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Came across this on ebay and bought immediately. Probably fake but I'll always have it to remember his game winner!

@catdaddyp we really do appreciate your taking the time and effort to provide these kinds of detailed updates. Makes it feel like we're a bigger program than we are. 😊

Gave up four home runs in the game and yet were still able to to pull out the win. Great job. Tomorrow at noon against the winner of Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. Western currently up 2-0 in the 4th.

He was uncoachable. They gave him plenty of rope at the beginning of the season.

Zips will get number six seed Western Michigan tomorrow. WMU let Northern Illinois tie it in the bottom of the 7th and then scored five times in the first extra inning to win it.

Initial Outlook: This is a unit that lost essentially all of its production to graduation and the portal. Cooper, Summers, Spriggs, and Boswell played just about every meaningful snap in 2025, so now it’s an entirely new cast being asked to fill the shoes of what had been steady linebacker play heading into 2026. Previously, I felt comfortable that linebacker would be in good shape no matter who was playing (due to coach Tibesar). However, that’s no longer where I’m at with the current situation. There are legitimate concerns going into the season due to a lack of FBS experience of every linebacker on the roster. None of the transfers really jump out as all-conference types, and losing Spriggs to the portal feels like a bigger deal at this point. There’s also just the reality that this group may need some time. Multiple players are being asked to adjust to FBS speed at once, and that usually doesn’t come together right away. It wouldn’t be surprising if it takes a few games before things start to settle in and linebacker play improves. Who are the newcomers? I don’t want to make it sound like there is no talent on the roster - because there is. Nunoo is a transfer from FIU who doesn’t seem to stand out in any one area, but should be able to adequately fill in at both linebacker spots. Jones is built more like a true MIKE and can come downhill in a hurry. He covers ground quickly sideline to sideline and shows a nice burst. In the game I watched, though, he had some issues in coverage as balls kept getting dropped in over him. So that’s clearly an area that needs to improve. Smith looks a bit undersized on film, but he moves well and, like Summers, just seems to find his way to the ball. He wasn’t on campus this spring, but with his JUCO degree already in hand, I’d expect him to arrive this summer. These three should take up the bulk of snaps early in the season. What about the returners? I’m still very high on the potential of Hocker, James, and Reeves. The question is when they’ll be ready to consistently contribute. The talent is clearly there, but it’s a matter of when it starts translating on a week-to-week basis at this level. Their time can’t come soon enough. One freshman: Curtis has been added to the mix, and like the three young linebackers just mentioned, also has plenty of upside and should be a good one down the road. Any other linebackers? As mentioned in the DL column, Duncan may now be playing linebacker. I haven’t seen any film of him at the position, nor did I see him in the spring, so I can’t really comment on what he’ll bring to the table just yet. My assumption is either the staff likes him enough and believes he can help us there, or the overall play at linebacker hasn’t quite been where it needs to be and Duncan is getting a look as a result. I’m hoping it’s the former. What’s next? Coach Moorhead said there are still three scholarships available so I wouldn't rule out another linebacker being added if the staff doesn’t feel great about things going into fall camp. Projected Depth Chart: MLB: Jones Hocker WLB: Nunoo Smith Returners: Hocker (R. So.) James (R. Fr.) Reeves (R. Fr.) In: Nunoo (R. Sr.) (Florida International) Jones (Jr.) (JUCO) Smith (Jr.) (JUCO) Curtis (Fr.) Out: Benenge = Albany Boswell = Texas Spriggs = Southern Miss Cooper = Graduation Summers = Graduation

Wish UA sold jerseys..... Even if that's fake it looks pretty good.

Zips SB beat Ohio on a walk of in the 7th. Need 2 more wins!

Zips win their first game of the tournament on a walk off Sac Fly. Now into the semifinals which I believe are tomorrow.

I think this is pretty common. It's probably a timing thing. Like most schools, Akron probably uses a marketing company to develop campaigns and having one ready directly after the season probably isn't enough time. In addition, it's hard to know who you are going to market if the coach leaves and half of the players.

With the Hustle Belt going under and not much news coming out about the football program, I figured I’d fire up the position previews again. I stopped updating them before because it got to be too much balancing a full-time job, writing for Rivals, and trying to keep up with the insane amount of portal movement. I’m going with a slightly different format this time around. Now that I’ve got a bit more free time, I’ve gone back and watched full games of our portal and JUCO additions to get a better feel beyond just their highlight reels. If anyone was at the spring game or has anything else to add, feel free to jump in. New Additions: The new additions will provide depth, and a few of them might end up entering the starting rotation at different points during the season. That said, I’m not seeing any clear all-conference type additions right now. If injuries don’t become a factor, the starting DL feels fairly predictable: Hull at one DT spot and Durham holding down one end. They are the two most likely all-conference candidates along the DL. @Captain Kangaroo mentioned D. Frazier as a starter at DE during his spring visit, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that sticks heading into the season. Based on one of the photos, Frazier looks like he’s added some bulk. He was an explosive player coming out of high school as a linebacker, so this might be the year where the move to DE starts to pay off and he takes that next step. The real question mark is the other defensive tackle spot. At this point, I’d lean toward Mixon holding onto it. I just haven’t seen anything on film from the incoming group that suggests someone is clearly better right now. Potential Starter: I originally expected V. Highland to start alongside Hull, and that still could end up being the case. But the staff may lean towards rotating Hull and Highland to keep both fresh, which could give us very little drop-off at that DT spot. Highland graded out as the highest-rated defender on Arkansas Pine-Bluff last season per PFF, but it’s worth noting his snap count was under 400. For comparison, Laventure logged over 650 snaps and Hull was north of 550, so there’s a difference in workload. Either way, Highland is going to play a lot this year. Whether he’s technically listed as a starter or comes in as part of a rotation, he should see significant snaps. The X-Factors: K. Waye and JD Williams bring the kind of size, length, and athleticism you just can’t teach — Waye at 6’4”, 240 and Williams at 6’6”, 340 really stand out. That said, both look a bit raw and are making the jump from DII, so there’s naturally going to be some projection involved. If I’m not mistaken, they each only have one year of eligibility left, which makes it tougher to bank on major development in a short window. I’d be a lot more intrigued if they had two years in the program with the staff having more time to refine things. It sounds like Waye was backing up D. Frazier during the spring, which at least provides a pretty athletic rotation at that end spot. Williams, on the other hand, wasn’t on campus for spring ball, so he may need a little more time to get up to speed. If one (or both) hit, it could really elevate the ceiling of this defensive front. Depth: JUCO DT Ross-Graves looks a bit smaller on film than what he’s listed at, but he plays with a relentless motor. That alone should give him a chance to push Mixon on the interior. At minimum, he feels like a solid backup option. DE J. Ridley is another JUCO addition with a similar high-effort profile. In the game I watched, he was in more of a 3-4 alignment and spent a lot of time lined up inside the tackles - almost like a DT - and held his gap pretty well against that level of competition. B. Tobias is more of a longer-term addition. He has excellent size at 6’5”, 240 and comes over from Western Kentucky, but I’m not expecting much from him this season. Overall, I’d still be surprised if any of these guys provide more than depth right away, but that was clearly a need after the portal losses and graduation. What about the rest of the returners? Not to be forgotten, D. Frazier’s brother, J. Frazier, should continue backing up Durham at DE, just like we saw at the end of 2025. There’s definitely some potential with the younger group. At defensive tackle, E. Davis (R. So.) and Brown-Demery (R. Fr.) could start working their way into the rotation. At defensive end, redshirt freshmen T. Watkins and V. Kavals may not quite be ready to make an impact yet, although it sounds like Kavals could be growing into more of a tackle role. Duncan is also listed at DE, but it sounds like he may have been moved over to linebacker. Overall, there’s some intriguing upside in this group, even if it doesn’t show up in a major way this season What’s next? The staff may not be finished adding to the defensive line if they feel there’s someone out there who can come in and contribute right away. As it stands, there’s a solid mix of older players and younger developmental guys. This unit certainly wouldn’t be mistaken for the best DL in the MAC, and I don’t think it matches the overall talent level of last year’s group. But there does seem to be enough depth here for the unit to be productive and, at the very least, not a liability for the defense. Projected Depth Chart: DE: D. Frazier Waye DE: Durham J. Frazier DT: Hull Highland DT: Mixon Ross-Graves Returners: DE - Duncan (R. Sr.) (Might be a LB now)* DE - Durham (R. Jr.) DE - D Frazier (R. So.) DE - J. Frazier (R. So.) DE - Kavals (R. Fr.) DE - Watkins (R. Fr.) DT - Mixon (R. Jr.) DT - Hull (Jr.) DT - E. Davis (R. So.) DT - Brown-Demery (R. Fr.) In: DE - Waye (Sr.) (DII) DE - Ridley (Jr.) (JUCO) DE - Tobias (R. So.) (Western Kentucky) DT - Highland (R. Sr.) (Arkansas Pine Bluff) DT - Williams (R. Sr.) (DII) DT - Ross-Graves (Jr.) (JUCO) Out: DE - Dall (All-MAC) = UCF DE - Cheatom = Robert Morris DE - Brown = Graduation DT - Laventure (All-MAC) = Texas Tech DT - Murphy = Western Kentucky DT - Vega = Portland State DT - Madden = Graduation DT - Musika = Portal

My primary concern is that the majority of the roster was somewhere else last year. Two of the reasons we have been so successful are player development and a winning culture passed down from class to class. Freeman to Lyles. Castaneda to Tribble to Johnson. We don't really have any of that going into next year. The other thing we just don't know is how these guys will play in big games. I think we'll be OK, because I think every other MAC team took a step back and are dealing with the same issues. But I think it takes some blue and gold colored glasses to believe we'll be better than any of the previous three years. I'd love to be wrong, though.

Posted in the portal tracker too, but Eric has entered. https://x.com/i/status/2039777040358907924