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Captain Kangaroo

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  2. The World of College Football

    in Akron Zips Football

    Posted

    2 hours ago, GP1 said:

    Did anyone else see the OSU Athletic Director on CNBC this morning talking about the business of college athletics? The sleaze dripping off the guy was noticable to the point I think the interviewers picked up on it. 

     

    He did some bragging about the TV ratings for the Texas game. 16.6 million people watched the game. I wonder if the NFL owners noticed and are licking their chops for those viewers. NFL games draw between 17 and roughly 30 million per game. If I was the NFL, I would start with driving college football out of the Saturday prime time games and then work my way earlier into the day. I'd bankrupt college football with a better product that people have more of an appetite for. 

    Why would you do that to your free minor league?

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1

  3. 2024-25 Post Mortem and Looking Ahead to 2025-26

    in Akron Zips Basketball

    Posted

    In any country outside North America they don’t have college-associated sports. Talented kids play in professional leagues. Yeah, some would come here for a free education, but it made more financial sense to stay in Germany, Israel, Serbia, etc.

     

    Now that there’s serious money being doled out by colleges you will see an onslaught of foreign kids crossing the pond to play basketball. 

    • Like 4
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  5. Preseason 2025 Projected Depth Chart and Thoughts

    in Akron Zips Football

    Posted

    Asking around, here is the general consensus of the Zips status as we roll into Game #1 -

     

    • The Zips will be "alright" this year. The offense should be in the top 1/3 of the MAC.
    • This should be the best Zips OL in Joe's tenure. There are 7 or 8 guys playing really well right now. Last season there might have been 3 or 4.
    • Finley is a top 3 MAC QB. His accuracy has improved. He's bulked up a bit. He's a team captain.
    • Gant and Gee are dinged up. Redshirt Freshman Sean Patrick is a quick kid with good running instincts and will see a lot of PT on Thursday.
    • The WR group is thought to be better and deeper than last year, even with the loss of Norton. Mason may turn out to be the best of the bunch. Marcel Williams (Marshall) has fit in very well. Alex Adams, Polk, Walker, Monteiro (Pitt) and Grear (Fresno State) will all see appreciable PT. If fully healthy, Grear could be a big addition.
    • Ruggow has also been dinged up. He'll be the 2nd or 3rd QB depending upon the situation. Johnson has good legs and size, and a little better arm than the now-departed Bullock. He'll probably be slotted for a similar role as Tahj this season. Cibastion Broughton could show up anywhere, at any time.
    • Ronald Hull stands out as the most capable DL. There are a slew of other big bodies that really haven't distinguished themselves. They'll rotate until there's some separation.
    • LB is a similar situation. We have a lot of bodies, but no one is really standing out. PT is there for the taking to whomever shows well. Markus Boswell could turn out to be a surprise impact player as the season progresses.
    • The secondary is the strength of the defense. White, Reed (Kentucky), Anderson (Washington State), Branch (Sr. and former Kent team captain) all had excellent camps.
    • Not sure who will be the kicker on Thursday. It's a positional battle that remains up for grabs.
    • The Zips were able to get their training table returned, but at the expense of some recruiting tools. Our budget is what it is...

    Wyoming has won 5 of their last 6 games against MAC opponents for a reason. They've played in a slightly better conference and had slightly better players. Deeper budgets, bigger staff, etc. On paper they should beat the Zips.

     

    Are they a little jet lagged from the long trip from Laramie? Are they overconfident in facing a Zips team that's been a regular in the Bottom 10 for seemingly forever? Or, can Finley light it up...the Zips secondary generate a few turnovers...and the Zips start the season 1-0?

     

    Gimme a 41-40 Zips victory. Finley gets the Gatorade bath.

     

    Can we get a Wallenda to tightrope from high above the Infocision faithful at halftime?

     

    • Like 2
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  7. Wyoming alumnus here with questions

    in Akron Zips Football

    Posted

    image.png

     

    Lot 9 along Exchange street is the best tailgate lot. I'd expect you can enter for $20. Lot 10 would be your alternate. Across the street (on Exchange) is Europe Gyro. It's probably the best place to get something to eat/drink immediately around the stadium. 

     

    I'll assume there will be roughly 10k at the game if the weather is ok. You'll have no problems finding a ticket.

  9. The Portal Page

    in Akron Zips Football

    Posted

    New Mexico and the Transfer Portal

     

    On Football: "To fill the losses, New Mexico football has added 129 new players over the past two years after back-to-back coaching changes, including 72 new faces this year. Just 15 players from the 2023 team are still here, according to the school."

     

    On Basketball: "Lovo hired Eric Olen from UC San Diego off an NCAA Tournament appearance, and every single player on the 2025-26 Lobo roster is new to the team. “I joke that Coach Olen walked into his first team meeting and there was nothing but chairs in the room” 

    • Like 1

  12. Saturday August 9th Scrimmage Pics and Notes

    in Akron Zips Football

    Posted

    DSC05520 (Medium).JPG

     

    Cibastian Broughton wore #11. He played a bit early-on, but the bulk of the QB time was allotted to Johnson and Finley. Expect to see Broughton on the field somewhere in 2025. If not QB, then WR...returns...he's too athletic to redshirt.

     

    DSC05543 (Medium).JPG

     

    Mike Johnson Jr. had a nondescript day. He played a lot. But didn't show much. He's a big kid. But looked either rusty, or unpolished. We'll see how he improves, and how Joe decides to utilize him, as the weeks progress. 

     

    DSC05546 (Medium).JPG

     

    As Ben Finley goes in 2025, so do the Zips. He exhibited his typical deft touch on deep balls over the middle, hitting Alex Adams and Myles Walker for long TD's. He also tossed a couple of picks. 

     

    DSC05557 (Medium).JPG

     

    Based on what I saw yesterday, Owen Wiley seems to have a leg up on the competition with Matt Schramm for the kicker position. Wiley was perfect on the day. Schramm would have been too, but missed from 43 yards out.

     

    DSC05578 (Medium).JPG

     

    Matt Schramm hits a 32 yarder.

     

    DSC05564 (Medium).JPG

     

    Justin Anderson, a Washington State transfer, pulled in an INT on an overthrown ball by Mike Johnson. Too bad it happened a stride or two out of by camera's view. 🤬

     

    DSC05585 (Medium).JPG

     

    Isreal Polk has a quiet day. Here, he pulled one in from Mike Johnson.

     

    DSC05588 (Medium).JPG

     

    Marcel Williams, a Marshall transfer, couldn't get credit for this nice catch, as his foot landed on the sideline. Williams did have a legit 30 yard TD catch from Finley earlier in the day.

     

    DSC05592 (Medium).JPG

     

    First time I'd ever seen Johnny Brookhart on the playing field? No sign of Brayden Ruggow today. Not sure if he was injured? Cam Macon (Walsh transfer) took the next handoff into the endzone. It was his only carry of the game.

     

    The bulk of today's running game was handled by Jordan Gant, the Tennessee State transfer. Gant looks like a strong, serviceable back. #13 Sean Patrick also saw a fair amount of action. 

     

    DSC05605 (Medium).JPG

     

    The scrimmage ended with Myles Walker snaring a 15 yard TD courtesy of a Ben Finley toss. 

     

    DSC05526 (Medium).JPG

     

    #99 Owen Wiley puts pressure on Cibastian Broughton. 

     

    Just kidding...that's something the Beacon Journal would do. 😁

     

    THIS #99 is Jaiden Brown-Demery, a 6' 4", 310 pound true freshman from West Mifflin Pa. Big kid. Played with the 2nd unit.

     

    DSC05540 (Medium).JPG

     

    #4 Justin Anderson snagged an errant Finley pass and made a nifty return. A few photos above, he also picked Johnson. 

     

    #21 Catrell White (DB) also had a nice day in the secondary. He had a couple break ups in addition to a Finley pick. 

     

    General observations -

     

    Good energy today. For an 8 am start, all the guys were whooping it up and having a good time. After the scrimmage Joe gathered the team as midfield, and immediately stressed the importance of the guys getting their schoolwork done. 

     

    One odd occurrence - #34 Braydon Johnson is a Grad transfer punter from Indiana State. He absolutely skyed a 42-ish yard punt, which hit the turf and jumped another 20 yards down field. I have to assume the 2025 punter job is Castle's, but he does appear to have some strong-legged competition.

     

    Wyoming is 2 1/2 weeks away!

    • Like 5
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  16. Akron Zips Football Boosters Meet the Coach & AD July 21st

    in Akron Zips Football

    Posted

    On 7/24/2025 at 1:07 PM, 72 Roo said:

    I agree. There are still a significant groups of football supporters who are thirsting for any news on the program and the upcoming season. Too bad we can't get any information. 

    I was busy Tuesday and Wednesday, and we had technical issues with the board through this morning. 

     

    Here is my overview of Monday’s event –

     

    Like in all sports, the fun associated with college football is being sucked out the game. No longer are we talking about incoming freshman, and who might see playing time. We’re not talking about the team’s growth from 2024 to 2025. We’re talking Transfer Portal, and NIL. The fun and interesting stuff is now parsley on the plate.

     

    One thing is abundantly clear – the Zips ain’t got no money. We have the smallest staff in D1. We have the smallest budget in D1…by a longshot. Our coaches weren’t even permitted to travel and recruit in the spring. I don’t think any Division 2 schools prevented their coaches from travel-recruiting in the spring, let alone D1. Said Joe Moorhead – “If you wonder why some schools have 15 or 20 kids committed, and we have 3, there you go.”

     

    Our players once again have no training table. In 2024 a booster was able to generate $18,000 to get a training table returned. But this summer, and looking into the fall, our guys get a flat $91 per month, and 5 meals per week in Robs (Robertson to the old guys). We’re basically banking on parent care packages to feed the team.

     

    At some point soon UA is going to need to decide if it wants football, or not. The situation as it stands right now is not sustainable.

     

    Regarding the academics – Joe said when a player hooks up with another program, you get your “point” back. But if they drop out completely, you don’t. We had a lot of terrible football players who hit the portal over Joe’s first 3 seasons, and too many of them dropped our completely. So here we are.

     

    The new AD spoke for about 10 minutes. He seems like a nice guy. He has a good rapport with Joe and is a strong supporter of football. He wants to get the community re-engaged with the Zips. He has a lot of work to do. If were him I’d focus on branding. That seems like what any great AD would do in this situation.

     

    Matt Kaulig was there. He didn’t speak, but it was nice of him to make a showing (there were maybe 40 total people in attendance).

     

    Someone asked if the Zips would take back a player who’d overestimated their worth in the portal. Joe said “Yes, if they want to be a walk-on.” I’ll guess the reference was to Jordon Simmons who would have been Akron’s starting RB this season, but instead flamed-out at Ole Miss, and is now at Georgia State. The same Georgia State that just signed a 4-star transfer RB from Georgia. I'll guess Jordon doesn't see much PT this year.

     

    A coach was overheard saying – “Don’t ask me about any players until about week 2 of camp. There are probably at least 15 kids who will receive appreciable playing time…and who I’ve never seen on an actual field.”

     

    Coach Tibesar told a story of a phone call he received from Louisville regarding a Zip that was in the portal. Now that you can provide money to walk-ons, Louisville is trying to build the strongest scout team possible and was asking if the kid was any good. So on the surface it might look like the Zips lost a player to a bigger school like Louisville or Tennessee, but they may just be there for the cash, prestige, and to make scholarship guys work a little. Crazy times we live in.

     

    Colin Lyons and AJ George spoke for a bit and answered some questions. Both outstanding young men. Both will become teachers when all is said and done. They’ve been leading the unsupervised workouts this summer. They said all players are participating.

     

    Joe was bullish on his team’s attitude and effort. There should be no culture issues this season…even with the influx of new guys. Culture-fit within the program was stated as a high priority in the recruiting process.

     

    We’ll see how 2025 plays out. I know the Nebraska kids aren’t eating ramen noodles and Food Club Mac-n-Cheese though…

    • Like 5
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  18. 2024-25 Post Mortem and Looking Ahead to 2025-26

    in Akron Zips Basketball

    Posted

    6 hours ago, Hilltopper said:

    They have been close friends for years.

    Celtics had the 54th pick...4 after the Pacers in last year's second round. I have to believe they'd have taken Enrique with that pick had he been available. 

     

    Instead they picked Antwon Watson from Gonzaga...a slightly thicker, slower version of Enrique. They cut Watson half way through last season.

    • Like 2

  21. 2025 Football Season

    in Akron Zips Football

    Posted

    9 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

    Also, it seems former UNC LB CJ Murphy has filled the open LB spot.

    Looks like he was at unc for three seasons and never saw the field? Should have 2 years of eligibility remaining. 6’3” 235 lbs. Can’t complain about that.

    • Like 2

  22. 2024-25 Post Mortem and Looking Ahead to 2025-26

    in Akron Zips Basketball

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

    ...or feeling rejected in the hiring process of the new AD.

    I agree with you. New AD’s always bring in “their guys.” If you are a Guthrie underling your resume and profile was updated the day he bolted for Fordham.

     

    i thought the guy had potential. It’ll be interesting to follow his career over the next several years.

    • Like 3
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