InTheZone

A couple of people said some things about the offense under Owens, I'm not going to try to quote them all, but it needs to be known that Owens had very little to do with the offense in the later years. That 6th place nationally ranked offense we had in '03 was Paul Winters brainchild. Owens was a very hands off head coach, and basically let his assistants do all the work. All he really ran was the special teams. That being said, I'm not a big fan at all of JD's ball control offense, especially when we play big teams. Our biggest advantage in the Owens/Winters era against larger schools was our wide open attack and the fact that we could score with anyone in the country. I think ball control gives us success in the MAC and helps our defense, but it's not going to let us play with the big boys until we have better players.

From everything I've heard, Ferguson has outperformed Getsy in every aspect this entire camp. I know Getsy will still get the start at Purdue, but if he doesn't perform, Ferguson has every right to be in the game by the second half.

That's a long way in cleats and shoulder pads, especially after a long day of practice. The point is, a half a block or a half a mile, I'd rather have visiting SOFTBALL players walk it once a year than our football guys every single day.

True, but I think it'd be better for visiting softball teams to have to walk a half mile to games once a year than our football guys every single day for practice.

The new location for the softball field follows the orginal master plan. A new concession & rest room facility is suppose to built in the middle of Jackson Field to serve the softball, baseball and soccer fields. A concession stand could've just as easily been built in the middle if the softball and football practice fields were switched. I'm just saying it would've made a lot more sense.

I don't really care about soccer, but success in any Zips sport makes me happy

Land has been cleared right next to the fieldhouse/rec center, where the "cage" and run down tennis courts used to be, for a new softball stadium which should be completed by the season. It'll be another nice improvement to that area of campus. Logically though, it seems like they should've put the football practice field on this land (right next to the fieldhouse and player's locker room) and put the softball field over by where they put the practice fields. Oh well, campus is looking 100 x better than it was 5 years ago!!

Gonzales was a prop, which means that yes, he listed as a senior, but if his grades are high enough he can still earn a year back for next season. He looks to be on track to do that.

How was any of that bad information? The title of this thread is Zips on the roster but not in camp. None of the guys I listed are in camp, for a variety of reasons. Cloud is still on the roster, but not in camp. So are all the other guys. You've been proven to give bad information on here before, so that's pretty much the pot calling the kettle black. Marshall will not be a Zip. He's enlisted in the army. Yes, Cruz will be on campus in January. That means he's a gray shirt, just like I said dumbass. Yes, Penny and Shargots are non-qualifiers, which would mean they aren't in camp, just like I said. You need to think before you post, or just don't post at all.

A few comments... From what I've heard and seen, Ferguson has looked so good, he's not just a locked #2, he may just take Getsy's job right out from under him. You're right about Poindexter. He has looked very good, while I'm hearing Kasparek is dropping a lot of balls. On the o-line, I'm hearing Anderson has the potential to start. He's dominated some upperclassmen in drills apparently. Kemme has looked good, but the staff still wants to red-shirt him and give him a year to improve his strength and add some bulk. I don't know where you're getting your information on Bates though. I've heard he's looked clumsy and has a long way to go before he can even think about touching the field. Terry's a good prospect, but a beast is pushing it. I've heard he's big, but needs to work on his quickness. Also, the guy is almost 20 years old, so he should be ahead of most freshman physically. Hopefully he'll work hard in his prop year and be able to contribute next season. Can't see him starting though with Reid and Gonzales coming back and Nate Robinson in the fold.

Donte Cloud Jose Cruz - is going to gray-shirt and will be in for spring Terricko Marshall- isn't going to be a Zip after all. Didn't qualify and has chosen not to come Razi Penny Scott Shargots

Kasparek's a solid college player, but I've watched him block and him ever thinking he can play in the NFL is a joke. He'll have a good year recieving this year but I'll think he'll be replaced in the starting lineup by a more complete tight end from this year's freshman class before he graduates.

If anything, as a long-snapper.

A few comments.... I hate to burst the CJ bubble, but from what I've heard, Jacquemain is the more impressive freshman than Jackson. He's a drop back passer with a cannon but has deceptive elusiveness (sort of like....Charlie Frye). Jackson on the other hand is a tremendous athlete with a weak arm (sort of like....Jabari Arthur). You can work as hard as you want and you can study all the film you want but if you don't have an arm you can't play quarterback. That's why none of the big schools would recruit him as a quarterback. He might become a great player here but it won't be at QB. I really feel for Dennis Basch, but it may be for the best for him anyway to hang it up now for a more than legit reason and keep his scholarship. From what I've heard the coaches love Kasparek, and Basch would've spent a lot of time riding the pines. also... Many on this board think there are problems on the D-line, but the fact of the matter is the D-Line, most of whom are under 250 pounds, dominated the O-line all through spring practice. Here's to hoping two of those freshman O-lineman can step it up this year because the current group is horrible. If SOMEBODY doesn't step up, it's going to be a long year for Getsy and Biggs.

Esau Hooks in the defensive article, and Deonte Morris in the offensive article are two that come to mind.

It's basically the exact same write up from the spring outlook, only with freshman blurbs tacked onto the end. They talk about guys who aren't even on the team anymore. Thumbs down UAM

What are some opinions on the weakest and most vulnerable area of the Zips for this coming season? How much of a factor do you think it'll be?

If Elie can stay healthy, he'll have a monster year. He's always had the talent, work ethic, and heart, he just can't make it through a whole season without getting hurt. Gonzales doesn't deserve to be preseason All-MAC based on what he's done so far in his career, but he'll deserve to be postseason All-MAC in December. Look for him to have a monster year. Hixon will have a big year on special teams, but his offensive stats may suffer as the Zips focus more on the run with the 1-2 Biggs-Kennedy punch and with an inexperienced quarterback. Also, look for Devanso Tate to take a starting spot at corner and have more than solid year in the defensive backfield. Pace is an overachiever who's hustle gets him a lot of tackles downfield, but who's playmaking ability is very limited.

Last I heard (two weeks ago), from a very reliable source, was that Dennis was cleared by one doctor and waiting on a second opinion to be cleared. Sounded pretty positive, did something go bad ??? As of right now Basch is still in the plans for '05. Now a bit of bad news on Jemal Benjamin, apparently the story is he got clubbed in the head while sleeping by someone, don't know the whole story, but he's in the hospital with a pretty serious head injury. That's all I've heard right now.

Don't look at this roster as a final one. Many of the guys listed are still depending on summer school credits to be eligible, and many are enrolled in Summer 3 which starts tomorrow. As for Balaam, I've heard nothing about him working out with the team. As for Benjamin, regardless of his grades, I heard from one of the guys that he had some sort of accident or mishap that landed him in the hospital. I'll try to get more details as soon as I can.

Where'd you get that information? Last I heard Tennessee was in the process of being finalized.

The athletic office is also trying to get Army to switch the home-home dates of 2007 and 2008 so they can finalize the trip to Tennessee in '07 (remember, starting next season teams are again allowed 12 game schedules). We'll see where all this goes.

6 was NOT a respected leader of the Zips last season. He was a lazy underachiever, and every guy on the team knew that.

I couldn't agree more. My day just isn't complete without a BJ

Greg Gillium was one of the most well liked coaches by the players on the old staff. He coached quite a few great recievers in his time here as well, including Lavell Bailey, Jake Schifino, Matt Cherry, Miquel Irvin, and Nick Sparks. Congratulations to him on his new position on Tressel's staff.