catdaddyp

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.

JUCO Highlights linked below. https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16804050/6180a7cb478cc60a40ec3089

Love the potential of this pickup! I’m not sure what the deal was at Memphis, but Nelson was a stud in high school. Rivals had him rated as a 5.5 - 3 star when he probably should have been 5.7 (their 3 stars are from 5.5-5.7). He’s more in line with Cam Threatt. Nelson has long arms, flips his hips well, and is excellent at getting his hand in to break up the pass. He, unlike some of the CBs we have on the roster now, has the burst to cover ground quickly if he gets disconnected from his man. Nelson will come down hill and hit as he displays plenty of physicality. Not all of these transfers will pan out, but no one can rightfully argue about the physical talent and potential the staff continues to bring in.

Im sure he’s still a QB. There was never much chance of him playing this year outside of a rash of injuries. He’ll be behind the other QBs in picking up the offense and in experience. With so much of the QB position being mental, it’s not always easy to project who will pan out. My guess is he’ll redshirt and potentially be asked to move to WR is he doesn’t show progress by the end of the year. Assuming Wasel stays committed, we are likely to have a competitive QB group in 2023. At least that’s my hope, as I’m going off the assumption Irons and Undercuffler will make strides in 2022. We’ll probably add one more QB to the roster for 2022, but who knows if that’ll be by scholarship or walk-on.

It won’t be easy, that’s for sure. Tennessee’s offense moves faster than any we’ll see this year. They put a lot of stress on the middle of the field and can hang points up in a hurry.

I thought I watched the majority of them on one of the ESPNs last year, but couldn’t recall which ones. I hope they are all televised because I doubt I’ll be able to attend many - if any- of them.

If I’m reading the graphic correctly, we are guaranteed to have at least 7 of the 12 games televised. Not too bad. If by some stroke of luck we knock off MSU or Tennessee, I bet we get a few more games televised.

I assume so. He’s signed and officially a Zip, but they haven’t updated the roster since his signing.