticize the NCAA, question the formula that results in the classification, gripe about NIL and question the dedication of the modern athlete to academics, but one inescapable fact remains and that is that the University of Akron football program is the only program in this position. Every other school is operating under the same constraints and standards yet UA is the only program in this position and that's damn embarrassing.

One way or the other, the axe of reality is going to fall on most of the G5. The money just isn't there, and even some of the rich programs are sacrificing the Olympic sports to prop up football, which, let's be honest, even at Toledo few really care about it. Front-loading entire athletic departments toward football and basketball while cutting other sports is eventually going to invoke some interpretation of Title IX or spur the advent of new legislation to protect scholarships and opportunities for students who actually go to classes, pass classes, and graduate instead of smoking dope in the elevators of the Exchange Street Residence Hall (Sorry to vent but I had enough of that when I was moving my kid into his dorm room). At this point, as a loyal UA alumnus, I just don't give a damn about football anymore if it's going to be a money-draining, losing embarrassment. Joe must go.

We can criticize the APR system all we want, but every other school is under the same system.

First of all, the APR is a joke. In the Portal/NIL era, academics don't matter. The only reason Akron is being punished is because we don't make the NCAA enough money. Second of all, how embarrassing. Two straight years of penalties. Pure negligence by JoeMo and his staff.

This NCAA bid for women's lacrosse is gaining some significant exposure for UA and our athletic program- more than I think any of us would have expected. Realize most people in Northeastern Ohio know literally nothing about lacrosse- how it is played, what to watch for, what the rules are, or even how it is scored. Even fewer are aware of the skill, intelligence, and athletic ability necessary to play it at a high level. Encourage all of you to find out- you will probably become hooked- it is the fastest growing sport in the US. Aside from that- the screen showing that the Zips have clinched a space in the tournament has received over 1,000 likes on instagram in just 48 hrs. These are not UA fans- this is a national recognition liking the achievement of a new "guy on the block" so to speak. They are happy to see a new program succeed in a new location. Outside the tradition "hotbed" of the middle atlantic and northeastern states. They are also curious, checking us out- exactly who is this new lacrosse "power". I hope this might translate into a few transfer portal inquires and new areas for serious recruiting possibilities! All in all- all positive for the Zips!

So, social media says the Zips are going to the Virgin Islands in November for the Paradise Jam. Other teams are Charleston, Evansville, Green Bay, Yale, UMass, Oregon St and Iona. TV coverage. https://www.basketballtravelers.com/mensparadisejam

THE WOMEN'S LACROSSE TEAM CONTINUES TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS AND SET NEW RECORDS! They completely dominated Eastern Michigan in the conference semi final. They destroyed them with a 16-4 victory! For context, Akron lost to EMU in the regular season. EMU had the offensive player of the year (held scoreless by Akron today) and the league goalie of the year and Akron put 16 on her today. They play for the conference championship saturday- not bad for a team picked to finsh last in the conference. Go Zips

Zips Softball split today's doubleheader with Buffalo, which moved them to 13-9 in the MAC and clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2017. Top six teams play May 7-10 at Firestone Stadium.

2025 MAC Regular Season Champs

Tavari Johnson returns!!

Their absolute best chance to win a championship and play in the NCAA Tournament was to stay in Akron. Their absolute best chance to make between $500,000 and $1.5 million was to transfer to a P5 program. Compare Nate's income next season to any UA graduate walking across the stage this May. His income will dwarf the next closest earner by a factor of 10X. Hell...he'll be making $1,000,000 more than Enrique Freeman's made with the Pacers this season! Nate's the #1 '25 UA earner, and no one else is even close. Okonkwo and Tavari will be second and third on the list of Class of '25 UA earners. Then, some schmuck with a Polymer Science Doctorate comes in 4th, pulling in around $150,000. Playing time, championships, etc. do not factor into the transfer equation. As Don Olmeyer famously said: "The answer to all your questions is 'money'".

This really is a good article. I recommend reading it if you haven’t already. Towards the end it talks about players breaking their contracts, etc. I found this excerpt to be interesting: More schools are trying to protect themselves with strict liability in these NIL deals. For example, there's another high-major player who signed a substantial NIL contract near the end of the season but subsequently went into the portal anyway, seeking an even bigger deal. One of his coaches told me they were bracing for this, even though pen was put to paper weeks ago. According to this coach, this player now owes the school "the entirety of a contract he hasn't received a dime of yet." "They think we are bluffing," the coach said. "We are 100% holding them to the contract."

But you have the leak? Are MAC employees who may have the privilege to attend the discussion not bound by this? And to be honest, I don’t see a real benefit for Akron to stay in the MAC if they aren’t there for football.

6’ 6”, 340 lbs. Zips have had 3-4 serviceable OLs in any of the past few seasons. They should be 2-deep with options this year. We should have a legit team and a manageable schedule this season. Gotta at least go 6-6. I’m feeling 7-5, which is insanity. I’ll make my stone cold lock prediction after I see an August scrimmage or two.

Zips sure have had quite the haul of Championships!!! We are a lucky alum and fan base, sure hope everyone appreciates it.

Evan Wilson will be a GA at Arkansas State next year.

Just a reminder that Post #1 in this thread is up to date with all of this year's new commits. 35 commits in total 17 on offense (2 QB's) 17 on defense (8 DL) 1 specialist JoeMo's a beast. The workload for a mid-major HC in this new portal era blows my mind. So let's get to a bowl 💪😤💪

I would argue Guthrie moved the football program to respectability. He was also the architect behind soccer getting in the Big East (despite many unsubstantiated claims he didn’t support soccer). And while baseball isn’t trending where I thought it would in wins under Faulds, he cared and brought in a coach who cares. Softball is trending well. Lacrosse just made their first ever tournament. Genuinely curious about what you think about Larry Williams and where he ranks on your AD scale if Guthrie ranks as a joke? In my opinion, and based on the majority of comments on this board - an incredibly small subset - it’s pretty far fetched to call his overall tenure at Akron or him as a human being (if you’re saying it’s both?) a joke. I guess reading between the lines, it’s primarily because of the Arby’s logo. Also, not sure ‘he bolted for Fordham’ is the accurate take on why he’s gone. The guy signed a 4-year extension in May of last year. Doesn’t seem like someone who had an intention of bolting. The facts are the facts. Hilltopper shared details previously and the reality is - Miller was ousted and a new President came in with his own vision. Happens all the time! ‘Bamboozled’ ‘Sack of garbage’ ’Joke’ Wow! Is it really just the logo bothering you? The guy ran a clean, well managed program with no scandals or issues like what you’re seeing seep out of the walls at our favorite joke of a program down the road. I think what is obvious as you hijack a thread about the new AD to slam Guthrie yet again is he must have really hurt your feelings at some point? Regardless, I’m excited to see what our new leader can do with what is a now very solid foundation left by Guthrie.

I know this a basketball thread, but it's too funny that Sendy threw out the 1st pitch and Kent lost. The dude only knows how to lose to Akron.

He turned into a stud when I coached Pitt on CFB25

Tailgating with my wife, The Unluckiest Woman in the World, inside my pick up truck as the rain pours down in Lot 10.

Trying to predict this team's starting 5 and rotations is silly. Here's the key, and @Zippy87 eluded to it - we are way more matchup proof this year than we were last year. Our rotations are going to be very malleable based on whomever we are playing. Evan will pretty much be a staple no matter what strengths our opponents have because he's so versatile, athletic, and a great defender. Against a taller team, we can utilized more of the Barre/Lyles/Brisco/MMK/Evan combinations. Against more guard oriented teams, we'll just insert any 3 guards in addition to Evan and one of the bigs. Need more offense? Throw Evan at the "5" and run any 4 of the other guards. Zippy87 said we'll have 6 guys in the rotation that will be 6'3" or taller. We'll actually have 7, maybe 8 if Josh Henderson plays as a true freshman. Scott and Head are also both 6'2", so not far off. All but Sharron, Tavari, and Perkins will be 6'2"+. 2024-25 Contributors James Okonkwo - 6'8" 240 lbs Amani Lyles - 6'7" 226 lbs MMK - 6'6" 195 lbs Isaiah Gray - 6'3" 220 lbs Bowen Hardman - 6'3" 190 lbs Nate Johnson - 6'3" 205 lbs Shammah Scott - 6'2" 195 lbs Seth Wilson - 6'2" 220 lbs Sharron Young - 6' 160 lbs Tavari Johnson - 5'11" 160 lbs 2025-26 Potential Contributors Chabi Barre - 6'9" 225 lbs Rich Brisco - 6'8" 230 lbs Amani Lyles - 6'7" 235 lbs MMK - 6'6" 195 lbs Evan Mahaffey - 6'6" 200 lbs Josh Henderson - 6'5" 175 lbs Eric Mahaffey - 6'5" 190 lbs (I've heard he's now 6'6") Bowen Hardman - 6'3" 190 lbs Shammah Scott - 6'2" 195 lbs Cody Head - 6'2" 194 lbs Sharron Young - 6' 160 lbs Tavari Johnson - 5'11" 160 lbs Tai Perkins - 5'11" 165 lbs I legitimately think we got better despite losing Nate & Okonkwo. This roster is going to be VERY formidable. LET'S GO ZIPS!

Chabi Barre is the final commit. https://www.instagram.com/p/DI4ECT0unBO/?igsh=ZDVmbnRuNWJ2a2dz

Zips add Cody Head.

The recent achievements for our Lax team are impressive and hopefully will continue to grow. Most wins in a single season, most conference wins in a single season- and remember they still have a game to go. They lead the MAC in assisted goals per game- a sign of "teamism". They play a style of offense that borrows a good bit from basketball- you will see transition goals, screens, isolation plays, picks, pick-and-rolls; on defense, they are pretty effective at a help-style defense called "slides". Add some elements from soccer and hockey- the result can be a fast-paced exciting game requiring speed, skill, intelligence, and lots of solid conditioning. Just two years ago, they were mired at the very bottom of the 130 division one programs. Now they can and do compete as a legit "mid-major" division one program. I liked their first coach but there is no denying their improved play under coach Jones. They are also graduating their players and sending them off to great careers. I don't know the whole list but do know of teachers, nurses, a number of physical therapists, one in medical school, social work, a Chem major in graduate school studying food science. Given the horrible situation in the revenue sports currently, it is pleasing to find one that maintains its roster a bit, is winning, and producing graduates. I hope they win this coming Sunday and add to their achievements. Go Zips!

The John Groce Vest came in from Bud Wentz and the Fear the Roo Collective. If you're into vests, I highly recommend pulling the trigger on one of these. Love the look and feel of this one - premium across the board. Interestingly enough, Wentz ships these straight from Wentz Financial Group haha. He really is an invaluable part of Akron.

College athletics is far worse than baseball for a number of reasons. 1) Baseball gives teams 6 years of control. If a Guardians rookie wins ROY, a Red Sox GM can't just slide into his DM and steal him after year 1. 2) Baseball actually has a draft so talent is disbursed in a way that struggling teams get the most hyped prospects. Hence why Skene is a Pirate, not Yankee. You wouldn't see Cooper Flagg in a Chicago State, NIU, or insert whatever other MEAC school jersey. The top schools are getting both the best incoming freshman and the top players at the mid-major level. 3) In addition to draft picks by record, MLB gives small market teams and non luxury tax paying teams additional compensation. Baseball is a little broken, but can be fixed with some tweaks. It's nowhere near the level of s*** show college athletics has become. Even a school like Baylor is turning over their entire roster. It's the wild wild west with no sheriffs.

The existing "system" is great for those Power schools that make the rules. Say there's someone you want on the Zips...take them. It's free. If the Boston Celtics want Enrique Freeman, they need to pay for him either with players, money and/or draft picks. That's how pro sports works. "College" is now professional. The MAC shouldn't be a free developmental league for the P5's. You want Nate Johnson, you pay for him.

We were 1 of 5 teams to offer him out of high school. Marshall, Western Kentucky, and Maryland were the other notable programs. Didn't have any stats last year as a freshman (not sure if he redshirted).

I like Nate, appreciate his contributions and wish him well. That being said, he very much benefited from the lack of dominant MAC players in winning MAC POY. He had some great games for the Zips but when I look at the history of MAC POYs he's one of the least impactful. As I said, I like Nate. He seems like a great kid. I don't begrudge his decision to head to Kansas State for life changing money and I hope to hell he proves me wrong and has a million dollar year as far as accomplishments but I think he's a contributor as opposed to a standout in the Big 12..

Happy Easter everyone!!

It has to be the plural wives thing.