catdaddyp

Big time target Barrett Maddox is on campus today. Something to keep an eye on. https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/barrett-maddox-277808

I created and updated Rivals prospect profiles with size, offers, and linked hudl video. Once I did that, the national reporters responded fairly quickly and now everyone but Lester Miller has a ranking. Looks like they forgot to give Bowen his 5.2-5.4 rating, but he is listed as a 2 star. I’ll continue to update their profiles as the year goes along, which will probably get a few of them ratings bump if they receive more offers. If anyone notices the players receiving more offers, please let me know. Due to the updates, Akron is listed as having the 67th best class for 2023. https://n.rivals.com/team_rankings/2023/all-teams/football Wasel = 5.6 - 3 star https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/steele-wasel-261890 Long = 5.3 - 2 star https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/maurice-long-294374 Mann = 5.4 - 2 star https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/jonas-mann-285528 Cravaack = 5.4 - 2 star https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/conner-cravaack-279676 Moore = 5.4 - 2 star https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/marcus-moore-280680 Bowen = ? - 2 star https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/joshua-bowen-241562 Louis = 5.3 - 2 star https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/jean-louis-iii-280349 White = 5.3 - 2 star https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/catrell-white-276218 Lang-Taylor = 5.4 - 2 star https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/zayden-laing-taylor-285125 Miller = NR - NR https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/lester-miller-284649 Norton = 5.4 - 2 star https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/adrian-norton-276321

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/lester-miller-284649 I can’t update his ranking or position, but I updated his Rivals profile. There’s also a write-up from a national reporter about playing cornerback at a Rivals Camp.

I trust the staff’s opinion, but Laing-Taylor doesn’t seem to excel in any area when watching his film. He definitely has the size to come in and contribute as a freshman, but not so much the skill. He looks to be best suited as a S. Ive lost track at this point, but does anyone know if he camped and earned an offer in person?

Some transfers are unknowns, but have the potential to excel. A number of the transfers have had success elsewhere and there isn’t any reason to believe that won’t carry over. I am with you in as far as tempering expectations in winning the MAC this coming season, but I do expect this team to be competitive in every MAC game and win their fair share. I also agree the offense will heavily revolve around success of the QB position. Moorhead has been successful almost everywhere he’s been and seems to have a strong staff in place. It all aligns to a solid year and little chance of finishing last place.

The same writer gave Akron an A- for the Moorhead hire. I guess he thinks it’ll take a much longer process to be competitive, despite the transfer portal changing the dynamic for rebuilds.

Wow, talk about a major publication missing the mark. Do better Athlon.

I see where you’re going with that, but it’s not an apples to apples comparison. When I’m watching film I’m not receiving someone else’s opinions, plugs, or lack thereof about the prospect - outside of maybe a star rating. Star ratings I also take with a grain of salt because those are often tied into the number of scholarships or who the offers are from. So the ratings can be very different by the end of the prospect’s senior year.

Probably so. Keep in mind I work for one of the major recruiting services, so there are some things that rub me the wrong way.

I couldn’t make it past the 6 minute mark. The smugness and name dropping of the guy doing the podcast really irked me. Saying Steele had a “fun little game” comes across almost as a backhanded compliment. I wanted Steele to ask the guy what team he played for or which quarterbacks he’s coached. Thanks for posting it though ZZX. Steele will have a chance to accomplish some great things here.

He’s a good one. I’m really surprised about his lack of offers. I can’t speak to the competition level he plays against, but he flaunts a number of positive traits. Fluidly flips his hips, has long arms which helps in breaking up the pass and jamming receivers, solid athlete, reads the flight of the ball well, explosive when coming down hill, enough speed to stay connected with the receivers. He’s lacking in mass, which will change once he hits our S&C program. Unless he shuts down his recruitment, I’m sure more offers will flow his way.

Bigjim, this is new territory that not many people know about outside of the athletics departments themselves. If you’re not satisfied with my response, I suggest you contact Akron athletics or the NCAA directly for your answer. Unfortunately, you won’t receive a 100% positive answer here or on any other message board. I used to be a high school AD so I was in the loop, but not anymore. Now I write for a sports media outlet. The information I just gave you is as close as you’ll find without contacting the departments I mentioned above.

Not sure you’ll find many facts at this point, but I suspect any school can use as many Greyshirts or Blueshirts as they wish. There isn’t a scholarship limit per class for the next two years, but all schools do have to get down to the 85 scholarship roster limit - if they are over. It certainly seems we are over, so I don’t know how the numbers are being handled.

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/rico-jackson-242130 We offered this kid and now he’s blowing up. Jackson committed to Illinois last week, but is at South Carolina’s camp this weekend and holding his own against some of the best in the southeast. I’m pointing this out to say our staff continues to identify high end talent and offer early. Exciting times! *This should probably be in the 2023 thread*

That’s an interesting take. The whole nation is going to find out who the best players are in a few months. Also, if players enter the portal now they’d have to sit another year. Was it a coach saying that? Or the podcastee’s (is that a word?) hot take?

I love the way this staff is attacking the defense. So much versatility on the defensive line.

That’s a good question. With all the transfers I don’t think there will be a need for any of the freshmen to play on defense. My best guess as to who might see PT would be one of the linebackers - probably McCoy if I was pressed for just one.

I wasn’t sure where to put Tim Terry as we haven’t heard much about him. I could definitely see Durant and Hawkins pushing for starting minutes.

Yes, this is all speculation. I think the offensive two deep is more clear, but I still don’t know what our base defense actually is. If it’s a 4-2-5, that changes things. But since it doesn’t seem to be a 3-4 as I originally thought, I’m using a 4-3 as the base. With all of the new additions there’s a lot of flexibility, which is exciting.

Probably in the mood? Hence the arrival of Antavious.

Another solid pickup. He’s physical, a thumper, and falls right in with our other LBs in this class. https://www.hudl.com/video/3/8251856/616c79c02aa6e603b8a541c4

Looking through that list made me wonder how much football the columnist actually watched last year. Where he has some of those players rated is laughable.

It’s early, but assuming we line up in a 4-3 I’m guessing the defense will look something like what’s listed below. What I like about the 2022 version is the versatility we have - especially on the defensive line. If we go into a 4-2-5, like was mostly shown in the 2nd half of the spring game (I missed the first half), we’d drop the SAM LB and add a Nickel. In that case, I’d guess Boateng would be shifted to WILL and one of defensive backs would be slotted at Nickel. For pass rush, we shifted down the OLBs to the edge and slid one or both DEs inside. WDE: Ryan Johnson Zach Morton NT: Curtis Harper Bryce Wilson DT: Devon Robinson Ravontae Holt SDE: Victor Jones Curtis Fann WILL: Corey Thomas Jr. Julian Richardson MIKE: Bubba Arslanian Andrew Behm SAM: Jeslord Boateng Ryan McClain CB: Cam Threatt Tyson Durant FS: KJ Martin Nate Thompson SS: Jaylen Kelly-Powell Jaden Woods CB: Jaylen Hooks Devonte Golden-Nelson There are a number of different combinations that could be fielded. We definitely have more talent on the defensive side of the ball than in 2021, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out. What are the board’s thoughts?

One thing is for sure, our staff is not satisfied where we stand with the DL - in particular the interior of the DL. I probably came across a little harsh on my assessment of them before spring ball, but the fact is we didn’t get the production we needed last year. I like where we are headed.

What’s funny is I read an article just the other day that was almost the opposite of this columnist’s opinion. Similar to our own message board, there are disagreements all the way around about how NIL will change the landscape. This columnist is also focused on Alabama, like some of our own members. It’s interesting to see how people view NIL and who it’ll effect the most. What’s being lost, or not mentioned very often, is the affect it may have on coaches. Without some type of limitations put in place, we may see an exodus of coaches at the non Power 5 level that aren’t paid as much as some of the Power 5 coaches. Recruiting year round and at this pace likely isn’t a sustainable model.