catdaddyp

Looks like the 2024 HS class is pretty much done barring any attrition.

Alright, Rivals rated all JUCOs except CA, NM, and MS. Meaning none of the remaining Zips were updated. If that ever happens, at bare minimum it puts the Zips tied for 3rd place (EMU would need all 45 points and NIU all 90 points for the tie). Really nice class and that doesn’t include the portal players. Buffalo = 945 CMU = 885 WMU = 840 EMU = 825 (15-45) Toledo = 810 NIU = 780 (30-90) Akron = 765 (105-315) Miami = 765 Ball State = 690 Ohio = 615 (30-90) Bowling Green = 585 (15-45) Kent State = 570

They’re getting paid back in multiples after stealing Max Tucker away from us on signing day last year.

Any day now Rivals should come out with the class composite rankings (HS/JUCO + Portal). I requested once more for all the JUCOs to be rated, so we’ll see what comes of that. Here is how the rankings currently stand with a number of JUCOs unrated. In parentheses is the amount of points that are available if all JUCOs were to be given a rating. Buffalo = 945 (15 - 45) CMU = 885 (0) Toledo = 810 (0) EMU = 795 (45 - 135) WMU = 795 (30 - 90) Akron = 765 (105-315) Miami = 765 (0) NIU = 750 (45 - 135) Ball State = 660 (15 - 45) Ohio = 615 (30 - 90) Bowling Green = 585 (15 - 45) Kent State = 540 (30 - 90)

EAST OHIO = 8-4 (7-1) AKRON = 8-4 (6-2) MIAMI = 8-4 (6-2) BUFFALO = 7-5 (4-4) BOWLING GREEN = 2-10 (1-7) KENT STATE = 1-11 (0-8) WEST TOLEDO = 9-3 (6-2) EMU = 7-5 (4-4) NIU = 6-6 (4-4) BSU = 6-6 (4-4) CMU = 5-7 (4-4) WMU = 3-7 (2-6) Making a slight edit here and saying Ball State gets a 6th win as well, giving the MAC 8 bowl teams. Seems high but I think there is very little separation in the West, outside of Toledo at the top and WMU at the bottom. NIU could have another tough year if Lombardi isn’t healthy, so just assuming he will be in these standings. In the East I think there is a pretty big drop off from the top four to the bottom two. Maybe Bowling Green surprises again? Although I have a hard time envisioning that. Especially after so many situations went their way last year.

You’re reading it correctly, but it’s wrong. Rivals recently added that feature and since the profile was just updated today, it looks like multiple offers were given today. Yahoo has recently decided to funnel more money into their recruiting service (Rivals) and a number of new features are being added. Unfortunately, there are still kinks that need ironing out.

Here’s Ronald Hull’s profile. He’s a wrecking ball on the interior. It took Coach Wart some time to settle in and land some guys. I like what he did with the JUCOs in such a short time frame and now he’s landing difference makers at the HS level.

Didn’t know we offered!

Can issue as many as desired, but it’s 85 scholarship roster limit per year.

I linked their names in the posts for ease of use. I attempt to always do that, but forget every now and then. Profiles should have all offers and hudl film linked.

Yes. WVU just offered in May, so they weren’t stale offers. How much WVU pushed, I don’t know. I’m sure Moorhead and staff made these kids a priority.

Yep, we’re winning some big head to heads now. The corner has been turned in recruiting. The Rivals profiles are correct for both, although the newly implemented timeline is a little off for the profiles. 247 doesn’t do the best job of keeping G5 profiles updated.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but first, what a class this is turning out to be! That Bryan Station team has some serious talent. Outside of our 3 commits they also have 3 star DB/ATH JT Haskins, who we’ve also offered. One of the Rivals writers at Louisville has forecasted Haskins to Louisville. Although, that was back in January so I’m not sure how much has changed. Dahvon Frazier seems to be the most explosive of the bunch and should play OLB or “WILL” in the 4-2-5 alignment. Jason Hocker should play ILB or “MIKE. He’s a thumper similar to the other LBs that Tibesar has brought in. Jahvon Frazier will likely be slotted as a weakside DE or “rush end.” Jahvon is another edge type that can really run. Im guessing the twins told all the programs they were a package deal seeing as they had all the same offers. Recruiting win over West Virginia, Marshall, and Ohio (amongst others). Now we need to hang on to them until signing day….

2023 MAC Predictions: EAST OHIO = 8-4 (7-1) AKRON = 8-4 (6-2) MIAMI = 8-4 (6-2) BUFFALO = 7-5 (4-4) BOWLING GREEN = 2-10 (1-7) KENT STATE = 1-11 (0-8) WEST TOLEDO = 9-3 (6-2) EMU = 7-5 (4-4) NIU = 6-6 (4-4) BSU = 5-7 (4-4) CMU = 5-7 (4-4) WMU = 3-7 (2-6) I’ll probably be way off on some of these, but just going through the schedules these are the results I finished with. What does everyone else think?

Yep, same guy. Forgot to post the link to his profile. He’ll surely receive more offers as the year goes on, so we’ll see how it all plays out.

Bump for updates. Still a number of players that need ratings. Keep in mind that if all of Akron’s classes consist of 60-70% from the portal, the likely hood of being ranked #1 or #2 (when it comes to HS/JUCO recruiting) is slim. We just won’t have the numbers to push up the total points. That being said, if Rivals ever finishes the ratings for our late JUCO commitments in the 2023 class, there is a good chance that class would be #3 in the MAC.

Offer out to projected preseason JUCO All-American OT.

If you’re itching for more MAC talk, take a listen. It’s not necessarily a great listen, but it’s decent. A lot of love for Toledo and NIU. They also like Ohio and EMU. A few of the guys picked Akron as their dark horse to win 6 games and make a bowl. My thoughts on Toledo and NIU: - Seems almost everyone thinks Toledo is the best bet for a P5 upset over Illinois. I disagree. Feels like so many forget about Toledo losing to Bowling Green and Western Michigan to close out the regular season. They won the MACC against an Ohio team missing the MAC POY and then squeaked out a bowl win. I do think Toledo will have a great season, but I keep hearing that since Illinois lost so much in the secondary, they won’t be as good. Back track a year and hardly anyone was talking about the Illinois secondary before the season started. Just to give an example how situations can get spun to fit a narrative. - Outside of the OL and RB, NIU will struggle with depth on offense. The defense majorly struggles on the backend and have not seemingly shored it up in the offseason. LB play should be better, but it was rough last year, so that isn’t saying much. The Zip OL had their way with NIU’s DL last season, especially in the second half. Banking on Lombardi being healthy for a successful season kinda shows where NIU is as a program and what is likely coming in 2024.

Surprised this kid doesn’t have more offers. Probably actually 6’2 and some schools want taller, but he’ll grow and probably play center. Also guessing he hasn’t done many camps. Gale can move and is a road grader. Love what coach JRod is doing with this line.

Alexander Gale?

I probably post too much, but you guys (and gals) are stuck with me until I ever decide to move back into the athletic realm. I’ll just touch on the football program, which like @MangoZip mentioned is the key driver. I follow turnarounds closely and the successful ones all have the same qualities - culture, coaching, and recruiting. I’m not around the program, but it’s seems the culture is headed in the right direction. Coaching was top notch last year despite not having the overall talent level of some of our peers. (Granted there were some head scratching calls every now and then, but that goes for every staff and there really weren’t that many.) Recruiting has been ramped up in a major way. Really no comparison to the previous staff. In my opinion, high school/JUCO recruiting was top 3 in the MAC for the class of 2023 and the portal was best in the MAC by a long shot. Here are a few comparable situations, but keep in mind all of these programs had more talent on the roster in Year 0. P5: South Carolina - The Gamecocks won 2 games in 2020. Projected to be one of the worst teams in the SEC in 2021 when Shane Beamer was hired, they won 6 regular season games and their bowl to make 7 wins. Last year, they were predicted to win less than 6 games and again be one of the bottom dwellers in the East. Beamer brought in a talented transfer class and won 8 regular season games, just to lose to Notre Dame in the bowl with many players sitting out. Carolina beat out Georgia, Clemson, and a number of other schools head to head for a handful of prospects in the 2023 class, including 5 star Nyckolas Harbor. The 2024 class already has a number of recruits the Gamecocks have beat the elite P5s over and may also beat Ohio State for DE Dylan Stewart. Illinois - Similar to the Gamecocks, the Illini also won 2 games in 2020. They were projected to be one of the worst teams in the Big10 when Bielema took over. They went on to win 5 games and knock off Penn State that year. Illinois landed some key players out of the portal and found some hidden gems in the 2022 class, including (likely soon to be drafted) JUCOs Isaiah Adams and Zy Crisler. Illinois went on to win 8 games last year and did not lose a regular season game by more than 8 points, including a 2 point loss to Michigan. Bielema won some head to heads in recruiting with the 2023 class and has mostly built a border around the state for the 2024 class. G5: (These next ones are probably more relatable since they are on our timeline.) New Mexico State - Jerry Kill took over a program that won 2 games in 2021. He used the the portal and JUCO ranks to fill holes and add depth. It took the team 4-5 games to really find their footing (sound familiar?) and then managed to win 6 games, including blistering Liberty and beating Bowling Green in the bowl for a 7th win. UCONN - One of the worst programs in the past decade. Jim Mora brought in what I considered one of the best portal classes in G5. The Huskies had a difficult early schedule and hit their stride about 6 games into the season. They knocked off Boston College and also beat Liberty on their way to a bowl, which they lost to Marshall. I haven’t followed either NMSU or UCONN that closely this offseason, but know enough that they should be competitive again in 2023. Honestly, we should have beat CMU and Buffalo last year to have had 3 wins. The fact that this staff had the 2022 team within striking distance of every conference game (outside of Ohio) speaks volumes to the progress that was made. Moorhead walked into one of the worst rosters in the FBS (UMASS the other one.) With returners in place and the added JUCO and portal additions, there is no reason why the 2023 team will not achieve as much or more success as NMSU and UCONN in 2023. Just one guy’s opinion, so take it what it’s worth.

Ah, that changes the picture a bit. This team will likely be in throwing distance of winning the the East this year. I expect 2024 will be the year Akron becomes what coach Moorhead wants this program to be. Hope I’m wrong, but from there I’m guessing it’s probably a matter of time before he moves on to a P5 gig. By that time I guess the national pundits will consider him a good coach again 🤣

I hadn’t even thought of that. But if JoeMo is truly here for the long haul, that would mean he’d likely establish Akron into a football powerhouse at the G5 level. With the ever changing landscape, it’s not that far fetched that the school could position themselves for a better opportunity. Similar to Cincinnati for a lack of a better comparison off the top of my head.

Thanks for all the great info! It’ll definitely be beneficial to have a kicker that can put the ball in the endzone. That’ll help tremendously with field position and I think we have a better selection of guys that can run and tackle this year. Thankful Tibesar is the DC. He’s another coach that could go elsewhere and get paid more. Bubba will be missed, but I’m excited about the athleticism and talent at LB. Glad to hear Joe Dunn will be back. He does a really nice job, especially with his weekly football segments. It’s almost not fair having the portal available to this staff. They have so many connections and do such a great job of evaluating talent, other MAC schools won’t be able to keep pace. Once this program turns the corner (which should be this year. We peeked around the corner last season) it’s going to be off to the races. A lot of exciting news. Coach Moorhead will have this program resembling a P5 in every facet soon.

Sorry, I have no knowledge of Brookhart’s situation. We are one of the last teams in the MAC to have the online roster updated. The starting QB of every team is usually under scrutiny for something. Irons gave us the best chance to win last year and if he’s taken another step forward in his decision making, will probably give us the best chance to win this year. What’s not up for debate is Irons being described as a “mediocre” quarterback when he was voted 3rd team All-MAC while missing two full games and parts of others. If someone has already beaten him out this offseason, then that should mean Akron will have two of the better quarterbacks in the MAC. While preseason publications should be taken with a grain a salt, every publication I’ve read has a selection of either Rourke, Finn, Gabbert, Lombardi, or Irons as the top quarterbacks in the MAC. I’ve also watched enough MAC football to know those predictions are solid, unless a quarterback comes out of the blue that has yet to play much. I feel good after Undercuffler after the spring game. Both Bullock and Wasel have plenty of potential, but have yet to play much (or at all in Wasel’s case) at the FBS level.