catdaddyp

The writer definitely loves him some DJI. I’m guessing he hasn’t watched many of the games or he’d know DJI is responsible for a number of those sacks he seems to place on the OL. Writer also must’ve missed Amankwaa hitting the portal. Outside of that, it’s an entertaining read. Thanks for posting! On a side note, I still can’t convince Rivals to create an Akron site. I’ll ask again after the season.

DT Wayne Peart committed to Toledo.

I’m not sure what to think about this game. I haven’t seen Miami play, but going off the stats and scores it seems their defense is stout. Their offense seems to struggle in all areas, but will that be the case against our defense? Moorhead said they play 7 in the box and go single high safety. If that’s the case, our WRs and TEs will have all kinds of opportunities. I doubt Miami will be able to keep our passing game in check. We haven’t been able to consistently run the ball so it may be pointless for Miami to keep 7 in the box. Im guessing Miami will try to establish their run game as much as possible and throw it as little as they have to. Even if they do throw it, will our CBs be able to keep their WRs in check without Amankwaa and a healthy Golden-Nelson? IDK. This game may come down to special teams play and field position. We tend to give our opponents great field position and allow ourselves to be forced to drive the majority of the field on most drives. On a stats note - Bubba has 86 total tackles on the year and could go over 100 this game.

- Enjoyed hearing Moorhead talk about the young LBs - McCoy, Griffin, and Fish - and how they are going to be great players. Mentions how they go about things the right way, watch film, and love football. - I get more excited about Landers every time I see him play. Can’t wait to see the other freshmen next year. - Love how Moorhead is rewarding the contributing walk-ons with scholarships. I think that’s 3 now? Durant, Gettman, and Hester. All 3 of them are heavily involved with Special Teams. - I was surprised to see Moorhead get asked about Naim and Anderson, but glad they were mentioned. Naim is another special teams contributor and has flashed excellent hands at receiver. I’m excited about the potential Anderson brings. He’s stuck behind George right now, but he could become a big time red zone target for us in the future. Hopefully Anderson gets worked into the spot Shocky is playing right now and we see George and Anderson on the field together in 2023. - Moorhead mentioned Ryan Johnson had his best game. Johnson has been quietly developing throughout the year.

OT Nikola Milovac committed to Old Dominion.

If he’s using it as a way to continue to have his education paid for, more power to him. If he believes he’ll be able to transfer to a P5 school based on his 4 games this year, he may find himself disappointed. As far as our program goes, it’s frustrating in the fact we were one corner away from having a half way decent secondary to finish out the year. Amankwaa and Golden-Nelson on the outside would have made a nice combination - assuming Golden-Nelson would be healed up. While this move has no effect on next year, it makes winning another game this year a little more challenging.

Didn’t see this one coming. When Moorhead was asked about any players that haven’t played much potentially redshirting, he responded with “coaches do the redshirting.” I think even he is finding out the game is changing.

LB Malachi Mercer committed to Columbia.

Regardless of my feelings on the situation I was just using Carolina as an example as I have inside sources there. Martin ultimately got fired this offseason and then quickly landed with UMASS. The BOT basically gave Martin one more year and then gave way to the AD.

I like how Moorhead chuckled and lit up a little when talking about the true freshmen OL. He knows it’s only a matter of time before we are really good up front. Not sure who George is afraid we’re going to lose. Doubt any of the P5 transfers would transfer back out and it’s unlikely any of the freshmen would transfer out at this point. I think the more likely scenario for anyone who transfers out is to go D2 or nowhere at all. Irons probably would be the exception.

Depending on the school, sometimes the boosters and board have as much control, or more, over the hire/fire. I can tell you Ray Tanner was heavily pressured (some claim told) to hire Shane Beamer at South Carolina. Tanner also wanted to fire basketball coach Frank Martin a year ago and was flat out shut down by the board of trustees.

Great News! Edit: I thought it originally said early.

Agree about both Jimbo and Oregon. Don’t discount South Carolina though (another turnaround situation). They are currently flying under the radar despite being ranked. Carolina has an explosive (former 5 star) running back in Marshawn Lloyd who is playing as well as anyone in the country. In a few weeks they will likely be 7-2 going into the Swamp. If they find a way to beat an inconsistent Florida team they will be 8-2, at home, against Tennessee. They’ve come a long way from their slow start to the year.

I’ll keep up with this list as much as possible. At least until things spiral out of control with portal entries.

Out of the guys on the roster now: WR - Adams OL - Landers LB - McCoy I’m looking forward to seeing how a host of others on the roster continue to develop. If we had a healthy pass rush and more productive depth at cornerback, we’d likely be at least 3-1 in MAC play. If the defense was consistent, Irons probably wouldn’t have been in forced situations to lead a long drive for the win. The program isn’t far off considering we’ve been competitive in conference play with what will be Moorhead’s least talented roster.

I am “half full” in certain situations. Ask my opinion on programs like South Florida, Charlotte, Nevada, Hawaii, UMASS before the season began and you would have gotten a much different take from me. Arth was not offering the same type of players this staff is. Can’t land upper level players if they aren’t identified and offered. I closely follow turnaround situations that have competent staffs. Hence my interest in Akron (plus my fairly recent move to Ohio). I watched Akron’s games last year, but wasn’t invested as I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel with what was happening. Moorhead’s hiring changed the direction of the program. As far as Karriem goes, he could probably be viewed as a late bloomer, but when his recruiting picked up Illinois really put on the full court press.

Saboor Karriem committed to Illinois (as expected). We didn’t stand much of a chance in landing him due to a number of factors (NJ pipeline, #1 rated defense, development of DBs, etc), but it shows the staff’s ability to identify high level talent.

Another frustrating loss, but to be honest Kent State’s program is further ahead right now. That was the first MAC game, this season, I thought the other team was superior in talent across the board. Offense: - Landers, Banes, Georges, Whigan, Williams were the starters from left to right. I’m really excited for what Landers will be down the road. That kid’s upside is impressive. Unfortunately he didn’t seem to be 100% from the start. - At this point, if Norrils isn’t going to be involved, I’d prefer Price to receive all of the snaps at RB. He may not be a breakaway back, but he always gains positive yardage when he’s not immediately hit in the backfield. - Outside of the obvious plays that were made, it was nice to see Anderson get involved some more at WR. Naim made a tough grab when he had an opportunity. Not sure what’s happened to Williams. - I guess Irons is what he is at this point. The offense goes as he goes and he hasn’t been able to get it done in crunch time. Defense: - Holt is easily our best defensive lineman. Shame we don’t have him for another year. - Bubba seemed to be on the field the majority of the game on defense. - I like the way the 3 safeties Thompson, Martin, and Woods continue to progress. Lewis had a solid game. Hence was moved to S when Martin went out for a few plays. - We need more help at CB and if Golden-Nelson doesn’t come back, we probably won’t have it this year. Amankwaa held his own against some really good WRs. - Nice to see a few kickoffs go for touchbacks. - Not sure how Kent’s freshman QB was rated a 2 star by Rivals. I thought we had the more disciplined team, but in the end it didn’t matter. The two turnovers were costly and we again gave up some big third downs on defense. I’m sure the team will keep fighting and sooner or later get over that hump.

I assumed for Gibson it was about getting closer to home and the opportunity to play at the P5 level. I don’t believe he had any P5 offers coming out of HS. His brother also plays for GT now. I was amused when it basically turned out to be a trade with Mumpfield and Shocky. Glad Mumpfield had the opportunity to play P5 ball, but really pleased we landed Shocky. Shocky has surpassed my expectations.

Yeah, he looks a little lackadaisical in some of those highlights. I’d be worried if he had heavy feet that could hinder his development, but fortunately that’s not the case. I’m sure all of that will get cleaned up in fairly short order once he arrives on campus.

Steele Wasel’s midseason highlights.

No doubt Bubba’s play has been head and shoulders above the rest of our LBs. Behind him, it’s clear that McCoy and Terry are the next best options. Fish has all kinds of athletic ability, but it’s anybody’s guess as to what he’s going to do on any given play. However, I suspect he’ll be a good one before it’s all said and done. I was at the game with a buddy who doesn’t mince words and he turned to me at one point and asked “How in the **** did that guy get an offer to play D1 ball?” All I could do was shrug. I won’t say who he was talking about but I’m sure you can figure it out by process of elimination.

Thanks! Added. Looks like another guy Moorhead recruited while at Mississippi State. I like the offer. On a side note, his partner on the DL is DT Elijah Davis who is an absolute monster.

DT James Thomas will be announcing his commitment on 10/30.