InTheZone

If anyone from the UAM is reading this if you could please let me know if I could get the audio tape through the University, and also if you're ever going to be posting those pictures of the spring game I saw your staff taking, I'd really appreciate it. I need them both for a project I'm working on.

I was wondering if anyone knew how I could get a copy of the 2005 Blue-Gold game radio broadcast. I was at the game but wanted to listen to the broadcast to hear what some of those guys were saying about what they saw. Any help would be appreciated.

Per another member of the Zips recieving corps, Jabari after a talk with JD is focusing strictly on reciever, and as of right now it's Getsy's job though Ferguson has been told if he is the better QB in camp, he will start. So I guess it's shifted for a Getsy-Arthur battle to a Getsy-Ferguson with Getsy the starter heading into the summer.

What's the big deal? He's going to the Browns. Cribbs would play with better talent on an Arena league team. Besides, after Lambert and Gates, it takes more than showing up to impress us about potential NFL talent. Remind me again how many downs Gates played in a Golden flush uniform?? And Lambert....wow he's done a lot for your program recently

I am following along. You said you'd be surprised if anyone on our O-line got a shot, which apparently one already has. Don't get smart ass with me when you're the one who made the idiotic comment.

Maybe you missed the title of this thread, I don't know

When it comes to football...Can't fan(s?) is/are typically pretty silent. BTW: I'm surprised Borecci isn't signed up yet? Maybe he's got a better deal than a Browns tryout in the works? He was our best OL last year. I disagree. I think Conley was the best OL and he did win the MVP of the OL from the coaching staff at the end of the year banquet. I think Conley's had too many injuries though to think about a pro career. That does surprise me about Borecci too though. I thought he would've been picked up by now. The only thing that's maybe holding him back is his weight (only around 280 lbs soaking wet).

I'd like to see some pictures from the spring game. Hey UAM, I saw somebody taking pics at the game, how come they were never put up on gozips.com??

That can't be from '03 because we are playing Miami at home. I don't see Jud in that picture anywhere. Cummins was a RT anyways and you can't see the RT in that pic.

I agree with you on the O-line, but I don't see a WR coming in here and playing in front of Hixon, Montgomery, Long, or Brandon Williams. Hixon and Montgomery are proven, and everything I've heard about Long and Williams is that they're going to be great players for us this season. Throw Jabari Arthur in there, and we're pretty set. We've got the targets, including Kasparek, we just need the guy to get them the ball. As for the DL, I too thought we'd be pretty thin on depth there at the beginning of spring, but after taking in a few practices and that spring game, I was really impressed with the new faces along the second unit and actually think we'll be better at the position that we were last year.

I think that's a pretty good assessment.

What positions do you guys feel like we are weakest at, and which positions will freshman be depended upon to come in and play right away?? From what you saw at the spring game and other practices, is this team ready for a successful season as is, or will new players be depended upon??

I agree ITZ. Ferg did look good. However, he was playing against the third team defense with some of the starting OL being forced to play with the third team. The question is whether he can do it or not with the first team. As you know, things get much faster when playing with the starters. From what I saw, my perception was there was no third team, just the one's and two's were rotating and coaches were sprinkling in 2's with the 1's and an occasional 3 with the 2's every now and then. I could be wrong though. I know that Ferguson was working against the 2 DB's though, I did take note of that.

I had heard from coaches last fall that they had been very disappointed with Kennedy and weren't expecting much out of him in the future. Now the word seems to be that he was disappointed to be redshirted and on scout team last year, and didnt give much of an effort, but had a great offseason and is now really showing what he's capable of. Based on what I saw, that seems to be a lot. JD needs to work Kasparek into the offense more. He never drops a pass from what I've seen and for his size he can run like a gazelle. Ferguson seemed like the real deal to me, but if he never sees the field, he can never put up numbers. I think if Getsy doesn't clearly distinguish himself in the offseason and improve, Ferguson deserves a shot.

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!! Thanks to Zip Watcher, I'm back at it again and I have a lot to say. Thanks ZW. Just a quick point of fact. We didn't win many games at all with Charlie (19 to be exact). Onward and upward. Point taken. Before Charlie.... 1999- 7-4 2000- 6-5 (MAC East co-champs) With Charlie.... 2001-4-7 2002- 4-8 2003- 7-5 2004- 6-5

I noticed Saturday at the Spring game that the Zips were missing Wilkes, who I expected to be our starter at D-end, having started nine games over the past two seasons according to gozips.com. Well I found out from a coach tonight, Wilkes apparently quit the team last week after a disagreement with a coach. With an already young D-line, which impressed me even without Wilkes at the game but is very thin on depth, that really hurts

A few quick thoughts on the game... Unlike some of you, I was very impressed with the play of John Ferguson. I think you have to give him a chance in this QB battle. He's clearly a better QB than Arthur and Getsy was better but not all that much better. Dennis Kennedy is going to be a player. He runs low to the ground and has great field vision. Reminded me of old school Brandon Payne. Kasparek should have a monster year. He didn't get too many balls thrown his way, but he looked big and ran great. He could be the best TE in the MAC before he's done. The O-line is god awful. I hope some freshman can come in and play along there or it's not going to matter who our QB is, because they won't make it through Purdue. The D-line on the other hand impressed me. They seem small and young, lots of new faces, but they ran to the ball and made plays and shut down the run, while at the same time applying pressure in passing situations. What I percieved would be a weakness could be a team strength. The Secondary is going to be great. Extremely deep and talented. Reggie Corner is awesome, and Antonio Samuels really impressed me, and according to the roster he's just a frosh. That's how I saw it. Where's the Captain by the way??

Go find a Can't State website to post on you Golden Flush p.o.s.

Other observations.....Ohio on a Tuesday night at home...another possible ESPN contest?? And the Can't game... ONE O'CLOCK ON A WEDNESDAY???? EVERYONE WILL BE AT WORK, NOBODY"S GONNA BE THERE!!!!

Alright, I've got to say, I'm stunned by the placement of the Can't game. Not just because it's at the end of the season, which has been proven to draw much smaller crowds, but also because I know for a fact that JD Brookhart told his team in winter workouts that they were opening up against Can't State on ESPN. So I apologize for bring false information onto the board, but I guess Brookhart delivered false information to his team because I heard that from a number of different people on and close to the team.

It is tough to say from only watching 80 minutes of just one practice. Most of what was done was drills on blocking sleds...stuff like that. My gut feeling: Secondary seems to have speed. That will likely be our defensive strength. Linebackers: Rohr is the best one. The others may be fast, but they are not as fundamentally sound as him. I saw quite a few of the LB drills. The young guys have decent size and speed, but that only goes so far. They will need to be in the right set at the right time, make sure tackles, "read" the offense...all that stuff only comes with experience. My guess is they'll struggle in the early half of the schedule and improve as the year goes on. It looks like Showers and Groza will struggle to break the 2-deep. DL: Still seems small to me. Although it is a longshot, there's still some hope that Hight could make grades and be eligible in the fall. Tim Wilkes made a couple nice plays, pushing bigger OL's around. OL: Really depleted. Spaulding (222 lb) was playing a bit of OL just to fill the slot. A couple of the true Fr.'s are going to see heavy PT this season. That will be a position to watch in the summer. Right now, you have to wonder where Biggs' holes are going to come from? Even with 4 senior OL's last year, the "better" teams contained Biggs pretty well. He got the bulk of his yardage vs. the bottom feeders. RB: Ringer looked ok...made a couple nice moves here and there. Kennedy...McDaniel...couldn't get a read on either. Rumor has it the kid from Youngstown could be the steal of the 2005 class. Swiger was booming 47 yarders pretty consistently. I don't see the Wisconsin transfer supplanting him. I've passed by practice a couple of times but have never had time to really stop, watch, and take in what was going on. I've only been told from primary sources that were there at the practices themselves (I know some equipment guys, a trainer, and go to church with an assistant coach). I'm looking forward to the spring game to get a first hand look at what I've been hearing about. A few questions for you Cap'n, I know you couldn't possibly have taken notice of all of these but if you did.... At QB....did you notice who was taking more reps with the ones, Arthur or Getsy?? I had heard Getsy was getting more reps and had the position pretty well under wraps. Also, was John Ferguson getting any reps?? Who's our second string RB, Ringer or Kennedy? I'd heard Kennedy had come on real strong in the spring. I've heard the OL is terrible and can't run block to save their life. Any truth to that?? Any recievers look good in drills or impress you at all?? How did Fuqua look at reciever?? Any of the young guys like Long or Williams look good? I've heard Kasparek's gonna have a big year, and your comments above seem to attest to that. What's the rotation look like on the D-line with Reid out for the spring (according to the only depth chart released). Is Butler really the #2 DT or is he back at linebacker? How about Esau Hooks, he's a guy I'd never heard of before that depth chart. Is he taking any reps?? Brian White look alright?? How are some of those freshman from last year looking at LB?? I'd heard Grant and Benjamin were animals on the scout team last season. You see them making any plays?? Is Devanso Tate starting yet?? Is he everything that I've heard he is??

First of all with JD, it's the job of the head coach to remain positive and encouraging. What was he supposed to say last spring, "yeah, well, we really suck right now and we're going to go into Penn State and get our asses handed to us". What kind of message would that have sent to the team?? As for the QB's, from everything I've heard, Getsy has pretty well solidified his starting QB role and is taking a majority of the reps with the first string. I don't know what the plans for Arthur are in terms of a switch to WR.

They finally put up the Spring Outlook for 2005 on the sidebar. It's interesting reading.

I'm not as optimistic. I look for a rebuilding year with a much heavier reliance on the run than in the past. The defense is young, and will probably give up some big plays early on, but they also have the talent now to make big plays which will be interesting to watch. I'd say a 6-5 record would be something to shoot for this coming season with our eyes on the MAC Championship in 2006. Regardless, it's still going to be an exciting year of Zips football with a televised opening against CANT STATE!!

I saw something interesting today when I was stopping by the bookstore in the Student Union after work to buy my dad some Zips apparel for his birthday. The Zips were over on the outdoor field practicing so I went over for a quick peak and low and behold, there stood Romeo Travis going through some drills in shorts and t-shirt for the coaches. I'm not quite sure what this means, but it got me excited!!