Captain Kangaroo

Surprised no one has mentioned this? If was a popular topic at the spring game tailgate.

A few quick-hitters from Saturday's game - Awesome day for spring football. And the community seemed to take advantage of it. I've definitely seen smaller crowds at actual Zips games. Tailgating was great. Wish I had arrived earlier. Lot 9 was near capacity and rocking?! Very nice job by UA Marketing. Autograph line was well organized, BEER sales!? And full-blown concessions?! My biggest 2014 football concern was the potential drop off in the secondary. I thought the DB's played great. I foresee no drop off. They might even be better? Hirschman looks ok, and will be a solid #2 option. Threw a nice 55yd completion, and didn't hop around the field to celebrate afterwards. Good step forward for him. I think the OL will be fine once they aren't a split squad. Poor Rodney Carrol got the short straw being lined up against Okafor. The redshirt Fr. was beaten left, right and straight ahead by the heretofore unknown Senior DL. Can Okafor repeat that performance in the Fall? Wow...what a gift if he can play like he did on Saturday. More than one person commented that #99's performance reminded them of another famous 6; 6", 230 lb #99 who played for the Zips a couple decades ago (#33 at that time). Pohl is the man. No use wasting a scholarship on a 5th year transfer at QB. I can't wait to see what he can do with a two good wheels and last year's experience under his belt! Woodson isn't ready to challenge for a starting QB job. But I like how he looks. Thick, strong kid. It will be fun to watch him and Kincade battle for the #2 spot next season, unless Woodson would want to get on the field faster than 2016 and convert to WR or defense (LB or S). MTB continues to be an enigma. I don't know that he's one of our top 3-4 WR's at this time. Pratt looks very good. A breakout season looms. Chisolm still appears to have no competition for the #1 RB slot. Neither Morgan, Lawrence or Jones showed much. But with a split OL, maybe they didn't get a fair opportunity. We'll see how it goes in the summer. Our DL is pretty strong. Walking through the autograph line it was apparent that this will be the physically largest, strongest Zips team we've ever fielded. Keonte Hollis is a beast. Yet another player who can really dominate in the fall. I agree that this Zips team should be bowl eligible in 2014. And anything less than 7 wins will be considered "underachieving." Go Zips!

While that game could be described as comical...historical...memorable...and a lot of other things (depending upon your point of view), in 2014 I am ecstatic to have Chuck Amato directing the Zips defense. Under unbelievable circumstances the guy has out-worked, out-recruited, out-motivated and out-strategized pretty much every offense he's faced. The 2013 Zips D was as good as I've ever seen it. He meshed a bunch of transfer mercenaries and Ianello leftovers into one of the top defenses in the MAC. Amato was a goofball in 2006. He's indispensable to the Zips in 2014. I hope he's on our sideline for the next 10 years.

Glad we are still in the running. We need him. There's no other true mid-major school where you can essentially guarantee you'll be playing in multiple conference championship games and experience multiple NCAA appearances during your career. And be guaranteed to have the same coach all 4 years. Good fit for both Noah and the Zips. Hope to see the signing today.

Only in Youngstown can someone with a wandering eye get a TV news job.

Panera charges extra for cream cheese, but not for butter. Gotta draw the line somewhere, I guess.

More Spring Football Updates

Building a 65 million dollar football stadium instantly made the Zips relevant in football, right? Right? Every MAC institution has "the tools necessary to become a perennial contender for MAC championships." Unless they have a "tool" for an AD. Building a crappy arena, and sticking with a loser like Louis Orr as long as they did makes me believe BG does NOT have the tools necessary to be relevant in basketball. And that they may indeed have a tool as an AD.

Congrats, Hilltopper. I am sure it is a very meaningful award for you! I wonder how many other D1 basketball programs recognize and honor "Joe Fan"? Big boo$ters get that stuff all the time. Nice to see a dedicated ordinary guy is appreciated.

Congrats to Zeke! It will be interesting to see of the Celtics give him a look next fall. They have absolutely zero defensive presence in the low post.

Look at Hilltopper...gunning for the elusive FOTY award in two sports.

The BC AD sucks?

Nothing is guaranteed. But good/great AD's always seem to locate a quality candidate. They can identify a young up-and-comer that has what it takes to win at a high level regardless of his assistant or HC history. Guys like Mack Rhodes and Mike Thomas didn't bat 1.000, but they were a lot better than average...and hence they are now running bigger programs. Successfully. Some AD's suck, and have no knack for coaching hires. Some AD's suck, and have deep pockets so they can bail themselves out of mistakes.

It seems like there are two routes to having a successful head coaching situation in the mAC. 1.) Hire a good coach and keep him for a couple decades. 2.) Become a stepping stone to a BCS-level job and hire up-and-coming young guys, ride their wave, and when they ultimately get their BCS gig, go find another one. You do that a couple times, and it gets easier and easier to find that quality replacement coach.

I see in a Beacon photo that DJ Jones is getting a look at CB? Wonder if that move is etched in stone?

GP1 gets CK's first-ever "Like" button click.

Cash Conder - WR Could he be our first Texas recruit since that crappy lefty QB several years ago?

I predict he gets fired in 3 years, and K.e.n.t. hires him after Senderoff is fired.

Time for Jeff Boals to get his first HC job.

A poor man's "Stan Heath."

In Zips football, you should be afraid of improper uniform fonts. This is a major, major concern. In Zips basketball, you should be afraid of playing high mid-major, or above-level programs. In Zips soccer, you should be afraid of the post-Caleb apocalypse. In Zips women's basketball, you should be afraid of losing your coach. In Zips baseball, should should be afraid that Rembilak has anything left in the tank. Enjoy Zips' Track and Field, and Swimming. Nothing to fear there.

Looks to be a scholarship already? Highlight video here

I love the "Z." I hope it is our primary logo for the next 10 years.

Good catch. I missed it. I fixed the headline.

Pittman and Grice scuffle. Two defensive guys scuffling? Odd.