Captain Kangaroo

Since the topic of recruit retainment is so hot, I figured I would research the status of the recruits announced on February 2006's National Letter of Intent Day. Here is the status as of Nov. 2006:QB Sean Hakes: On campus since the spring. Will definitely be in the mix for the starting QB position for the fall of 2007RB Andre Boone: Family problems caused him to drop out of high school at the beginning of his final semester. He apparently will not complete his HS diploma work any time soon and is not ever expected to be a Zip.RB Sheldon Dennis: Decided to attend a JUCO in Kansas. Still in contact with the U of A and could still be a Zip in the future.RB Aris Reed: Was expected to contribute in 2006 after the knee injury to Alex Allen. However, he sustained a concussion during practice the week following his Zips debut and is now execting to get a medical redshirt.WR DJ Henderson: Will never be a Zip. Did not qualify academically.WR Curtis Brown: Seriously injured in a late summer automobile accident. Has told the staff he will enroll in January. No one really will know his physical condition until he gets on campus. WR David Harvey: Slated to break every receiving record in school history.OL Mark Jackson: Elected to attend a prep school. Still a shot at being a Zip...but certainly not probable.OL Mike Ward: Redshirting. He is looking very good in scout team workouts.OL Jason Sekinger: RedshirtingOL Corey Woods: RedshirtingDL Dantley Cline: Redshirting. It was a tough decision whether or not to play him this year. He's good to go for the fall.DL Tevlin Petit-Frer: Redshirting. Looking great in scout team workouts...scout team POTW virtually every week. Comfortable at 210lbs, and looks to be an impact player at LB (not DL) next season.DL Jerrel Stoudemire: No-qualifier, but enrolled and doing fine. Fingers are crossed that he continues to hit the books. He will be an immediate contributor if eligible next fall.DL Blake Smith: Non-qualifier who is on-campus and enrolled.LB Mitchell Magloire: Redshirting.LB Mickey Baker: RedshirtingLB Derron Smith: Non-qualifier, and not enrolled. He is expected to be in classes this January. Incredible talent, and worth taking a flier on him. Fingers are crossed.LB Jacquon Williams: Decided to go the JUCO route. Still hoping to be a Zip in the future.DB Wayne Cobham: Playing in 2006.DB Delvin Davis: RedshirtingDB Amin Kabir: Playing in 2006. Big, strong, fast and physical. He'll make an impact in 2007.DB Anthony Barnes: Got caught up in an NCAA clause where he improved his ACT score by 4 points on a re-take, so it got flagged. Like The Bill in School House Rock, he's stuck in committee. It will take a few more months to sort out whether he will get 3 or 4 years eligibility. He's on campus taking classes this fall.K Igor Iveljic: Contrary to recent reports, he is not suspended from the University. He is taking classes, and if he does what's expected of him, the Zips won't need to recruit a kicker for the 2007 class. DB Andre Jones: I love this guy. Great special teamer. Great DB. And he'll only get better.DL Sean Lemon: A grey shirt. I believe he goes on scholarship this spring.P John Stec: Starting Punter. Has had his ups and downs this year.Ryan Brinson (Canton McKinley) is enrolled. And, as stated in a different thread, Antwon Hight is giving school a shot after a stint in factory work.Summary:Of the 27 publically associated with the Zips signing class of 2006, I count 21 that are enrolled at UA. I count 4 that still have the Zips on their radar. I count two that definitely are out.Mr, Sky is Falling will likely say: "Hey, look at all the partial qualifiers. They'll never make the field." In response to that, I say: These kids are all top-level athletes. If only half of the ones presently listed as a non/partial qualifier make it, we are WAY better off than if we recruited some D1-AA-level athletes who get 4 years of eligibility. If you want an Andre Jones and a David Harvey on your team, you're going to need to accept that there's also going to be a DJ Henderson and an Andre Boone that comes along with the package. To me, that's a great trade off.JD & staff are recruiting a caliber of athlete to UA that hasn't been seen in the school's history. But remember, he's in his 3rd season. Season #1 was a mad scramble to assemble a recruiting class and a staff in all of 2 months. It is a miracle we got any contributing players under such circumstances. Season #2: Most players redshirted. They're freshman now. Freshman, by and large, don't make an impact their first year.Season #3: Many of the guys are redshirting or gaining eligibility. The few that are playing are doing great.Yes, we had a bad spell with DL's not making grades. Some people think is requires MENSA membership to realize that...but it doesn't. Other than that, we're fine.Check back in the fall to see who's on the two-deep before knocking JD's recruiting. Based upon what I've seen...not the hyperbole that is so easy to buy into...we are in good shape.

It would hearten me for us to play 4 solid quarters of football. No epic scoring droughts...no killer red zone turnovers...keep our penalty yardage below 60 yds...stop Buffalo on their first offensive series, since you KNOW they're coming out in the no-huddle. That would give us the decisive win vs. Buffalo that we should see. And, it would give me hope for OU.

Toledo beat Northern Illinois @ DeKalb last night. An interesting stat they brought up after Toledo got an early TD:Toledo was 12-12 in their last twelve trips to the red zone. All 12 scores were TD's. That's pretty impressive. Hell, for a Zips fan that's downright unfathomable.Yes, Toledo is in a "down" year. But they're still a decent team and well coached. They're improving as the season goes on.I think this game also hurt our 3-way tie breaker possibilities, since K.e.n.t. beat Toledo and we didn't.

Done. I have no problems putting it back, should it be shrunk to a size smaller than King Kong.

Oral Roberts looks to be a heck of a test for the Zippers come early December?Click to View Oral Stuff

Look for Jeremiah Martin of Maryland and Tyler Holmes of Canada to be at the Rubber Bowl for official visits this week. Holmes is 6' 5", 280 lbs and would be a huge boost to a 2007 Zips DL that loses both Kiki Gonzales and Jermaine Reid. He would enroll this spring. His selection is down to Houston, Akron and Tulsa.Martin's info is below:Klick me

Excellent! So Stoudemire is enrolled, eh? He looked awfully impressive on film.But what happened with DJ Henderson? Academics? Henderson was indeed a grades casualty. He didn't qualify. Never enrolled.

Off the top of my head, I can say:Derron Smith is not out of the picture. He's hoped to enroll in January.Stoudemire is taking classes, as is Lemon. DJ Henderson won't be a Zip.

Having seen all 8 minutes of Mike Bardo's career, I feel uniquely qualified to offer a money-in-the-bank prognostication of his next 3.99865 years at UA:Mike had a nice block in the paint vs. Hillsdale. The next time down the court, he got stuffed by a pretty short guy. Mike was positioned way too far under the hoop on that one. That's it for 8 minutes.This year, if Mike can give us 5 decent minutes per game, he's doing well. There will be several DNP's this season, and also some 10-minute efforts..typical of a freshman big man. Mike has skills. He needs to get used to the speed of the game, develop some moves and get some strength. If you want to come up to a game to see Mike, come up to see Tiffin. Any other game will be a crap-shoot as to whether he gets in or not. That's not a commentary on Mike...its a reflection of this team's depth. If you want to come up for a great game, where Mike may/may not play...come up to see OU or Can't. Those games will be absolute WARS.

I hope Andy is finds a kick-ass knee brace for the OU game. We will need him. Holley blew his MCL in practice last week and is apparently done for the season. Despite radio reports, Shepp (not Holley) finished the game vs. BG. Shepp did so on one leg, since he's still on the mend from the Cinci game.We've had some severe lapses on the OL this year that have really overshadowed some solid performances. OL is a tough position...if someone gives up a sack, everyone thinks the entire OL sucks. Conversely, if a WR drops a pass, that WR is the only one singled out. Wills has been solid for a couple years.I hope someone can fill in for Wills this week. Despite what many think, the Buffalo game could be crucial to any bowl hopes. To-date, we have not played like a bowl team. But we have the talent to do so. I hope the seniors get a sense of desperation and kick some ass in practice this week. This is their last chance to make an impression on the youngsters. I hope that, if that happens, the youngsters learn what it takes to win. Just showing up ain't enough. In the MAC, if you let down, you'll lose. I want Luke's legacy...and Andy Alleman's legacy...and Reggie Corner's legacy...and Kiki Gonzales's legacy and Jermaine Reid's legacy to be how they finished 2006. They can't do it alone. The TEAM needs to get their act together and win-out. If they care, they can do it. Look at Jabari's last several games. Brandon Anderson. Andre Jones. Kennedy last week. Individually, the fight is there. But we can't let up. If one guy out of 11 falters on either side of the ball, we're done. Finish tough, guys. For the program, for yourselves, for your legacy, for a bowl.

Antwon Hight apparently became tired of his factory job and is enrolled at UA this fall. That would be a HUGE lift to our 2007 DL...should he stick with it.

Anybody have a guess to why CJ got no action?I talked to Luke after the game and asked, he said he had no idea about CJ playing. Our defense never gave JD a chance to mess with any CJ experiments. In a close game, the staff isn't going to place a kid in who tripped and fumbled on his only play from scrimmage at the helm. The staff needs to win. Luke, despite his red zone INT's, is still our best chance to win.

BG got robbed. That's what happened.We've been screwed enough in the past that I'll take it and not feel bad. But that call was BS.

We could form a "super football program." Play our home games at Browns Stadium. Join the Big 10...ahhhh...I can see it now....

For kicks, I Googled "Corn Hole." Hoo boy, does that yield some quality stuff. Did you know there's a "Corn Hole Patrol" Magazine? :blink: Thankfully, I've saved everyone from the images.

There were plenty of crappy NFL organizations (like the Browns) in need of a QB during Mike's playing days. He never sniffed an NFL field.

What exactly is your point? You're so results oriented. These are their respective stats at the qb position. Your statements are absurd. Mike was a good qb, Charlie has been our best qb to date by a country mile. Faust ran the ball continually as it was a different time in college football and he had a offense that was running back centered. Frye had QB centered offense, especially his junior year so he could more easily run up the statistics (with the exception of wins of course). Frye had way better players around him than Johnson did. In the end, neither won anything. I appreciate your statistics, but I'll stick with MJ as they don't tell the whole story.I just like to break up the party when everyone starts dancing arond the calf. Charlie is a starting QB in the NFL. Mike Johnson's skills never got him anywhere but the CFL and NFL Europe. 'nuff said.

He did that already, leaving Pitt for Akron.Why do you see JD as such a quitter? What...three years into his rebuilding @ Akron...with a new stadium on the way...great facilities...two top recruiting classes...and he's off to be offensive coordinator at Colorado or Missuri? No chance.What makes him such a hot offensive coordinator commodity? His one bowl loss in a 7-6 season? The fact that his teams score in one or two quarters each game and disappear for the other two or three? Maybe it is his mastery of the red zone? Come on.He needs to prove himself at Akron and that will take a couple more years. .500 coaches at Akron who can't score points aren't on any "big time" school's hot list - be it a head coch position or as a coordinator. If Akron ultimately turns into a "coaches graveyard" for JD, he only has himself to blame. He'll have done no better than a Lee Owens, but with better facilities and recruiting tools. That's not so hot.I like JD. He's in year 3 of his program. The vast majority of the players he has recruited are Freshmen - either redshirt or 1st year. Thus he's still playing with a lot of the cards Lee Owens left him (And, Owens final few recruiting classes weren't all that stellar). Thus he should be judged accordingly. I want to, and likely will see what JD can do once the players are fully "his." I'm guessing Mack Rhodes does/will too.

I was told there is no Z-Fund donation necessary for the upper reserved. I tried to donate to the Z-Fund via the ticket office anyhow, but for whatever reason they couldn't handle it. This, even though you can donate to the Z-Fund via the mail-in ticket form. But of course the mail-in form was screwed up, so...oh, forget it.

I really like that. Great job Dr. Z At your advanced age, I thought this was the only one you knew? Click for Me & Mrs Jones

I just don't get it. As a fan, there's noting more frustrating than seeing the opponent punch the ball in to the endzone...except, when see that several guys on your own team could care less. It wasn't like it was one or two minutes after the score that they were getting their big belly laugh. In fact, the Toledo ballcarrier hadn't even given the football back to the ref yet. That it is a quarterback doing so is, to me, boarderline unforgivable. Put a ball cap on...put a head set on..chart some plays...fire up some of the starters...that's the leadership a QB requires. Conversely, I see a guy like Evan Laube (#40) on the sidelines. That kid never has a chance in hell to get in the game, yet he's always up on the sidelines paying attention.I remember at the Wisconsin game a few years back Jabari was a reserve, redshirting QB who made the road trip. He was so fired up on the sidelines it was unreal. All game long. You can see that in Jabari now too...vs. Toledo, after the catch he was ripping, tearing, doing whatever he could to get into the endzone. You'd think such effort would rub off on the younger guys, but some apparently don't want to listen.Maybe some of JD's substitution patterns are to blame. A token carry for a reserve RB, a series for a reserve OL or a series for a reserve QB would likely make the guys on the sidelines more attentive. Regardless, if my backup QB is laughing as we go down 21-0, it's on him. That guy can't lead a team.

OK, I'll give you that the major sports (Browns, Indians and Cavs) haven't, but the Cleveland Force won a MISL title a few years back, the Akron Racers won the title a year ago, and the Akron Aeros also won their title a year or so ago. Refering to those championships is the biggest stretch since

I agree... 1 series isn't going to do that much, but it's better than nothing. Me too...because it would mean we're killing BG. If the game is close, I doubt CJ sees more than 2 series. Unless:1.) Luke implodes. I don't see this happening against a team that just lost to Temple by 2 TDs2.) Carlton tears up the Falcons on his first possessionI like Luke. But I'm also interested in getting a preview of our #1 QB going into next season.

During the summer I attended a Zips practice. When all was said and done, everyone was gone...the practice field was empty...except for Andre Jones, who was still there running drills. It was all of 95 degrees. He's turned into one of the hardest workers on the team:Click for Mr. Jones (& Mrs. Jones)

Look at the pricing for the upper reserved section.On the left...$150.00 per seat and no Z-Fund donation required.On the right...$125.00 per seat and $150.00 per seat Z-Fund donation required.Yet another predictable, major ticket-related blunder. I had to call in my ticket order (rather than mail it in the envelope attached) due to the mistake. If past history holds to form, my seat re-order will be lost...they'll give my seats to someone else...and I'll finally give up. I'm a beaten man.Why the hell is it so f-ing difficult to print a simple, accurate ticket order form? Doesn't ANYONE proofread ANYTHING that comes out of the ticket office? After 1000 consecutive screw ups, does ANYONE get a clue?The chimp and 8year old remain gainfully employed.Gheez...