catdaddyp

I’m with you. Ready for the season to arrive! I’ve been going through and watching a bunch of full JUCO game film just to get a better idea of the incoming players. Also have watched other MAC games from last year. Add in the recruiting dead period and it’s such a slow time of year. I forgot to add that at any point Hunter, Tallandier, T.Thomas, N. Thompson, and DJ Martin are starting in the secondary, it would be a secondary full of former P5 players. Not sure how many other teams would be able to claim that.

If you have a direct connection to the program, I’d like to hear more. I’ve never claimed to have a direct connection. Instead I go off of my previous experiences and what coach Moorhead has said at pressers. Care to expand on the Irons situation?

Who will be the backup Quarterback? It’s clear Irons will be the starter as long as he’s healthy, but who will step in if injuries hit or a change of pace is needed? At least initially, Jeff Undercuffler is the likely choice. However, Virginia Tech transfer Tajh Bullock has a big arm and brings a different dimension to the run game. The staff may devise packages for Bullock just as a way to get him on the field and take advantage of his skillset, regardless of who else is at QB. This scenario would allow Wasel to redshirt and continue to develop without the unneeded pressure of learning on the fly. Will the run game be any better? The running back position has been significantly upgraded with the additions of Lorenzo Lingard and Drake Anderson. Throw in talented redshirt freshman Charles Kellom (and eventually a healthy Price) and this group will certainly improve on last year’s numbers of an abysmal 89.6 ypg (including all 12 games). As good as the passing game was/is, a strong rushing attack will make this offense even more potent. Who will replace Shocky Jacques-Louis? Coach Moorhead confirmed wide receiver is the strength of the team at MAC media days. Alex Adams and Daniel George have two of the three receiver positions locked up and someone else will need to separate themselves for the third spot. It sounds like Jasaiah Gathings currently has the inside track. The redshirt sophomore and North Carolina native had a promising start to 2022 before an injury derailed his season. He will be pushed by Myles Walker, transfer Phaizon Wilson, and several other talented freshmen. Will the Offensive Line be able to run block effectively? The OL was adequate at pass blocking and downright poor at run blocking outside of a handful of games. That will change. Offensive linemen, especially in an offense like Moorhead employs, must display as much athleticism as their defensive counterparts. Meaning on top of the general traits OL need, they also need to be able to move well enough to seal off defenders (especially on the edge), get to the second level, and be able to run. Too many of the OL last year struggled in those areas. Incoming transfers Keon Kindred, Ben Frank, Joshua Blanchard, and AJ George will immediately help. The staff brought in Keylen Davis and Tyhler Williams in the 2022 class and they should be ready to substantially contribute as redshirt freshmen. Toss in preseason All-MAC selection RT Nate Williams along with veterans Ronan Chambers, Brian Kilbane, Alex Robarge, Tony Georges, and the OL is starting to look like a group that is ready to open some holes for the backs. Will the DL be able to create pressure on the quarterback? The defense struggled to create pressure on the quarterback without blitzing in 2022. Even with the blitzes, defenders were stonewalled way too often, leaving the back end of the defense in difficult situations. The athleticism and potential has been increased during the offseason, but the key to this year’s group is developing at a much quicker rate than last year’s DL. Returning are two of Akron’s 2022 highest rated DL (according to PFF) in DE Ryan Johnson and DT Kyle Thomas. The interior of the DL may surprise with the additions of transfers Terray Jones, Lama Lavea, and JUCO Tyler Carter. Devan Robinson has one more opportunity to make a difference and Kiawan Murphy was singled out by coach Moorhead last year as a guy that was quickly developing. On the edge is where the Zips will have far more options than in 2022. Last season Victor Jones, Zach Morton, and Ryan Johnson were the only productive options. Now a slew of players will be available. Senior Julian Richardson will be expected to provide some pass rush and will be joined by transfer Ahmad Rabah along with JUCOs Antonio Smith and Kabbash Richards. JUCOs CJ Nunnally and LaJoshua Jackson bring some versatility and stoutness against the run. Who will replace Bubba? Losing Bubba is tough, there is no way around it. Former JUCO Antavious Fish will have the first shot at filling some big shoes. Fish was inconsistent in 2022 as he was finding his way in coach Tibesar’s defense. When Fish was locked in, he was impressive. Sophomore Jaharon Griffin and JUCO Gage Summers will push Fish for snaps. At the other LB spot, sophomore Bryan McCoy will start and compete with Andrew Behm and transfer Shammond Cooper. How good can this secondary be? If there is a consistent pass rush, the secondary could be very strong against the pass. Physicality will not be a question with this group as run fits should be solid. Between the linebackers and secondary, Zips fans can expect some big hits in 2023. Transfers Joey Hunter, Judson Tallandier, and JUCO Silas Proby have been brought in to compete at CB. Returners Tyson Durant and Devonte Golden-Nelson had their moments in 2022. Transfer Terence Thomas will compete with Darrian Lewis at NB. Cam Threatt, Rishad Hence, and a few freshmen could also see time. Senior safeties Nate Thompson and DJ Martin are primed for big seasons. They will be backed by Jaden Woods and potentially Corey Thomas. Safety is the only position on offense and defense that did not have a portal addition this offseason (unless Terence Thomas is considered a safety as a NB). Will the special teams be improved? The kicking improved as the spring game wore on and JUCO P Dante Jackson was recently signed. Akron has an excellent special teams coach in Allen Tucker and all phases of special teams should take a leap. Will a 3-4 alignment be seen more in 2023? The roster is far more versatile and will allow coach Tibesar to show some looks he was not able to in 2022. Tibesar will probably display a defense more in line to his previous stops, but expect to see the 4-2-5 nickel alignment when facing 11 personnel. Can Akron win the East? Football (and athletics in general) are very much “what have you done for me lately” in today’s society. 99% of national pundits think Akron will be a doormat. If social media and message boards are any indication, the rest of the MAC fanbases also don’t take Akron seriously. Everyone is allowed an opinion, but that does not mean it’s correct. Sometimes even the loudest voices or media members with a platform are misinformed. Most are completely ignoring how competitive this team was in MAC play and the improvement that was made as the year progressed. The other key factor that has been ignored is recruiting. Coach Moorhead has used the portal as well or better than any other G5 school and is also landing some very talented players from the high school/JUCO ranks, not just at one or two positions, but throughout the roster. If the Zips are to become a dominant program in the MAC it will start on both sides of the line of scrimmage. While Akron may not have an elite OL or DL (yet), progress is being made and enough talent is in place to compete in 2023. Ohio has the easiest path to the East, but that does not mean they are a shoe-in. Expect the Zips to “upset” a number of teams and their fan bases this season. Enjoy the ride, it’s going to be an exciting year.

Here’s full game film on transfer Ben Frank. He’s #63 on the orange team and plays LT. Very athletic and great feet. Could easily add another 10-15 pounds as he almost looks like a TE with his frame (even though he’s listed as 6’5” 300lbs.) Frank gets better as the game progresses and exhibits a nasty streak. Even gets a personal foul penalty for blasting a defender late on a run play 10 yards downfield. Might take him some time to adjust to the speed at this level, but could definitely envision Frank competing for LT as the season wears on.

If anyone is interested in watching the 2023 JUCO signees outside of a highlight reel, there is full game film on YouTube for each of them. A few thoughts below: Kabbash Richards and Antonio Smith are built similar (Kabbash has a little more mass at this point) and both are clearly being brought in to rush the passer. They could be utilized in the OLB role if we see more of a 3-4 alignment this year. CJ Nunnally is probably the most well rounded DE of the bunch. Stronger against the run, but not quite as much of a pass rusher as Richards and Smith. LaJoshua Jackson played DT at JUCO and will likely play DE in 3 man fronts and be slid inside in 4 man fronts. Tyler Carter has solid size and moves extremely well for a 300 pounder. He’s a little raw right now, but could develop into a starter over the coming years. Honestly, they are all a bit raw. However there is some nice upside to this group and it’s a more versatile collection of players than we had last year. Especially when they are combined with the portal guys and the few returning players. I’m not expecting our DL to be the best in the MAC by any stretch, but I’d be shocked if we didn’t have far more QB pressures than what was produced in 2022.

KJ sounds like a coach in the making. Outside of that, not much here that we didn’t already know or suspect. Regardless, it’s nice to get something from the social media department outside of pictures.

I wonder if the voting style is set to where the HC cannot vote for his own team to be 1st. Looks like the rest of the MAC still thinks Akron does not have much. 😎

2024 QB commit Brayden Roggow (dark blue shorts) slingin it.

Hard to envision more than 3 wins with that roster. Would like to think they’d beat UTEP and Howard. Maybe catch someone else by surprise to get 3? Evan Hull basically carried their offense and he’s gone. Maybe Hilinski has matured since his days at South Carolina? He struggled last year and will likely have a worse OL this year. The defense was dead last in the Big10 against the run, collecting sacks, and second to last in interceptions. Just rough all around.

I’m not sure if even the most avid Ball State fan would pick Ball State to win their division. Not much has been done to improve the worst run defense in the conference. That being said, I think they are a bit better than last year, but 5-7 or 6-6 sounds about right to me. They start out with back to back road games against Kentucky and Georgia. Rough.

That’s basically the case on both sides of the line of scrimmage and at WR. Despite their secondary not having much depth, they could be solid if they get a consistent pass rush…which I don’t think they will (switching to a 4 man front). The new staff seems to be doing a solid job with the 2024 class, so they may become competitive again quicker than I originally thought. It just won’t be this year.

The funny thing about that is I actually have UMASS and New Mexico State on the “Over” this year (not betting advice). Had NMSU outperforming last year too. I think UMASS has a tough schedule, but wouldn’t be surprised to see them win 4-5 games. I honestly don’t know enough about what FIU and Monroe have done in the off-season to have much of an opinion on them. I think more deserving bottom feeders would be New Mexico, Kent State, and probably Sam Houston.

Agreed. Kindred and Kabbash are completely missing. Not only from the 2 deep, but also the 3 deep. Although I think George can play tackle, he’s probably a better fit at guard. George should probably be listed as the backup RG with Robarge moved to backup LG. Kindred should be listed as backup RT. I can’t count the number of times Whigan was asked to pull from the RG spot last year and that isn’t Robarge’s strength. He’s much better equipped at plowing away at DL directly in front of him. Blanchard is also missing and he will be pushing for a spot as well. The DE situation could be so many different combinations and I have to believe Kabbash will be squarely in the mix. A lot of what this outlet said I disagree with such as “Moorhead stepped into a decent situation” referring to all the freshmen Arth played. I can’t see how anyone who has been paying attention would come to that conclusion when less than 30 players remain from Arth’s classes. The one thing this outlet was pretty accurate on was the initial depth chart from last year. Here are the MAC Position Rankings for Zips: QB - 3 RB - 9 WR/TE - 1 OL - 10 DL - 11 LB - 7 DB - 4 ST - 11 Coaching - 10 Some of the above missed the mark so badly I don’t even know what to say. It’s mind blowing that Moorhead had one bad year in the W/L column and he is bumped so far down in nearly every national ranking system. The majority of pundits missed how this team improved throughout the year and that Moorhead inherited one of the worst rosters in all of FBS. It’s also easy to tell which outlets have been paying attention to recruiting and the transfer portal. Watch how the narrative is completely flipped after this year and headed into 2024.

I saw that too and just ignored it. Sometimes PFF badly misses the mark. They do a decent job with most of their game grades (although they really struggle with OL grades). When it comes to their upcoming predictions like NFL draft or the college football season….usually pretty rough.

Here is a depth chart from a source that claims to have spoken to every school’s coaching staff. Not going to say the source’s name because it’s behind a paywall. This source was almost 100% accurate on the depth chart to start the season last year. In any case, take it for what it’s worth as we all know some of this will change. Plus a few additions to the roster were made since this came out. Good offseason chatter though. QB: Irons Undercuffler RB: Lingard (TP) D. Anderson (TP) WR: Adams Walker (surprised this wasn’t Golden) WR: George C. Anderson WR: Gathings P. Wilson (TP) TE: Banks Newell (TP) LT: Chambers (Landers was listed here, but since he’s no longer on the roster…) Frank (TP) LG: Kilbane Stopiak C T. Williams T. Georges RG: K. Davis Robarge RT: N. Williams AJ George (TP) DE: A. Smith (JUCO) L. Jackson (JUCO) DT: K. Thomas K. Murphy DT: T. Jones (TP) D. Robinson DE: R. Johnson CJ Nunnally (JUCO) WLB: McCoy Behm MLB: Fish (was Bubba…) Griffin CB: Hunter (TP) Durant CB: Tallandier (TP) Golden-Nelson NB: D. Lewis T. Thomas (TP) SS: N. Thompson Woods FS: KJ Martin C. Thomas

Looks like JacQai Long committed to Marshall and has also transferred to a high school in West Virginia.

InfoCision should easily win, but it looks like Charlotte is going to win the popularity vote. Speaking of other G5s in the Carolinas, I also think InfoCision is much better than Coastal Carolina’s stadium.

I like your thinking. My only concern is 5-3 or even 6-2 conference record may not be good enough to get into the championship game. Ohio avoids Toledo and EMU. They also don’t have a single back to back away game stretch. Stars are aligned for Bobcats to win the East if they don’t goof it up.

I’ve changed my predictions several times, but now that the dust has settled in recruiting, here is where I think we’ll land: @ Temple - W - Probably be a close game. I’ve flipped my prediction to Akron. Morgan State - W @ Kentucky - L @ Indiana - L - I’d love to see an upset, but that’s a lot to ask in back to back road games against P5 teams. Buffalo - W NIU - W @ CMU - L - I also think we slip up here. Not sure if the team is ready to handle consistent success at this point in the season. @ BUGS - W KSUcks - W @ Miami - W - Don’t feel confident about this one, but it’s in the back half of the season and I’m betting JoeMo has the team firing on all cylinders at this point. Should be a physical game. @ EMU - L - I think we match up well with EMU, but it’s another back to back road game. Ohio - W - This could be the statement victory that finally makes the rest of the MAC realize Zips are legit. Bobcats allowed a lot of yards through the air last year and probably more of the same this year. Zips defense should be improved enough to somewhat slow the Ohio offense. Temple should be improved defensively. They created a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, but struggled to stop the run. On offense they were decent throwing the ball with Warner at the helm (son of Kurt Warner) but struggled in the run game. Temple’s OL is not a strength and I’m not sure how much better it will be this season. That being said, Temple seems to be a program is headed in the right direction. Similar to us, they played well in the back half of 2022. Last 5 games were: At Navy = L 27-20 in OT Vs USF = W 54-28 At Houston = L 43-36 Vs #25 Cincinnati = L 23-3 Vs East Carolina = L 49-46

I can’t speak for every other team, but I can say for sure this team is further ahead of where they were last year at this time.

I noticed a difference at the spring game as the players made their way from the field back to indoor facility. The new S&C coach seems to have taken it up a notch.

Thanks. Didn’t know that was official. Seems I recall seeing him for a visit, but nothing else. Looks like he has a picture of himself in a Zips uniform now, so assuming it’s official.

Can’t argue with much of that. A few thoughts though: - Kinda hard for D. Thomas to compete for a roster spot when he isn’t on the roster. Maybe he’s back before the season starts? - M. Walker will likely compete for the Z spot with Gathings and Wilson. - George probably projects more as an IOL leaving Frank and Kindred as the likely backups (or starters) at OT. - I didn’t realize there was an Ali Barker was on the roster? - No Kabbash Richards listed. - JoeMo said Corey Thomas is officially a safety. Not sure if something has changed there? - Maybe Behm is initially the starter at MIKE, but I can’t see any scenario where that stays the case.

Itching for some Zips football? Full replays of BG and NIU games are available on YouTube. As are Tennessee and Liberty, but I’m not sure if the Tennessee game is worth watching and the Liberty film is choppy. A few things of note: - Its easy to see the progress from the BG game to the NIU game. - So many missed tackles against BG. Richardson and Johnson seemed to miss more than their fair share. - LT (and often LG and C) play was darn near awful against BG. - Goes without saying, but definite difference in the offense with Irons vs Undercuffler. Looking forward to (hopefully) getting a healthy DJI back. That being said, I thought Undercuffler was much improved during the spring game. - Not sure why Price did not receive the bulk of the carries against NIU. He has much better feet than Wiley and the ability to gain those tough yards. I’m not sure if there were any runs Wiley made against NIU that Price would not have been able to make as well. - In the first half against NIU, often the Nickel was removed and another DL was inserted giving the defense a 3-4 look. Usually it was Harper, Holt, and Morton on the interior with Jones and Johnson on the edge. I bring that up because I wonder if we see more of a 3-4 alignment this coming year. That’s Tibesar’s bread and butter and three of the JUCO DEs have the ability to play an OLB role (Richards, Nunnally, and Smith). I image Rabah would get a look there too. Not that we’d go away from the 4-2-5 look completely, but a 3-4 alignment could be beneficial with the right players and clearly Tibesar wants to show opponents multiple fronts. It’s too bad the team, as a whole, took so long to turn the corner last year. Soon, the rest of the MAC will be pointing to Akron as the example on how to turn things around quickly through the portal. It’s going to be a fun year!

It was UMASS. Nice pickup for them. Not sure if we take another HS WR prospect in this class, unless someone transfers/leaves the team. George will be the only one out of eligibility after this year.