Captain Kangaroo

Last year Rivals.com allowed free access for one week (June, I believe?). They listed 21 Zips recruits. I stashed the list away...forgot about it...and recently stumbled across it again. Of the 21 Zips recruits listed, 4 actually signed with the Zips (Jose Cruz, Scott Uziel, Elliot Bates and Zach Anderson). 4 out of 21 = 19%. Just a statistic for all you recruiting junkies out there who follow the Rivals' site.

Holt to Akron Woodbridge RB to be a Zip CHRIS ERRINGTON cerrington@potomacnews.com Tuesday, March 29, 2005 A season ago, Derrick Holt helped Woodbridge win seven games and earn a spot in the state playoffs by being a load at full back and making life miserable for area defenses. Now he plans to do the same to the Mid American Conference. Holt announced Monday that he will attend Akron University in the fall as a preferred walk-on and that he could earn a starting spot in the Zips backfield as a freshman. "At 6-foot, 238-pounds, Derrick is a good-size fullback at any level, including D-I," Woodbridge coach Keith King said. "He's a great kid with a great personality and I definitely think he can fit in right away at Akron. They want a big back that can run the ball for them and get those tough yards. "That's just the type of back he is." Akron finished 6-5 overall last season, a game behind Miami, Ohio in the MAC's Eastern Division. The Zips open the 2005 season on September 10 at Purdue. Because Holt earned his qualifying scores for the ACT and SAT late, Akron had already filled its allotment of scholarships by the time it spoke with him during a recruiting visit last weekend. Still, with a pressing need to fill an opening in the backfield, Akron coaches asked Holt to walk-on with the knowledge that he'd be awarded the next available scholarship. King said that could come as early as April and definitely prior to Holt's sophomore year. At Woodbridge, Holt, a second-team all-Cardinal District running back, rushed for 644 yards and seven touchdowns on 123 carries in the Vikings' run-heavy I-formation offense. He could be used more in a one-back set at Akron and can expect to see a lot more passes thrown his way out of the backfield. "Derrick's going to run well between the tackles and do well on trap plays, but he's not nearly the elusive type," King said. "You just don't get that very often with a kid of his size." Holt said he felt comfortable immediately after spending time with Akron's players and coaching staff, making the decision to move away from friends and family much easier. "I'd originally wanted to stay close to home, but I've got to do what I've got to do," Holt said. "I really liked the coaches and the players when I was out there. I could really relate to them. "I'm a bit nervous now, but I'm more just ready to get started." Holt, who bench presses 365 pounds and squats 500, yet still runs a quick 4.5 40-yard dash, will remain in shape as a member of the Vikings' outdoor track team and continuing to work out in the gym. King said there are still some area's Holt must fine-tune before he makes the move to Akron. "Derrick definitely needs to work on his hands because they're going to expect him to be able to catch the ball more than he's used to," the coach said. "He could be one of the strongest kids coming out of the area in a long time and he has the opportunity to get by on just sheer athletic ability if he has to, but he's going to work to get better now and the (Akron) coaches will work to make him a better football player when he gets there. "I really think he's going to be fine."

Hartung puts promising football career on hold to serve Mormon mission By John Enrietto Eagle Sports Editor This has been a tough week for Nate Hartung - and Wednesday was his toughest day. While Butler football teammates Adam Pritts and Josh Wachter signed national letters of intent to play in college, the 420-pound Hartung watched - and signed nothing. "I'd been dreaming about this day since I was a freshman," Hartung said. "I couldn't wait for it to come. I couldn't wait to figure out where I was going. "Not signing anywhere and not making the basketball playoffs - yeah, I've had better weeks." Hartung played center for Butler and averaged more than 10 pancake blocks per game. And that was with no defensive lineman lining up directly across from him. "I know I've never coached another kid like him," Butler coach Garry Cathell said. "And I know I never will again." Syracuse, Temple, West Virginia, Kansas, Akron and Army all offered Hartung full scholarships. But when word got out that Hartung, born and raised a Mormon, was planning to serve a two-year mission beginning next fall, those schools backed off. "It all started going the other way when a recruiting Web site did a story about Nate's plans to go on his mission," said Dick Hartung, his father. "That story went on the Internet Nov. 10. Right around then, those schools stopped pursuing him. "Army had to withdraw its offer because a service academy isn't allowed to recruit a player over 400 pounds." Hartung weighed as much as 450 pounds this season. He weighs about 420 now. Numerous other major schools - Pitt and Penn State included - backed off because of Hartung's size. "(Former Pitt coach) Walt Harris called me and expressed concern about Nate's heart. He wanted to know if anything was wrong with it," Cathell said. "There's nothing wrong with his heart and there never was. "Every coach at Penn State loved the kid, except for the line coach. He thought he was too big," he added. Hartung said he decided to serve his mission - expected of men ages 19 to 23 and recommended, but not required, by the Mormon church - months ago. "It's a tradition in my family and I want to do it," he said. "I'm all about family. I'm proud of my family." A Mormon mission sends young men away from home for two years, where they spends 60 hours a week doing ecclesiastical work, praying, studying and telling others about the Gospel. Contact with loved ones is limited to letters and two phone calls per year. The missionaries live together frugally in private homes and apartments, rising at 6 a.m. each day to study and to pray for guidance. They pay $400 per month while serving and can be sent anywhere in the world. There are 60,000 Mormon missionaries currently serving in 120 countries. "Nate has five uncles on his mother's side and they all served missions," his father said. "Panama, Korea, Germany, Japan, California, he could go anywhere, but they always send you away from home. "He's not being forced to go. It's a sacrifice he's choosing to make. Nate's the oldest of six brothers. He's setting a good example," he added. Nate Hartung's mother, Linda Siebach Hartung, was born and raised a Mormon. His father converted to the Mormonism Aug. 25, 1982, while playing basketball in Australia. He was 25 at the time - too old to serve a mission. Hartung's not worried about the precedent he might be setting as the big brother. "I don't look it at that way," he said. "I'm doing what I think is right. They'll do what they think is right." Hartung plans to begin his mission in September or October. He'll learn of his destination six weeks beforehand. And his football career isn't over. "It's merely on the back-burner," his father said. Other Mormon athletes have served missions, then resumed careers in their respective sports. That includes Pittsburgh Steelers nose guard Chris Hoke, who got a late start on his pro career after taking off two years at Brigham Young University to serve a mission in Brussels, Belgium. When Hartung visited Notre Dame, then-coach Ty Willingham recommended he serve his mission, then start over in football. "A kid has a five-year clock in terms of college football eligibility once he graduates high school," Dick Hartung said. "Only two things can prevent that clock from starting: church service and war service. "When Nate comes back, he'll be 21 and will still have five years of eligibility." Hartung hopes to be down to 350 pounds when his mission is over. "Rest assured, schools will be keeping him on their radar," Cathell said. "If he's 21, in shape and weighing 350, he'll be playing big-time college football." The only school willing to sign Hartung now and live with the mission was Temple. "They're hurting on the offensive line and wanted me to play next year, then begin my mission," Hartung said. "But what if I had a good freshman year? They may have tried talking me out of leaving. I didn't feel comfortable with it." Utah had interest in Hartung before then-coach Urban Meyer left for the University of Florida and took his staff with him. Brigham Young, also a Mormon school, never stepped forward with an offer. "That was a little disappointing," Dick Hartung admitted. "I mean, those are our people. But life goes on." Nate Hartung received a bid to play in the Big 33 all-star game this summer. After that, life for him will go on without football. For two years. "Oh, I'll be playing in college," he said. "I'm not done. This (mission) just takes priority, that's all."

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New, expanded recreation centers help campuses compete By THOMAS J. SHEERAN AKRON, Ohio (AP) - Dominic Mann was thinking about attending the University of Akron and made up his mind after seeing the school's expansive new recreation center, complete with a rock-climbing wall and lots of glass to watch the workouts. ''It made a difference,'' said the 19-year-old freshman, who began his weekend on a recent Friday evening playing basketball at the rec center as his girlfriend, Ashley Ragland, 18, of Bedford Heights, used weight equipment to tone her leg muscles. Mann, a freshman from Warrensville Heights near Cleveland, played varsity basketball in high school and sees the recreation center as a way to stay in shape for his goal of becoming a non-scholarship walk-on member of the Akron Zips team. ''I like to be active,'' he said. ''I don't like to stay in my room.'' Colleges and universities have recognized the value of recreation centers to attract applicants, make a campus more attractive in keeping students and encouraging non-classroom interaction between students and faculty members. The Corvallis, Ore.-based National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association representing campus recreation directors and administrators surveyed its collegiate members and found 333 of 700 colleges and universities are building or expanding recreation centers or plan to soon. Ohio State University is in the middle of a four-year, $139 million recreation center project and Boston University will open its $90 million recreation center on Friday. In northeast Ohio, two state universities that compete against Akron for applicants in the region have recreation centers under construction. Cleveland State University recently began construction for a $29 million center intended to make the urban campus more student-friendly. Youngstown State University hopes to have its $12.1 million center, billed as the first at a public university in Ohio built entirely with private funds, open by August. The culture change on campus can be dramatic with a new recreation center. At the University of Michigan, which just completed $4 million in upgrades to four recreation centers, the number of visitors rose 66 percent to 45,000 in January over January 2004 at the recreation center that got the most improvements. William Canning, director of recreational sports at Michigan, said he's convinced that the retention rate - how many students re-enroll year to year - will increase in part due to the recreation center scene. ''The students who come to Michigan don't come for recreation facilities,'' he said, but ''they stay and have a better quality of life'' because of the centers. There's plenty of evidence that young people pay attention when a campus builds or upgrades its recreation center, which typically means basketball courts, swimming pools a running track and, in recent years, rock-climbing walls, specialized training, nearly limitless weight equipment, Internet connections and late-night hours. Indiana University said an independent student survey showed 87 percent of its students were involved in some recreational sports activity. Seventy-nine percent said it was important to their campus experience, said Kathy Bayless, director of campus recreational sports. ''That does not mean they are gym rats, but they are doing something in recreational sports,'' Bayless said. Recreation centers can serve as an additional social setting, an important factor on a commuter campus like Akron, where many students head home after class. ''I've definitely met more people,'' said Peter Ipnar, 21, a University of Akron junior sociology student from Smyrna, Del. He has lived off campus and comes back after-hours a lot more since the university opened its $40 million recreation center last August. ''I never lived on campus, so I didn't meet many people,'' said Ipnar, sweaty from a workout on the 53 1/2-foot rock-climbing wall. ''It really builds your upper body and endurance.'' Ragland likes the atmosphere of people hustling to get in shape or stay in shape. ''It's fun. It's kind of intense with workouts and people screaming,'' said Ragland, who uses weights, leg-press equipment and a treadmill in three or four 1 1/2-hour visits weekly. ''It's helped tone my arms, legs and stomach,'' she said. Another plus: faculty members can use the center, leading to more contact between students and professors outside the formal classroom setting.

New, expanded recreation centers help campuses compete By THOMAS J. SHEERAN AKRON, Ohio (AP) - Dominic Mann was thinking about attending the University of Akron and made up his mind after seeing the school's expansive new recreation center, complete with a rock-climbing wall and lots of glass to watch the workouts. ''It made a difference,'' said the 19-year-old freshman, who began his weekend on a recent Friday evening playing basketball at the rec center as his girlfriend, Ashley Ragland, 18, of Bedford Heights, used weight equipment to tone her leg muscles. Mann, a freshman from Warrensville Heights near Cleveland, played varsity basketball in high school and sees the recreation center as a way to stay in shape for his goal of becoming a non-scholarship walk-on member of the Akron Zips team.

First "bandit," now "licker?" JD has some odd lingo. :blink:

Ohio State: Remember, I played hoops: Guess you could say it was a "gamble?" Before I played for the Carolina Panthers (Julius Peppers): I played hoops with North Carolina (see me below, with Ronald Curry): Speaking of Ronald Curry of the Raiders... He played hoops for Carolina too: And don't make me paste that Jason Taylor pic again! Pouch...you've been drinking too much of your wife's Michelob Ultra. Take out the lime and get with the times!

I agree. Romeo owes me nothing. If he can pull it off, good for him. Yeah there's concerns that come March his body would give-out and we'd have an early exit from the MAC tourney...but we've done that for a decade and I've survived. Cole Magner...Javon Harris...it isn't too uncommon to be a dual sport player in the MAC. He's 20 years old. He's a physical freak. He did it when he was 18, so what's the big deal if he wants to do it now? I know Lebron would give his left nut to be playing football...that's why he did it through 11th grade even though he somewhat risked blowing $millions$. Ideas for the 2005 Commemorative Beer are starting to flow...

I played both hoops and football for The U of A. Turned out pretty good for me? Any input from Russell Holmes?

I think this is the first time a poster has actually "quoted" himself? Now that I have a few more minutes: A friend of mine at the University swears up and down that it will be a miracle if the 2005 Zips win more than five games. I just don't believe that...not for a second. Of the 6 games I have penciled-in as Zips' wins, Can't is the only 2005 opponent to win more than TWO games in 2004! Those games should all be "locks," even without Frye and Co. Middle Tennessee is a decent opponent, and the game is on the road. Realistically, that's a 50/50 shot. Purdue? It would be pretty insane to predict our first Big10 win since the 1800's will come this season. I do feel confident that we'll have a better showing than we did vs. Penn State last season. NIU: They are a damn good football team. It will be a tall order to beat them. But...they're at the Rubber Bowl and we're tough at home. BG?: Man, that's a tough road game. Insane to pick the Zips in that one. Miami?: If we couldn't beat them at home, with Frye, it seems pretty safe to say the oddsmakers will have us as heavy underdogs. There you have it. We should be expected to win 6. If we can payback MTSU, that's 7. But that's a beating of six pretty weak teams, and doesn't lend itself to a bowl game. Beat NIU...8 wins and we can start talking bowl possibilities. Remember however, that 10-win MAC squads have been left out in the cold bowl-wise. 8 seems to me to be the maximum possible wins in 2005, if all planets align.

After a quick glance at our 2005 opponents...6-5 is expected. 7-4 is certainly possible. Note - Schedule below isn't in chronological order Home Can't (W) @ Purdue (L) @ Middle Tennessee State (?) Home Army (W) @ BG (L) Home NIU (L) @ Ball State (W) Home OU (W) @ Miami (L) @ Buffalo (W) Home Central Michigan (W)

Dare we to dream?! LeBron played through 11th grade. I think Travis played in HS too, but I could be mistaken. Antonio Gates success probably has a lot of college 'ballers with Travis' build thinking NFL. Did I just hear Dambrot call the suicide help line?

You take it incorrectly. My point is that, even if we are a better team in 2005-6, there are others in the MAC East that are not standing still. 20 wins for a team in the MAC East in 2005-6 may be a tougher task than it was in 2004-5. I also assume our non-conference schedule won't be the Ohio State-esque Nov/Dec cake walk it was this year. I have no doubt that we will be a better team in 2005-6. Will we have a better record in 2005-6? We'll see.

Click 4 Buffalo Paper Overview Take out Marshall and add BG...looks like 20 wins next season is going to be a major accomplishment!

My dealings with the ticket office last year: CK: "I'd like to renew my football season tickets. Can I get a 2004 Media Guide too?" Ticket Person: "No problem." CK: "Are you sure? I've requested this in the past and it never shows up." Ticket Person: "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." CK (three months later, opening the ticket envelope): Gee...this evvelope feels kinda light....must be a small media guide this year? Hmmm here's the tickets, but no media guide. I'm shocked." At least they didn't charge me for it.

You posed 3 questions. I replied to each one, in detail. No "smack," no snide remarks...just my opinion on your three questions. That's how the board works.

Looks that way to me. Maybe once the dust settles and everything is brand-spanking new down there...I'll open the long awaited Captain Kangabrew's Brew Pub where The Townhouse used to be?

1.) Were the teams eligible for postseason play? Football- Yes. Basketball - Every Division 1 team is eligible for post-season play. 2.) Did less deserving teams make it to postseason play? Basketball: No (see #3) Football- Yes. Marshall. Why did Marshall make it ahead of the Zips? Because they have a history of winning. A history of championships. Because of this history, they have national recognition. This makes them appealing to bowls. They also have a good fan base as a result of consistently winning championships (not simply going above .500 a few times every decade). 3.) Why did the Zips not make it to postseason play? Football: Because they lost the Miami game. They win the Miami game, they'll the MAC East champs and they go bowling. They lost. Basketball: Because they lost the final 3 key games they played: Can't, Buffalo and WMU. Losses to Can't and Buffalo cost them the MAC regular season title, which would have given them a 20-win season and an NIT birth. The WMU tourney loss cost them the NIT berth (Zips would have gone in lieu of WMU). The Zips proved themselves to be the 6th best team in the MAC at year's end. OU sacked-up at season's end and won the tourney. Buffalo made it to the finals and won 22 games. Miami won the regular season title. WMU and Can't both swept the Zips. The Zips got what they deserved in both football and basketball. They had their fate in their own hands and lost. To be honest, they simply ran into teams that were better. That happens. They had "nice" seasons, and greater things are expected of them next year. That's all. It wasn't the fan's fault.

I'm glad I can support your statement that the local fans support for non-championship caliber teams will be luke-warm at best until championships are won. That once championships are competed for and won on a regular basis, there exists proof (in Can't) that local fans will show up. Great minds think alike, I guess?

Just because it had to be posted: If I'm Kevin, I get a Bandit tatoo on my bicep...but that's just me!

Frye sizzles at Senior Bowl By John Wallace Wednesday, February 16, 2005 5:26 PM CST Who had the best throws at Mardi Gras this year? Forget about all the colorfully clad people on parade floats tossing moon pies, candy, beads and stuffed animals into the crowds lining the streets of historic downtown Mobile. The best throws from Mardi Gras 2005 came on one day at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and they came from quarterback Charlie Frye. Akron senior quarterback Charlie Frye shined in front of family members and a sold out crowd at the 2005 Senior Bowl in Mobile in late January. Frye, who has family in Andalusia, led the North team to a 23-13 win against the South squad in the first Mardi Gras-themed Senior Bowl. Frye completed 10-of-12 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown in the win. The touchdown pass was a 22-yard strike to Northwestern receiver Noah Herron to seal the win. Frye crushed the South's hopes of a late comeback win with an 11-play drive that covered 50 yards for the final score. He completed 4-of-5 passes on the game-clinching drive, including a big third-and-17 conversion that resulted in the touchdown pass to Herron. After the 56th annual Senior Bowl, played in Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Frye received a great honor being named the MVP. Bill Swancutt was named the North's Defensive MVP. Kansas State running back Darren Sproles was named the North's Offensive MVP. Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell was named the South's Offensive MVP. Clemson's Leroy Hill was named the South's Defensive MVP. Frye told The Mobile Register he hopes to play in the NFL. "I'm pretty excited (about being named the game's MVP)," Frye told the Register. "I just wanted to come out and compete. I don't know if I proved anything. I'm just hoping to get the chance (to play) in the NFL." Frye joins N.C. State quarterback Phillip Rivers, Penn State running back Larry Johnson, Indiana all-purpose player Antwaan Randle El, TCU running back LaDainian and Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington as MVPs of the past six games -- all of which are currently playing in the NFL. Frye's Andalusia connection is the Frye family. His uncle Tom Frye and aunt Kathy along with cousins Joe, Ed, Mike and Laura live in Andalusia and went to Mobile for Senior Bowl weekend. Tom said the family is close usually meeting three times a year at Thanksgiving, Christmas and during the summer. Tom and Kathy have a special connection to Charlie because he was born the night before their wedding and his father was still able to be a part of the wedding ceremony. The weekend was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of the Fryes, including the Andalusia clan. "We had a blast. It was a wild weekend," Tom said The family ate at Wintzell's after the "Meet the Players" event and a slight detour caused by a Mardi Gras parade. The next day, gameday, was magical. "It was just like a fairly tale for him to have that type of success and make a few big plays and get MVP," Tom said. "It couldn't have been a better ending for him." Laura agreed and was happy for her older cousin from Ohio. "It was fun. It doesn't seem real since he's my cousin," Laura said. "But, it's really cool to see it in the newspaper. "When they announced him as MVP of the whole things, that was pretty cool," Laura said. She described her older cousin as a nice guy who has never been "fake." "Chuck's just always been there," she said. "He's pretty cool. He's never been fake. He always actually wanted to talk." Mike Frye said Charlie has always been a great older cousin. "Charlie's a really cool guy. The best I can remember, the farthest back I can remember, I was 9 or 10 and we used to throw the football around," he said. Watching the same guy throw to some of the top college wide receivers in the nation at the Senior Bowl was special. "It was great. We've flown to Ohio and drove to Orlando to see him play. But, to see one of your blood relatives be successful at that level is awesome," Mike said. Next for Frye is the NFL Combine where he will workout for NFL coaches and scouts in Indianapolis beginning Feb. 23.

What kind of player was Kevin in high school? A "man amongst boys" or just pretty good? I read in one on-line publication that he was one of the top 30 HS players in Virginia his senior year? We're expecting good things from him this year.

Two additional note I'll add to this topic: 1.) The Zips did exhibit a marked improvement in both hoops and football attendance. I hear hoops actually made a profit, and there were more football fans at the Rubber Bowl than I've seen in years. Yes, football gave away a lot of tickets. So what...it got people out to the Bowl. I think a lot of them will return next season, even if they have to pay a few bucks. 2.) As quite a few in the Zips Nation stated at the Gund last week: How the hell did Buffalo get such a fan following? I'd love to know, because 3 years ago they played to an empty home hoops arena...now they bring 4,000 to the Gund.

I can. I disagree. We've won NOTHING. Where are the MAC championship banners? Nowhere? Where are the Bowl trophies? Nowhere. Where are the big OOC victories in football and basketball? Nowhere. Where are the 9+ win football and 22+ win basketball seasons? Nowhere. We haven't won squat in comparison to just about anyone in the MAC since we've entered the conference. We beat Marshall during the football regular season. Six of the 12 teams Marshall played this year beat them. We beat Miami during the basketball regular season. So did woeful Marshall. Big fat hairy deal. "We went on a tear at the end of the basketball season"? confused.gif We choked-away the MAC title at season's end losing two of our last three. One of those losses was to our rival, and local hoops measuring stick, Can't (for the second time, I might add). Some "tear." rolleyes.gif Then we bowed-out in the MAC quarterfinals...woo hoo. I was in Can't 7 years ago when we beat them in hoops for the first time in 31 years (in Can't). Us Akron fans sat in the Can't student section behind a hoop. There were plenty of empty seats. That game drew about 3,000 fans. 2,000 were Akron fans...it was like a home game. It was that year that Can't began their "run", winning 20 games for the first of what's now 7 consecutive years. Now Can't gets 5,000 of their OWN fans at most home games. And they've done that for about 6 straight years. How did Can't go from 1,500 fans to 5,000 fans? It wasn't by winning a few regular season games. It was by winning 20+, by consistently winning in the MAC tourney, by winning in the NIT, then winning in the NCAA's. THAT'S what draws fans to games. That combination of a winning tradition and a fan base is what gets you an NIT bid. If you really think that fans should be flocking in to see the Zips because they are simply competitive...you're nuts. I'll be at games...the rest of the guys on this board will be at games...but you aren't going to pack the house in football or basketball until you win championships. Personally, I feel we have the coaching staffs in-place to win championships, but almost two decades of football and basketball futility...essentially a generation...cannot be overcome with 6 or 7-win football and 19-win basketball seasons.