Leaderboard

I've got it pretty much ready to drop. Waiting for a final announcement on GoZips.Com. I feel like there's one more change brewing.

Per my source, this has happened.

I'd love to be in a more competitive conference, even if it meant missing the NCAAs once in a while because we didn't earn our way. Love to wath the Zips play, but so many of the MAC games have been such yawners, and the style of play by other MAC teams is ugly. It'd be great to be in an 8-team competitive conference....IMHO.

He'll be good here instead

There is a thread on it on yappi.com (high school football board). A couple of people are saying that three more freshman are leaving Hoban for East and two for Firestone. http://yappi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302108

Per the University, five Akron Zips– DB Larry Hope (Miami Dolphins), WR Jerome Lane (Indianapolis Colts), DE Jamal Marcus (Cleveland Browns), WR JoJo Natson (Indianapolis Colts), and DT Se'Von Pitman (Tampa Bay)– have signed as rookie free agents with NFL teams.

I really like what Groce is doing. More than once, I heard our previous coach reference the Zips guards small stature and say they wouldn't have been able to get those kids if they were bigger. I'm not sure whether he was prematurely resigning himself to the fact he couldn't reach a little farther, or whether it was reality, but I'm happy to see Groce not coming to the same conclusion.

Kind of sucks that they are essentially competing against each other though.

Agreed, but they needed a QB in this draft, and I think this is a calculated dice roll. It's cleveland, he's going to end up playing this year. I highly doubt a Brock Osweiler/Cody Kessler tandom is going to light the NFL up to a point where you can't play Kizer at some point in the season. He was once considered a top-5 prospect before going 4-8. With Hue Jackson being the "QB Whisperer" than perhaps that's the reason they took the dice roll?

I think having no automatic bid is leverage enough to join a different conference for soccer.

If WVU leaves, and the MAC goes down to 4 teams, I think Akron will have sufficient leverage to also go.

These might provide a bit of levity now that the benefit of hindsight is available.

This summarizes the lack of my interest in Zips football in a nutshell. I follow this board religiously, but rarely attend games a matter of miles from my home. Complete lack of NFL talent and college atmosphere. It is sad that I have to travel to Ashland to achieve either/or...

Conner wrote an open letter to NFL GM's about how he wants to be seen heading into the draft. It is really an excellent read. https://www.theplayerstribune.com/james-conner-pitt-letter-to-nfl-gms/

Former Brookhart Grad Assistant now New England Pats TE Coach A former Zips coach told me 10 years ago - "Watch this kid...he's gonna be a star." He was right. From walk-on punter at John Carroll...to Zips Grad asst...to Super Bowl Champs TE coach in 11 years. Super nice kid too. Very happy for him. Amazing how many of the Brookhart ex-coaches have landed noteworthy college and pro football gigs, while JD himself has been out of football for years.

I think Jojo has more want to than the rest of the team combined.