Leaderboard

The Annual Zips Golf Outing was held yesterday at Shale Creek Golf Course in Medina. While attendance seemed to be down a little, it was probably the best Outing UA has run in quite a while. The day was absolutely beautiful, the coaches were all in attendance and happy to answer any-and-all questions, the door prizes were fantastic and the BBQ ribs and chicken were outstanding yet-again. Kudos to UA for putting on such a fun well-organized event. I wish everyone on ZipsNation could have been there! As posted by zzx, the Zips inked a new QB this weekend, Robbie Kelley from Quincy College, a graduate transfer. Apparently he was too small for D-1 ball coming out of high school, but grew 3 inches in college, and now stands 6' 2". He was an all-conference player. He'll have two years at Akron. He learned of UA through a past relationship at NC State during the Coach Amato / Stroud era. Woodson has started throwing, and the prognisis for an on-time recovery is good. If everything continues to remain on-schedule, he will be the game 1 starter. That said, the staff is very happy with the QB depth and competition this season. No one is as good as a healthy Tommy, but the other guys are more than capable of leading the team to some W's. MTB has both a hand and knee injuries, and will be out for the 2017 season. He is expected to get a medical redshirt and play in 2017. Newman Williams is purported to be as healthy as he's ever been during his injury-plagued UA career, and is expected to split the H-back role with incoming freshman Kobie Booker, whose combination of size and hands make him a perfect fit for the position. Brandon Junk will also see some time situational time at H-back, as he's a reliable blocker. Tra'Von Chapman has made the transition to receiver look easy, according to one coach. You might also see him line up at h-back occasionally. He's proven to be a leader, and one of the harder workers on the team. Expect to see a little more running early this year, the running backs have more talent and depth than the receivers at this point. The staff is very pleased with the depth at the position and Warren Ball is said to be one hundred percent healthy and ready to rock! Who will assume the much-needed role of "disruptor" on defense? In 2015, it was Jatavis Brown and Jamal Marcus wreaking havoc in the backfield. In the injury-plagued 2016, there really wasn't anyone. Look for Pitt transfer Jamal Davis to assume the role of Jamal Marcus, with a rising Ulysses Gilbert stepping into those big shoes of Jatavis Brown. Another disruptive force on the 2017 Zips defense will likely be St V's Justin Sampson. Most big schools shied-away from him when it appeared his grades would relegate him to a "non-qualifier" designation this season. But it appears he'll take care of the required academic work this summer and be ready to take the field this fall. He purportedly has as much talent and any d-lineman this Zips staff has recruited...they're very high on him. Help on the 2016 front seven may also come in the form of Aurora's Bubba Arslanian, who is a blue shirt. He very well could make an immediate impact for the Zips defense. Multiple members of the staff praised the kid's potential. WR Nate Stewart and is dealing with an unspecified injury, but should be ready come August. If you were hoping Oregon State transfer Deltron Sands would shoulder the load at RB this fall, you'll need to pray his recuperative powers are excellent. He came to the Zips program while healing from a shoulder injury. He took a spill a short while ago, and injured his other shoulder. If all goes well with his recovery, he'll be good to go in the fall. But two recently-injured shoulders is not something you want if you're bucking for 15 carries per game. Keep your fingers and toes crossed... Brock Boxen is back one hundred percent and will be counted on. Overall, Coach Bowden seems confident that his defense will be a force once again. One coach said he spoke to Steve Keim (Arizona GM) recently, and Steve indicated that Nordly Capi had a decent chance to make the Cardinals roster. Reggie Corner is a flat-out ballplayer, but he will likely sit out 2017 to get on solid academic footing. The staff is VERY high on incoming freshman Jordyn Riley and Jeffrey Lubin. Expect them both to be on the secondary's 2-deep this fall. Jordan George, Kyron Brown and Darian "Double D" Dailey will be the starting CB's, while Alvin Davis, the 157 lbs heat-seeking missile, will continue to start at safety. James King, the transfer from Miami, is an aggressive, talented, 190 lb kid with the mean streak you want on the defensive side of the ball. He'll see appreciable playing time this season. "How much?" will depend upon his coachability and learning of the playbook. Malik Woodridge and Dustin Burkhart are both 10.6 100 meter guys. The staff is really happy to get kids with that speed in the fold. They expect Woodridge to fill an AJ Coney-type role in the future. Suggs will enter the fall as the Zips #4 RB, behind Ball, Edwards and Morgan. While he doesn't possess sprinter-like speed, he's very elusive and will be fun to watch. As far as other comings and goings are concerned - Brian Bell's semester in exile is over, and he will be back for summer camp. The only "going" thusfar is Freshman OL Montel Jordan, who has left UA and returned home to Florida.

Hill or Brown?

This ain't a Cavs board

Your height fetish is bizarre.

I remember that match. I remember that day. Wow. Thanks for reminding me of that. I think Steve Frick scored.

The Zippers sent a diver, a relay team and 3 individuals to the NCAAs in swimming and diving this weekend. Which is great! Our women have won 4 straight MAC Championships, which is also great. The best finish was 24th. Which is still great, this is not about poor finishes. Allie Myers sets a school record in the 100 freestyle and takes 24th. I guess it shows how unbelievably competitive swimming is. I mean, we have a really good team, and Myers is one of the best. Swim a record and finish 24th. But still, a great season and the fact that we sent these women to the Big Swim is impressive. Bit I was also thinking how beastly our track and field teams are, that we came away from the NCAAs in T & F with 3 first team and 2 second team all-americans. The swimmers and divers will continue to dominate, and their MAC Championships will pay off in recruiting, and the medals will continue. Kinda rambling here...too much NCAA B-Ball watching!

Congratulations to the Akron women's swimming and diving team for winning the programs first MAC Championship! I've gone to a few meets to support the team and I am so happy to see the hard work pay off. Swimming and diving is a sport I've started to follow more because of how much time and effort goes into it. Much respect to the athletes who train hard for this sport. I encourage more people to support swimming as it is a very interesting sport to watch, especially live. Hopefully the swimming Zips get more love and support now. Congrats again Swim Team!