catdaddyp

I’d guess a full. He was solid for us at RT, which is where I’d think he would be slotted for Tulane. Probably will be a backup, but I don’t know much about Tulane’s OL situation.

Chambers landed with Tulane.

💯 . It’s always the OL and DL that needs the most attention in turnaround situations. This will easily be the best OL since Moorhead’s arrival. That’s not saying a whole lot compared to the past two years, but I think this year’s iteration has a chance to be at least mid-tier in the conference. The athleticism has increased tremendously. I think this will pan out to be our best transfer OL class. I’m also anxious to see T. Williams and K. Davis take the next step in their development and see who emerges from the 2023 class.

Here’s what I’ve gathered from our MAC opponents during the spring. So much will change in the coming months due to portal activity, so take it for what’s it’s worth. BGSU: Redshirt freshman Lucian Anderson (2023 HS signee) is taking most of the first team reps at quarterback due to last year’s starters being sidelined with injuries during the spring. Senior safety Trent Sims (2020 HS signee) has been moved to linebacker. Scot Loeffler expects some of the freshmen running backs to see significant playing time this year. BUFFALO: Bulls will be playing a spread offense and attempt to move quickly. No mention of who leads at quarterback, but there have been several clips of redshirt junior Gunnar Gray (2023 JUCO). EMU: Junior defensive end Jeff Adam (2024 transfer from Iowa State), junior safety Bryce Llewellyn (2024 transfer from Charleston Southern), junior defensive back Dramarion McNulty (2024 JUCO) are new comers that have been singled out for leading and making plays. On offense, this is supposedly EMU’s most talented QB room since Chris Creighton’s arrival. KENT: Junior Tommy Ulatowski (2022 HS signee) and redshirt freshman JD Sherrod (2024 transfer from Troy) are competing for the starting quarterback job. Kenni Burns believes the offensive and defensive lines will be the strength of the team in 2024. 5 true freshmen played on the OL at different points during the 2023 season and all 5 return. NIU: The quarterback competition is currently between redshirt junior Ethan Hampton (2021 HS signee) and redshirt junior Jalen Macon (2024 transfer from Arkansas PB). OHIO: Defensive leaders are junior safety Adonis Williams (2022 transfer from Navy), redshirt junior defensive end Bradley Weaver (2021 HS signee), and redshirt junior MIKE linebacker Shay Taylor (2021 HS signee). TOLEDO: Mostly just pictures and a few clips. Hard to tell much of anything.

Named first team All-MEAC in 2023.

Last category. As I mentioned last year, this one is tough as some of these guys will actually end up being safties. It’s not even a “may” who I missed on below, but a bad oversight on my part when it comes to Daiquan White. I also did not see Raion Strader making such an early impact. HS/JUCO CBs: BOWLING GREEN - Kal-El Pascal CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Bryce Rowe TOLEDO - Zachary Rogers EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jaylyn Monds EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jordan Toney TRANSFER CBs: TOLEDO - JaDarrius Perkins BOWLING GREEN - Ja’Corey Benjamin TOLEDO - Terrell Crosby NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Kiwaun Davis OHIO - Jacob Proche 2023 CBs and how they fared: OHIO - Byron (Tank) Pearson = 16 Tackles and 2 Interceptions. BUFFALO - Charles McCartherens = 33 Tackles and 3 Interceptions. EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jaheim Jenkins = N/A Redshirted. CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Jamari Allen = N/A Redshirted. BUFFALO - Jayden Lewis = N/A Redshirted. Who I missed on: EASTERN MICHIGAN - Daiquan White. Honestly, I have no idea know how I left White off the list first go round. Overlooked him somehow when he was a huge get for EMU. Should have been top 2 on this list when I originally made it. 19 Tackles and 12 PDs. MIAMI - Raion Strader - 57 Tackles and 12 PDs. Zips actually offered Strader out of HS. He was an excellent cover corner, but was on the lighter side. I wasn’t sure how long it would take him to add the needed mass. Strader quickly added the weight and started 12 games. I’m not going to touch on kickers and punters because I honestly don’t know and I don’t pay attention to the specialist recruiting sites. Just like with all positions, I expect our specialists to perform at a higher level this year.

Not sure if I’ll be able to make the spring game this year, but there are some things that can be taken away. Like how players move or their explosiveness. For example, even though Lingard didn’t have any big runs at the SG last year, it was easy to see how explosive he was. On the other hand, JU had the benefit of playing behind the first team OL and seemed better than he really was. Although, he still struggled on a few throws that he always struggled with in game situations during his time here, so that one aspect was true. Anyway, I copied and pasted what I said after the game last year if anyone cares to read it. Keep in mind this was before most freshmen, JUCOs, and several transfers arrived. One player who I definitely missed on is Terence Thomas who ended up hardly playing last year. See if he contributes this season. “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.”

JoeMo has definitely been done no favors with this year’s schedule, but I disagree he will never win. I think he’s on the doorstep. There has been a massive talent overhaul since his arrival and he’s put together an all-star staff (comparative to the budget at his disposal). 10 one score losses over the past two seasons. Sooner or later the tide will turn. If we have a reliable QB, this should be the year to at least display progress up the conference ladder. We’ll find out in less than 5 months.

It’s definitely a crappy setup for fans who want to attend home games. As far as wins and losses, we really screwed the pooch last year with some of the opportunities. This year, it’s looking like we’ll be forced to find 5 conference wins for any shot at a bowl (assuming we take care of business against Colgate). On the bright side, our conference schedule has the potential to be not as daunting. - Ohio and Toledo will be the most talented MAC teams we face from top to bottom, but both lost some key players. I’m not sure if Ohio will be built to come back from much of a deficit. They will likely be a team that plays solid defense and runs the ball down opponents throats. Toledo will no longer have Finn to cover up broken plays. - BG will need to replace some really good players on defense. - WMU has questions at QB. They have Wolff, who was inconsistent last year, and then freshmen behind him. - EMU also has questions at QB and lost a good bit of production on defense. - Buffalo currently doesn’t have a QB and will likely see a good amount of portal activity after the spring. Bulls basically have questions every where but running back. - NIU also has questions at QB. If they get that solved, this will be their season to potentially compete for the MAC. If not, it could be a long year. - Kent seems like they are going to have a repeat of year 1.

Former 4 star prospect from Ohio. Apparently had some issues while at Wisconsin.

I’d guess we officially offer on his visit.

Here are the All-MAC selections solely from the recruiting classes of 2022 and 2023. Akron has the most during that span, yet the least amount of wins. To me, that is two fold. It’s a reflection of how well this staff is recruiting, and on the flip side, shows just how far the program was behind its peers before Joe Moorhead’s arrival. Most of the All-MAC selections from 2022 and 2023 hail from recruiting classes before 2022. Northern Illinois is currently the only team with no All-MAC selections from either recruiting class of 2022 or 2023. Kent State and Central Michigan only have one. That should change in the coming years as most of the players that were redshirted receive more playing time. How many of those players land on an All-MAC team remains to be seen. AKRON = 7 WR - Alex Adams (TP - LSU) WR - Shocky Jacques-Louis (TP - Pittsburgh) WR - Daniel George (TP - Penn State) OL - Anthony Whigan (TP - Penn State) DL - CJ Nunnally (JUCO) LB - Bryant McCoy (HS) DB - KJ Martin (TP - West Virginia) BALL STATE = 2 RB - Marquez Cooper (TP - Kent State) DL - Sidney Houston (TP - DII) BOWLING GREEN = 4 WR - Odieu Hilare (TP - Alabama A&M) TE - Harold Fannin (HS) DB - Jalen Huskey (HS) DB - Jordan Oladokun (TP - Samford) BUFFALO = 2 OL - Desmond Bessent (TP - San Diego State) DB - Devin Grant (HS) CENTRAL MICHIGAN = 1 WR - Jesse Prewitt (TP - DII) EASTERN MICHIGAN = 3 RB - Jaylon Jackson (TP - Lamar) LB - Chase Kline (TP - Michigan State) LB - Joe Sparacio (TP - Boston College) KENT STATE = 1 WR - Chrishon McCray (HS) MIAMI = 5 RB - Rashad Amos (TP - South Carolina) WR - Cade McDonald (TP - Michigan State) DL - Brian Ugwu (TP - Rutgers) LB - Ty Wise (TP - Indiana) DB - Yahsyn McKee (TP - Mercer) NORTHERN ILLINOIS = 0 OHIO = 3 WR - Sam Wiglusz (TP - Ohio State) DL - Rayyan Buell (JUCO) K - Nathanial Vakos (HS) TOLEDO = 4 RB - Peny Boone (TP - Maryland) TE - Anthony Torres (TP - Western Michigan) LB - Dallas Gant (TP - Ohio State) K - Luke Pawlak (TP - Montana State) WESTERN MICHIGAN = 2 RB - Jalen Buckley (HS) WR - Kenneth Womack (TP - Sacred Heart) P5 = 14 G5 or Lower = 11 HS = 7 JUCO = 2

This is an incredibly strong group of safties from the high schools ranks. I’m certain in a few years multiple names will be listed below as players that could have been in the top 5. I also think coach Renna has done an excellent job in the portal filling departures on our backend. HS/JUCO SAFTIES: OHIO - Tony Mathis HUDL FILM WESTERN MICHIGAN - Carlos Mitchell HUDL FILM KENT STATE - Clinton Robinson HUDL FILM CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Tysen Campbell HUDL FILM TOLEDO - Hyajah Miller HUDL FILM TRANSFER SAFETIES: AKRON - Amon Greenwood AKRON - Paul Lewis KENT STATE - Kaleb Moody OHIO - Dustin Johnson AKRON - Daymon David 2023 S and how they fared: MIAMI - Mychal Yharbrough = 3 Tackles and Redshirted. AKRON - David Jester = N/A Redshirted. CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Mark-Allen Gay = N/A Redshirted. BOWLING GREEN - Tracy Revels = N/A Redshirted. BUFFALO - Devon Rainey = N/A No longer on team. Who I may have missed on: N/A thus far.

I struggled with the top 5. Rich Benege and Jason Hocker deserve to be there, but I couldn’t leave Joshua Lloyd off. The other issue I had is that I believe Lloyd will grow into a DE and probably should be with the DEs. In any case, Akron has 3 really good LBs in this class that absolutely deserve to be listed below. It’s a strong LB class as a whole for the MAC. HS/JUCO LBs: 1) TOLEDO - K’Von Sherman HUDL FILM (JUCO) 2) TOLEDO - Demontrae Gaston HUDL FILM 3) BOWLING GREEN - Elias Owens HUDL FILM 4) AKRON - Dahvon Frazier HUDL FILM 5) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Joshua Lloyd HUDL FILM TRANFER LBs: 1) TOLEDO - Lance Dixon 2) EASTERN MICHIGAN - James Djonkam 3) CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Nolan Ziegler 4) EASTERN MICHIGAN - JT Killen 5) KENT STATE - Luke Fulton 2023 LBs and how they fared: 1) MIAMI - Malcolm McCain = 1 Tackle and Redshirted. 2) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jaivian Norman = N/A Redshirted. 3) BOWLING GREEN - David Afogho = N/A Redshirted. 4) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Marcus Woodley = N/A Redshirted. 5) BOWLING GREEN - Jabari Mitchell = N/A Redshirted. Who I may have missed on: N/A thus far.

Walk-on LB entered the portal.

Played mostly RT for a strong NCCU OL. Would be a solid addition.

This year’s crop of MAC DTs is not quite as deep as the 2023 class. I also think the two defensive line coaches Akron has had since Moorhead’s arrival have done as good of a job recruiting as any DL coach in the MAC. HS/JUCO DTs: 1) AKRON - Elijah Davis HUDL FILM 2) AKRON - Ronald Hull HUDL FILM 3) KENT STATE - Josue Cordoba HUDL FILM 4) MIAMI - Oyeka Alexander HUDL FILM 5) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Jordan Buckley HUDL FILM TRANSFER DTs: 1) AKRON - Nathan Kapongo 2) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Anterio Thompson 3) OHIO - CJ Doggette 4) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Dylan Shelton 5) BUFFALO - Tristan Souza 2023 DTs and how they fared: 1) WESTERN MICHIGAN - Sid Kaba = N/A Redshirted. 2) TOLEDO - Wayne Peart = N/A Redshirted. 3) OHIO - Kobi Gorman = 5 Tackles and 1 Sack. 4) BOWLING GREEN - James Thomas = N/A Redshirted. 5) AKRON - Marcus Moore = 8 Tackles. Who I may have missed on: N/A thus far.

Yeah, that was rough.

KJ Jefferson would be a recent name everyone knows and a comparison stat wise. In no way am I expecting that kind of leap, but what a threat Bullock would be if he could at bare minimum hit the easy throws and not turn the ball over.

Quick clip on Bullock. In my opinion, mechanics aren’t his issue. Hopefully, he’s made strides this offseason.

HS/JUCO DEs: BOWLING GREEN - Martreece Dillard HUDL FILM AKRON - Tristen Graham HUDL FILM MIAMI - Javon Hammonds HUDL FILM TOLEDO - Cameron Gwinn HUDL FILM AKRON - Jahvon Frazier HUDL FILM Transfer DEs: WESTERN MICHIGAN - Popeye Williams WESTERN MICHIGAN - Rodney McGraw EASTERN MICHIGAN - Jefferson Adam OHIO - Ben McNaboe BALL STATE - Riley Tolsma 2023 DEs and how they fared: 1) EASTERN MICHIGAN - Messiah Blair = N/A Redshirted. 2) BUFFALO - Dion Crawford = 29 Tackles. Moved to linebacker. 3) BOWLING GREEN - Alijah Williams = N/A Redshirted. 4) AKRON - Kam Cheatom = 2 Tackles and Redshirted. 5) BUFFALO - Devonyal Lofton (JUCO) = 19 Tackles and 1 Sack. Who I may have missed on: AKRON - CJ Nunnally (JUCO) = Nunnally signed after this list was completed last year. 65 Tackles and 7 Sacks.

No good reason to keep them separate at this point. Before the portal became what it is now, it was all just HS and JUCO recruiting. Recruiting services are attempting to adjust with the times and figure out the best way to allocate their resources and present information. Rivals has the oldest system and is owned by Yahoo. 247 is owned by CBS. On3 recently removed their NIL feature, which was never accurate to begin with.

That’s too bad. He’ll likely be a good one.

I’m excited about him. I suspect the OL will be much improved this year.

OL typically takes longer to develop than any other position. We won’t know for sure on many of these players until several years down the road. I listed a JUCO as the top HS/JUCO prospect mostly because he’s the most physically ready to play. In my opinion, the recruiting services should list JUCOs with transfer portal players, but that’s not how it currently is. HS/JUCO OL: 1) AKRON - Jerrod Burrell HUDL FILM (JUCO) 2) BOWLING GREEN - Alex Harris HUDL FILM 3) MIAMI - Kris Manu HUDL FILM 4) OHIO - Bryce Parson HUDL FILM 5) NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Grey Rumohr HUDL FILM Edit: I should have added Ball State OL Zach Bandy in top 5. Not going to go back and redo it all, but he deserves to be mentioned. Transfer OL: 1) AKRON - Laurence Seymore 2) TOLEDO - Jakob James 3) BALL STATE - Luke Dalton 4) BOWLING GREEN - Nick Reimer 5) OHIO - Tigana Cisse 2023 OL and how they fared: 1) NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Michael Jimmar = N/A Redshirted. 2) CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Jacob Booth = 1 GP and Redshirted. 3) NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Thomas Paasch = N/A Redshirted. 4) TOLEDO - Cole Rhett = N/A Redshirted. 5) WESTERN MICHIGAN- Luke Zanotti = N/A Redshirted. Who I may have missed on: There were a few freshmen OL that saw significant playing time throughout the MAC due to team need/lack of depth. None performed particularly well, so they were not included.