catdaddyp

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.

This guy gets it. However, he’s not totally on point about the transfers. Gives a little too much credit to the guys who transferred out and seems to think only a handful of transfers were brought in this year, but that’s ok. It’s hard to efficiently cover all FBS teams. Overall his assessment is correct. Akron is just as talented as anyone else in the MAC this year.

i expect his choice to be UMASS. I don’t believe we ever got him on campus and it’s hard to land a commitment that way.

Maybe I’m mistaken, but didn’t he do the same cryptic post last year about this time?

EMU probably has the best class at the moment (16 commitments). Miami (15) and Toledo (13) got off to the quickest start, but both have already lost a commitment or two. Akron is definitely in the top tier as far as quality, just don’t have as many commitments at the moment. WMU (11) is doing a surprisingly good job this year as well. Kent State (13), Ball State (16), and NIU (18) have taken a major leap forward compared to their 2023 classes. CMU (13) has been hit or miss. Bowling Green (5), Ohio (3), and Buffalo (0) bring up the rear. Compared to last year, I thought EMU was the leader but Akron finished with a flurry. If the 2023 ratings would be completed, they would reflect Akron as being top 3 for HS/JUCO. Although, our portal class was hands down the best in the MAC. I suspect by the time it’s all said and done the top 2024 classes will be between EMU, Akron, and Toledo. Not including the portal in that statement as this staff has cleaned up like no other MAC school in that area.

I think the plan is about 15 per year. And I think we have 16 seniors (17 if Bubba is included). Who knows how many guys will transfer or forgo their “COVID” year (at least the ones who have that option). The roster was so wonky when the new staff took over, they finally seem to be in a normal spot with the numbers.

This class is turning into something serious. A number of these guys have camped at P5 schools and have drawn serious consideration for offers even if they did not come away with one. They are known and the ones with 3 star ratings were clearly expected to go P5 by at least one recruiting service. Outside of not winning as many games as I expected last year, recruiting has been excellent. The first class (2022) was a good one and underrated. The second (2023) was very good (outstanding in the portal). The third (2024) may very well finish as the best in the MAC. Can’t wait to see what portal additions will eventually be added to this class, but I’m getting way ahead of myself now.

BOOM! (5.5) 3 star CB Mike Smith is on board.

Not sure where to put this but Sam Popper is moving up the ranks pretty quickly. Now assistant director of recruiting at Michigan. Why does it matter? Popper was integral in Akron’s 2022 class (Joe Moorhead’s first) in identifying and getting recruits on campus, even without a full coaching staff in place. He was at Memphis this past season.

App State it is for Sanders.

I’m not familiar with this site, but it came up on my feed. When was the last time anyone listed Akron as a recruiting victory? Georgia Southern and UCONN both made bowl games last year. Times are changing…

Just for comparison to HS commitments at this time last year. Had 10 and then 2 more committed in July. QB - Steele Wasel WR - Adrian Norton TE - Conner Cravaack OL - Maurice Long (did not sign) OL - Jonas Mann DT - Marcus Moore LB - Joshua Bowen (did not sign) CB - Jean Louis CB - Catrell White CB - Zayden Laing-Taylor

I’d have to think they played a part in it. Getting guys on campus is always a big deal. There were 4 camps this month and the staff issued out a ton of offers, some to 2024s but especially to 2025 and 2026 prospects. We’re about to go into a recruiting dead period, but hopefully we get some news about how the team and incoming players look.

Big day for the 2024 class. Here’s DT Elijah Davis profile. Watch how he moves in the 2nd and 3rd highlights. (Hudl film should be linked at bottom of profile).

Anyone worried about our relatively slow start in 2024 compared to some of the other MAC schools, worry no more. This class is ramping up. Commitments from (5.5) 3 star WR Kyan Mason (OH) and (5.5) 3 star RB Sean Patrick (OH).

I really hope he finds a way back on the active roster.

Here are their profiles: Rodrick Hunter and Keyveon Johnson. I also try to keep everything updated on a daily basis in the 2024 MAC Recruiting thread if curious about any other commitments. I don’t expect either of these guys to start as freshmen, but they fit the developmental box that coach Moorhead is trying to create. The only film I could find of Johnson playing CB was during his HS spring game, which I attached to his Rivals profile (as well as last year’s HS film playing WR). He’s a solid athlete, with plenty of length, and knows how to play the ball in the air. He flips his hips well and plays as physically as he can. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he collects a P5 offer or two if he has a big senior year. I wasn’t expecting his commitment. Then again, that’s been par for the course with all these stealth commitments this staff tends to land. I knew Hunter was visiting, along with another more highly rated safety, so I went ahead and got Hunter’s profile ready and watched his film yesterday morning. He was the one I wanted us to land vs the other safety. Although, I’d be happy with both. I have no idea what Hunter’s physical measurements are outside of height and weight, but he seems to have a great sense at fielding that spot and is a physical player - which is in line with all the safeties coach Renna has brought in. Can’t wait to see Hunter with another 15lbs on him. I’m really excited about this class.

Good catch. JMU mascot isn’t included, but they are listed on the graphic. We probably shouldn’t be too hard on him as I’m sure he had someone else do the graphic.