catdaddyp

Cortez Braham led Nevada in receiving with 4 receptions for 66 and a TD. Braham had an official visit with us, but ended up following coach Gilbertson to Nevada.

I imagine New Mexico will be one of the better MWC teams in a few years. Not this year though.

I’ll often put it in the position previews and usually state which players I think are primed for it after the spring game. I think the most likely candidates this year regardless of class are: QB - Ben Finley WR - Alex Adams (2022 1st Team) WR - Adrian Norton TE - Jacob Newell OL - Laurance Seymore OL - Da’Quan Thomas DE - CJ Nunnally (2023 1st Team) LB - Bryan McCoy (2023 3rd Team) LB - Antavious Fish NB - Darrian Lewis S - Paul Lewis That said, we’d probably have to come close to winning the conference to get that many. Jones and Fish were deserving last year, but no way we were going to get them all with the few wins we had. It’s also about time for this offense to feed the RBs more. Even if that’s the case, if we are splitting touches between Simmons and Kellom, I’m not sure either one would have enough stats to make an All-MAC team. I’d also like to say Blanchard, but injuries are a concern. One of the DTs may also make it. Marcus Moore has the highest upside, although Lavea and Kapongo will probably get the most snaps in 2024. 2023: Adrian Norton Jacob Newell Laurance Seymore Jayvin James Marcus Moore CJ Nunnally (2023 1st Team) Kam Cheatom 2024: Israel Polk Tristen Graham Elijah Davis Ronald Hull Rich Benenge Paul Lewis Elijah Reed Daymon David Rodrick Hunter

Here’s a few reasons why I still believe Moorhead will be successful and the program is in a far better place than the record indicates. 3 things are needed for a winning program - Culture, Coaching, and Talent. - I can’t speak to the culture at Akron as I’m not in the building or around the team, but the players I’ve spoken to that have committed are excited for the opportunity and speak highly of the program. - I believe Moorhead has assembled one of the better staffs in the MAC, despite financial restraints. - I can certainly vouch for the uptick in recruiting as I cover recruiting part time. It’s also why I correctly predicted most of our All-MAC players to eventually be named All-MAC. I’m definitely not always right, but far more right than wrong. My timeline on when the turnaround would happen was off. I thought it would happen last season. Little did I know DJI was not fully healthy. I also thought JU would be an adequate backup if called upon after seeing him play well in the spring game and seemingly progressed. That turned out to not be the case. The fact is, it’s hard to win without solid QB play. Add in all the other issues we’ve discussed adnauseam on this forum and it led to a wasted season with many close losses. The roster was in horrendous shape when Moorhead took over. There were a handful of talented players, but little talented depth at most positions. The OL and DL especially needed major upgrades. This year’s class will be just Moorhead’s third. The first class has produced 6 All-Conference players so far. Chances are the 2023 and 2024 classes will be even better. The talent and depth continues to be increased. It’s unfortunate this year’s schedule is so tough. Even if this team is much better (and I think they will be), winning just 5-6 games will likely be a challenge.

Offer lists and what school the player commits to makes a difference in the final rankings. The top recruiting analysts at Rivals believe most G5 commits should be 2 stars. That line of thinking should really be revisited as better players are now committing to G5 schools, as the portal is taking up more of the P4 scholarships. We had several commits get downgraded to a 2 star after they committed to us. To me, that’s foolish as they are still the same player. They didn’t suddenly become a lesser player because they chose not to go P4. Recruits will also get rated based on their Rivals camp performances. Some analysts believe football production is more important (the ones that have actual coaching experience), while other analysts fall in love with measurables - stature, length, 40 time, etc. Recruits may also get ranked if an analyst sees them in one of the summer camps that many colleges hold. In general, to get as close to a fair rating as possible, recruits should attend a camp where analysts will be. Recruiting is definitely an inexact science. If 50% of the class turns out to be significant contributors, it’s usually considered a good class. 100% agree about the QB situation. I hope you’re right and we get to 6 wins.

We’ll see if he decides to stay another year, but he has the COVID eligibility year to use if he wants it.

I did post facts. Check Rivals comprehensive recruiting rankings. I linked to assist with the fact checking. For whatever reason, a few teams not in the MAC are listed for 2024 when Rivals did the system revamp. Also, I’ve posted all MAC recruiting under the recruiting section of the forum. 247 is missing a large amount of MAC commitments. I’m not going to post all the stat improvements, as I’ve done that before, but feel free to search the other threads to find them.

Not sure what is meant by “general competence.” Under Mooorhead the Zips have played 13 one score games in two seasons. To my knowledge, that’s more than any other FBS program. Unfortunately, the wins have been lacking, but the team has been competitive (excluding a handful of P5/4 games). Akron has more All-Conference players than any other MAC program from the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes combined - Moorhead’s only recruiting classes that have players that have played a game. Moorhead has assembled consecutive top 3 recruiting classes in the MAC according to Rivals (2023 & 2024). The team has improved in nearly every statistical area from the 2021 season. Yes there are things can that can be called out, especially last season. For example, why wasn’t Lingard given more touches? Odd playcalling during stretches of games. Mishandling of the kickers. Etc. Outside of that, I’m not sure what more Moorhead could’ve done to this point.

Yes, he has next year if he wants it.

I wanted to touch on most of the potential starters. Not mentioned are many new players in backup roles who may also work their way into significant action. QUARTERBACK - California transfer Ben Finley was clearly the best QB in the spring game and seems to have solidified his position as the starter through fall camp. Tahj Bullock (former Virginia Tech transfer) will be the backup and participate in situational packages. RUNNING BACK - Michigan State transfer Jordan Simmons will likely be the starter and split snaps with redshirt sophomore Charles Kellom. WIDE RECEIVER - 2022 1st Team All-MAC Alex Adams (former LSU transfer) will reprise his role in the slot, if healthy. True sophomore Adrian Norton is set for a breakout season. The third receiver spot could be claimed by a number of players. Juniors Bobby Golden and Myles Walker will see significant playing time. Newcomers Jarvis Rush (JUCO) and Ahmarian Granger (Old Dominion/JMU) should also push for significant roles. TIGHT END - After coming on strong late in the 2023 season, Jake Newell (former Arizona State transfer) will claim the starting spot. The top backup will be Missouri transfer Max Whisner. OFFENSIVE LINE - This is an area that could feature a number of different players. The top offensive tackles are Josh Blanchard (former South Florida transfer), redshirt freshman Jayvin James, NC Central transfer Da’Quan Thomas, and Alabama/UCONN transfer Dayne Shor. The guards are Miami(FL) transfer Laurence Seymore, redshirt sophomore Keylen Davis, redshirt junior Colin Lyons, and JUCO Jerrod Burrell. Center should be filled by either redshirt sophomore Tyhler Williams or JUCO Alex Fox. DEFENSIVE LINE - 1st Team All-MAC CJ Nunnally (former JUCO) will start at one end, while senior Bennett Adler will start on the opposite side. Lama Lavea (former New Mexico State transfer) returns as a starter at defensive tackle. The other tackle spot will be occupied by either New Hampshire transfer Nathan Kapongo or true sophomore Marcus Moore. LINEBACKER - A deep linebacker corps returns three players that started over the course of 2023 in 3rd Team All-MAC Bryan McCoy, Antavious Fish (former JUCO), and Shammond Cooper (former Illinois transfer). DEFENSIVE BACK - Devontae Golden-Nelson (former Memphis transfer) has one cornerback spot locked up. The opposite CB spot could be filled by either Joey Hunter (former South Carolina transfer), redshirt freshman Catrell White, JUCO Justin Anderson, or JUCO Iesa Jarmon. Darrian Lewis returns at Nickelback. Safety will likely be a rotation between Cornell transfer Paul Lewis, Oregon transfer Daymon David, and Syracuse transfer Aman Greenwood. SPECIAL TEAMS - Owen Wiley returns at kicker and will be challenged by McNeese State transfer Garrison Smith. Punter Dante Jackson (former JUCO) has competition with Augustana transfer Avery Book.

Great stuff @Captain Kangaroo! A few questions: - Did you notice Seymore and Thomas along the OL? It’s great to hear Burrell and James working with the 1st string, but I thought Seymore and Thomas would be locks. - The starting DL sounds like backups. I’m assuming the staff wanted to give some others more work in the second scrimmage? If I’m not mistaken, teams can only have two full scrimmages in the preseason. Did Nunnally, Lavea, Moore, and Kapongo participate? - Notice Cheatom at all? Hopefully, Richards is healthy and will contribute this year.

First scrimmage.

Wow. Quick stay with us and Texas State. Not sure how many more chances he’s going to get.

Yeah, they are revamping the system and somehow managed to goof up some of the conference members. Still the most accurate in commitments. Feel free to compare though.

My take below is assuming we have a healthy and productive QB. 5-7 Overall, 4-4 in MAC At Ohio State - Loss. Ohio State is loaded with talent and predicted to be in contention for not only a conference title, but also a national title. My hope is the game is competitive for a while and we escape with minimal injuries. At Rutgers - Loss. Rutgers is expected to be a better team than last season’s 7 win squad. That said, if I had to pick one upset potential out of our power matchups, this would be it. Vs Colgate - Win. This is a must win game, sandwiched in-between the power schools, against a squad that won 6 games last year. At South Carolina - Loss. South Carolina will have a physical defensive front and should have one of the better defenses in the SEC this year. This is another matchup where I hope injuries are limited. At Ohio - Loss. I want to say this will be a win with all the roster turnover Ohio has experienced, but four road trips in the first five games makes for a difficult scenario. Vs Bowling Green - Win. Many pundits predict Bowling Green to make the conference championship game due to their veteran laden roster. To me, this seems like a prime spot for Moorhead to pull off an “upset.” At Western Michigan - Loss. 50/50 game with the Broncos. WMU should have a strong ground game and a decent enough passing game. However, I’m not sold on their defense. Could easily be a win for Zips. Vs Eastern Michigan - Win. In the past two matchups the score was 30-27 (2OT) and 34-28, both in favor of EMU. I know Creighton is talking conference champion with his program, yet his teams have struggled against Moorhead’s no matter who was or wasn’t playing. Vs Buffalo - Win. Buffalo may be the worst team in the MAC. At Northern Illinois - Loss. Although, if NIU still hasn’t found a QB by this point in the season, we may see a repeat of 2022 (Akron win). At Kent State - Win. Kent is still in rebuild mode. They will likely struggle to win more than 2 games this year. Vs Toledo - Loss. This could be a win if the season does not go as expected for the Rockets. Questions along the OL and at QB could make Toledo just an above average team. On the flip side, if everything goes as Toledo expects, they could be the best in the MAC. I really hope I’m wrong and this team wins at least 6 games. That is a possible scenario with all the question marks at QB for many of the teams we face. We have a talented roster that should be able to compete with anyone in the conference. My biggest concern is the 3 power games early in the schedule that may physically take their toll. I expect this team to be much better than last year’s squad, but the schedule is substantially more difficult. Curious as to what everyone else thinks.

💯 If we can somehow get to a bowl game and show progress is being made in the win column, recruiting will likely get taken up another notch. It’s already impressive what this staff has accomplished on the recruiting trail with only a handful of wins.

Another OL commit. Should play Guard for us.

Great seeing Adams back in action. I think that was freshman RB Patrick (13) juking a defender in that short clip. Not sure how much action he actually sees this year, but I’m excited about him. Went back and watched it again. Look at Kellom (22) in the background during the mesh drill. He physically looks the part. And Wiley drilling that FG like it’s nothing. Great stuff on day 1.

A lot of offers but in the end it was us, Cincinnati, and Syracuse. Syracuse dropped off a bit though.

At 2:25 McManus dominates at the Rivals camp. He beats 2026 4 star Noah Clark three times and 2026 3 star Rodney White twice.

Ka’Marrii Landers recruitment has heated up lately. Offers from Arkansas and South Carolina in the past few days. Hope he does well, but frustrating as he would have likely been a 4 year starter at LT for us.

Definitely a good one. McManus showed out at a recent Rivals camp. Hence his (5.6) 3 star rating. He’s viewed as already having solid technique with excellent athleticism and a high upside. Cincinnati was the other main player in his recruitment.

No, he was a backup and was one of the 4 (?) defenders that decided to preserve their eligibility and hit the portal 4 games in. Thomas did start 4 games in the middle of the 2022 season and played well. Once Holt was fully healthy, it knocked Thomas into a backup role. This past season, Jones and Lavea locked down the starting roles. On the bright side, Thomas hitting the portal allowed Moore to have an opportunity.

A few updates: DT Kyle Thomas transferred to Valdosta State. OL Kilbane did not make it in to UMASS. Apparently some course credits were not accepted.

Agreed. Fits the type of RB Moorhead typically utilizes in his offense, but probably a depth addition. That said, any time a homegrown talent is good enough to play here, bring him home.