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Enjoyed the spring game today. I thought it was a great idea to open up the lounge/box seats. There were not many people in that area until halftime, when it became flooded with fans and recruits that were guided to free food. Well done and way to show off the amenities of the stadium, which otherwise may not often be seen. The game itself flew by. A few things really stood out to me. 1) This team is way ahead of where they were last spring. They look disciplined (minus a few penalties), physical, and know their assignments. 2) The athleticism and maturity was noticeable. 3) The secondary is much improved. It seemed like last spring game WRs and RBs were running free in the passing game nearly every pass. Not the case this year. 4) Tackling was outstanding. I think there were only two missed tackles the whole game. Last SG I remember coming away thinking Wiley had more lower body strength than what he showed on film due to his ability to break tackles. Turned out our defense was just terrible (as a whole) tackling at that point. Position Takeaways: QB - Undercuffler looked confident and in command. He also had the benefit of playing behind what looked like the first string OL. There are still some passes Undercuffler struggles to complete. That being said, he can get the job done. The offense should be in good shape if Undercuffler has to play meaningful snaps this year. Jennings and Wasel received the rest of the snaps. Both did some good things and also looked like young QBs at times. Jennings throws a nice ball and is clearly a solid athlete, but listing him as 5’11” might be generous. Wasel has a big arm and forced a few throws today. He also made a few that gave reason for excitement. His mechanics need work and he seems to realize that as he was focused on the sideline going through step by step motions before the 3rd quarter began. (Irons and Jankowski were sidelined). RB - Lingard is good. He didn’t break any big runs today, even though it felt like he might a couple of times. Not sure what happened at Florida, but the guy has “it.” He did have a nice touchdown run and is the number one back. Lingard will be a weapon for this offense barring injury. Kellom looks ready to contribute when his number is called and Hester also had a nice run. It’s unfortunate Price is out for an extended period, but I have no doubt this group will provide more production than last year. WR - Might as well mark down George for All-MAC. The guy looks the part in every way. It was good to see some of the other guys get substantial playing time today with Adams out and SJL gone. Like @LZIp mentioned, Walker had the best day catching the ball. Thomas, Golden, Anderson, and Gathings were all noticeable. TE - Banks and Ognenovic took most of the snaps. Nothing substantial to report here. OL - My biggest takeaway is that T. Williams and K. Davis look ready. I can’t place who the other guard was, but the lineup blocking for Undercuffler was LT Chambers, C T.Williams, G K Davis, RT N. Williams. Takeaway from the opposite OL was freshman OT Jayvin James. James is huge, has long arms, and moves well. He’s going to be a good one. I locked in on him for a number of plays and came away excited about what he could become. (Landers and Robarge were on the sideline). DT - Terray Jones is a force. It’s unfortunate Holt left because those two could have been dynamic. Robinson seems to have come a long way and will challenge for a starting spot. Nothing stood out about the other DTs, but they did not make it easy on the OL. (Murphy was on the sideline). DE - Pass rush from this position is still a concern. Rabah and Johnson look like the starters for now. We need the incoming players to step up and provide more. (Richardson was on the sideline). LB - This position looked great. Bubba was Bubba. McCoy is physically impressive even though he surprisingly missed a tackle. Fish looks like he knows what he’s doing this year. I noticed him around the ball often. Griffin and Behm also had their moments. CB - The coverage was solid today despite often not having much of a pass rush. Golden-Nelson and Terence Thomas look ready to cause other teams some serious issues. Those two kept popping up over and over. I believe it was Judson Tallandier who also looked good here. All the DBs seem to have added muscle mass. (Joey Hunter was sidelined and I don’t recall seeing Cam Threatt). S - So many of these guys are built and move so similarly now it was hard to tell them apart at times (that’s a good thing). Martin saw plenty of time and Johnson chased down a miscued pass for an interception. This group was solid against the pass and came up well in run support. (Nate Thompson was sidelined). ST - Some good and some not so good. As a group they struggled at the start, but found their groove as the game progressed. Im sure there is more that I missed or forgot to say. It’s late and I wanted to report as much as I could while I had it on my mind.

Seems that way. I know the RB and LB were listed on the spring roster. I think the K was too, but not 100% sure. The RB has already committed to Northern Iowa and played for several JUCOs.

@catdaddyp Thank you, as always, for the in-depth & insightful breakdown of the spring game. We are doing a live-in 1st floor house remodel with 2 kids under 4, so I completely forgot the game was on Saturday (I also can't believe that was the last weekend of April already). Would much rather have been at the Spring Game. - I'm glad to hear Linguard looks the part. As long as it took for our OLine to gel last year, our RBs didn't do their part in making things happen on their own. We need Linguard & this RB group to make things happen while our OL continues to develop. - Also glad to hear that our secondary seems to be much improved. That was our biggest weakness on defense last year. WAY too many big plays given up in that level of the D. - Do we have any impending pass-rush/DL help incoming?

The second transfer portal window is closed for entries. It seems we came out unscathed after the spring game, which is a pleasant surprise. I figured at least 1 or 2 would enter. Final MAC portal departures: NIU = 27 Akron = 21 EMU = 21 Kent = 20 Buffalo = 16 BGSU = 16 Miami = 15 Ball = 13 CMU = 11 WMU = 11 Toledo = 9 Ohio = 9 Of Note: - All players were tracked regardless of scholarship status. Meaning some were walk-ons. - There is always the chance I missed a player here or there. - NIU had 3 of their 2023 recruits hit the portal by the end of spring.

If that's true, we're going from addition by subtraction to subtraction by addition. 🤣

You about gave me a heart attack 🤬🤬

This the news we were all waiting on correct?

I hate to be a Ulysses Upper, but - 1.) It is amazing what credit miracles occur sometimes. 2.) Where is a guy like Dawson, coming off missing a full season, and who loves playing for the Zips, going to go and expect to be better off than competing for Akron? The only real question is - Does Ali mind eating a little crow and coming back to UA? Only time will tell (cue the Asia video).

Not to be a debbie-downer but two questions?: 1. Nobody has said/confirmed Ali would actually be immediately eligible if he came back. I would not be surprised if he is, because likely more of his Butler hours are good at Akron than vice-verse when he left. But still. 2. In this portal era, it is not safe to assume everybody stays if Ali comes back (although hopefully all do). Does Dawson look to exit instead of stay???

I'd say @Hilltopper is spot on with that starting 5. SF if Ali most natural position and playing him there would add much needed length. Also, having an offensive scoring punch like Dawson coming off the bench makes more sense than having a defensive specialist. If you have Ali, Freeman, Thornton, and Hunter on the floor, you have plenty of scoring options. You need someone to provide instant offense to carry the second unit. Think about what Cheese did for a huge chunk of that covid shorten season when I believe he won 6-man of the year for the MAC. Your starting 5 doesn't necessarily mean the 5 that will close out the games. Groce has shown time again that he's willing to ride the hot hands in crunch time. If Freeman, Ali, Dawson, Thornton, and (insert whatever other guard) are the ones hot, he'll run that lineup during crunch time. What I'd like most if Ali returns is that it would provide tremendous lineup flexibility so we can match-up against pretty much any playstyle.

Love it @catdaddyp!!!! Thanks for all of the hard work and observations this spring. That’s better than anything I’ve read in the local paper in years, as are most of your posts on here. I’m pumped to see how this team competes in the fall.