Leaderboard

Well, finally watched a practice Th/8/14. I arrived around 18:00 and it lasted for another 90 minutes or so. There are lots of new faces and several notable number changes. At least two players I had never even heard of before. Consult roster on gozips.com; it is finally updated. Observations on newcomers: Ezana Kahsay #18 is quite large, much larger than Zips CBs of recent memory. He is especially fluid and agile for his size, every bit as tall as Saad Abdul-Salaam #3, but thicker. Not certain if he is a starter or not. Niko De Vera #4 is well muscled, short but fast, showing a real burst down the sideline. I will resist comparing Niko to another recent Zip as I do not want to jinx the young man. It will be interesting to track the competition between Niko De Vera #4 and Bryce Cregan #14 for the LB position. (Senior Saad Abdul-Salaam #3 presumably has the RB nailed down.) Each brings a different skill set to the defense. Adam Najem rightfully and appropriately swapped jersey numbers with Richmond (Richie) Laryea. They are now #10 and #6 respectively. Najem looks in excellent form and Laryea is silky smooth. These two are going to combine brilliantly in the MF. Laryea already carries himself like a professional. Tall freshman Anthony Macchione #17 lacks the pedigree of some of the more touted Forwards in this class. However, Macchione scrapped and hustled to score multiple times during various types of scrimmage, displaying a palpable desire to get off his shot. These are my impressions of the freshmen upon witnessing but one practice. I can hardly wait to see more.

If there are all back by week 1 as the article states, that should be good because the Howard game should just be a scrimmage and then have a full week to prepare for Pedo State.