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Garvin Clarke, Kobe Mitchell and Prince Mosengo depart. Zips add Shammah Scott.

QUARTERBACK Redshirt senior DJ Irons landed on the All-MAC 3rd team despite missing several games in 2022. Senior Jeff Undercuffler filled in admirably in DJI’s absence. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Jankowski, redshirt freshman Dijon Jennings, and true freshman Steele Wasel will compete for snaps, but probably will not see much playing time this season. RUNNING BACK Last year, redshirt juniors Cam Wiley and CJ Price split time and neither back was able to separate himself from the pack. Former 5 star (and current 3 star) Florida grad transfer Lorenzo Lingard has entered the fold. Best bet is Lingard will earn the starting spot by the time the season rolls around. What role does redshirt freshman Charles Kellom play? He exhibited a subtle shiftiness and the ability to quickly change gears during limited playing time, which was hard to detect from his high school film. WIDE RECEIVER 1st Team All-MAC junior Alex Adams has the slot locked down and is backed by sophomore Bobby Golden. Redshirt senior Daniel George was curiously left off an all-conference team last season. George was backed by junior Caleb Anderson who may have a chance to compete for SJL’s old role. Although, Western Kentucky transfer redshirt junior Dakota Thomas will probably have first crack. Redshirt sophomore Jasaiah Gathings flashed early in 2022 before an injury derailed his season. This may be redshirt sophomore Myles Walker and redshirt junior Anthony Williams last chance to make an impact. TIGHT END Snaps were split almost evenly last season between redshirt senior TJ Banks and former Zip Tristan Brank. Redshirt sophomore Caden Clark and redshirt freshman Marquell Darnell are the likely candidates to push Banks for time. OFFENSIVE LINE Gauging by the recent outgoing offers, it is pretty clear that the staff is still searching for interior OL help. Sophomore Ka’Marii Landers and junior Nate Williams have the left and right tackles locked down. Junior Ronan Chambers is the top backup at the tackle spots. Redshirt juniors Tony Georges and Alex Robarge, along with redshirt sophomore Brian Kilbane are the current leaders on the interior. That being said, expect some push from redshirt freshmen Tyhler Williams and Keylen Davis. Redshirt sophomore Colin Lyons returns from injury and redshirt freshman Jourden Hale-Frater may be ready to contribute. Freshman Jayvin James is on campus, but is probably not ready to compete for significant minutes. DEFENSIVE TACKLE Redshirt senior Ravontae Holt should finally be at full strength. He was a wrecking ball late last year when he was close to fully healthy. Holt will likely be joined by grad transfer Terray Jones. Jones was a multi-year all conference player at Tennessee State. Redshirt seniors Kyle Thomas and Devon Robinson had their moments in 2022. Redshirt freshman Kiawan Murphy may be ready to take the next step and contribute in 2023. DEFENSIVE END Senior Ryan Johnson has the size and athletic ability to become a complete player at one DE spot. 3 star grad transfer Ahmad Rabah will likely fill the other end position. Depth behind them is a concern. Freshman Bruno Dall has plenty of upside potential, but will he be ready in year 1? Expect Julian Richardson to play some DE. Corey Thomas may also be shifted back down for depth purposes during the spring. LINEBACKER All-MAC 1st Team Bubba Arslanian returns for what seems like his 10th year. He will be joined by hard hitting sophomore Bryan McCoy. Junior Antavious Fish has the physical tools, but struggled at times last year. Fish and sophomore Jaharon Griffin will have every opportunity to claim meaningful minutes and display just how far this group has come since coach Moorhead arrived. CORNERBACK/NICKEL South Carolina transfer redshirt junior Joey Hunter and Purdue transfer redshirt freshman Terence Thomas were brought in from the portal and immediately upgrade the talent level. Redshirt sophomores Devonte Golden-Nelson, Cam Threatt, and Darrian Lewis return, as do juniors Tyson Durant and Rishad Hence. There is a good chance that Hunter and Golden-Nelson are manning the CB positions, with Thomas at Nickel, by the time the season arrives. This position must show improvement during the spring. SAFETY Safety turned out to be an area of strength by the end of 2022. Redshirt senior Nate Thompson, senior KJ Martin, and redshirt junior Jaden Woods were playing at a high level. They will be joined by Pittsburgh grad transfer Judson Tallandier who could also play some Nickel. Talented freshmen will arrive after the spring, so where does that leave younger players like redshirt sophomores Noel Roach, DiMarco Johnson, and MyJaden Horton? There is the distinct possibility that the Zips field one of the best safety positions in the MAC this coming year. SPECIAL TEAMS Field goals past 39 yards, consistently flipping the field on punts, and touchbacks on kickoffs were a struggle last season. Freshmen Owen Wiley and Joey Castle were brought in to help remedy some of those issues.

I love the reaction of the guys sitting in the bleachers on the baseline.

The morning of 3/24 Where we currently stand: PG Shammah....... Tavari W: Dawson.......... Prather W: Tribble............ Nate.......... Marvin P: Sammy........... Darrion P: Freeman......... Amani

The only candidates we are considering are existing D-1 head coaches or assistants from P-5 programs. Expect an annoucement soon.

I'm not even going to pretend to make a guess at who it will be, but if it's a D1 coach I'd imagine it will be someone from a low-major. I'd be stunned if we have the money in the budget to pluck away a proven winner from a fellow mid-major. Football has obviously been the top priority at Akron for funding. To get Joe here he had to agree to a pay cut and accept a salary similar to what Arth was making. I'd be stunned to see us spending significantly more than what we were paying Jackson.

and in the conference USA they had a run of playing 7 (at the time) top 25 teams in a row. Hopefully, Groce and crew can schedule and win against some high level opponents in non-conference because the MAC will be dreadful again.

FAU living our dream right now. They had never won a tournament game before, and have completely punked Tennessee in the 2nd half. 34-3.

Cleveland State? In my opinion, that coach would look at it as a lateral move (or even a step down to some). They made the NCAA tournament and return a lot back. I don't see him leaving for Akron.

I always wondered what PWO stood for. Now I believe it may stand for Pretty Worn Out.

I'm awaiting my PWO offer from Houston. Should arrive any minute now.

Owen Murphy also got an offer from Houston 🤨

It's a shame Carry/Payton/Jacobs won't be around to be put on a poster.

Columbia's Griffith is an east coaster, born and raised in King of Prussia, PA and she played at Columbia and was an assistant at Princeton. I suspect that it might be difficult to pry her from her alma mater unless there's a substantial pay raise involved.

Intrigued. I might check my original list again

My gut is telling me Columbia's head coach but we'll see.

That a pretty solid breakdown B & G, but let's not forget- Groce will put the 5 on the floor to start and finish the game that he thinks perform the best together not necessarily the 5 most talented.

Here’s a close up. https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1597943666064076801/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1597943666064076801&currentTweetUser=FIBA

He inherited a 4-22 team then had them winning 20+ games in his first year. Frankly, I feel 1 season is too small of a sample to judge how good of a D1 coach he'll end up being. That said, even if you take the Purdue upset away, adding 16 additional wins year-over-year is a hell of an accomplishment.

Looking forward to following Zips Mens Soccer this summer with Akron City FC at St V-M.

Between X, Hankerson, Kobe, and Clarke we lost 4 guards who got regular minutes. I'd assume we'd be after at least 1 more guard.

I'm not in my my mid 70s, so before my time

Let’s go zips! At least one Ohio team can beat Xichigan. This squad is only going to get better. We got an ace, a couple experienced guys and a guy with the most Akron name ever who rakes in Jack Firestone. I’m excited to go to canal park and see them

Zips 11 Wolverweenies 10 You each should contact the author of the attached article and congratulate him on Michigan's "tune-up" game. not good to count your chickens before they are hatched