Captain Kangaroo

Thanks, Dude! The time he flattened Dwight Smith during the Spring Game his Fr. year is still one of my all-time favorite "hits!"

Ed Collington, Penn Hills / Ali Bode, Upper St. Clair Thursday, September 02, 2004 By Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ED COLLINGTON SCHOOL: Penn Hills WHO IS HE: A 6-foot, 205-pound senior running back who started the season in a big way. LAST WEEK: Penn Hills' season opener against North Allegheny was stopped early in the third quarter because of lightning. But Collington still ran for 197 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 28-7 win. IMPACT PLAYER: Collington has been on Penn Hills' varsity since his sophomore year and has become a bigger part of the offense each season. As a sophomore, he rushed for 316 yards on 62 attempts while fellow sophomore Ken Lewis had 895 on 134 attempts. Last year, Collington led Penn Hills with 959 yards on 109 carries and Lewis had 884 on 158. Lewis has not practiced this season because of a hamstring injury, so Collington is the featured back. "There haven't been too many years when we haven't had a great running back here," Penn Hills coach Neil Gordon said. "I think [Collington] is a great high school running back. The thing he has that the others didn't have is size. He's a big kid. A number of other ones we've had in the past were 5-7 or 5-8." SHOULDERING THE LOAD: Collington missed some of preseason practice with a dislocated left shoulder. He missed two games last year with the same injury. Collington needs surgery on the shoulder. But, if he has surgery now, he will miss the rest of the season. He has decided to play and postpone the surgery. "I wear a brace on it," Collington said. "I know I'm taking a big risk. I'm just praying it doesn't come out." ON THE MOVE: Collington attended Steel Valley High School as a freshman, but transferred to Penn Hills as a sophomore, when he and his mother, Jessie, moved into the Penn Hills district. A MAN CALLED HORSE: Collington's teammates call him "Horse." "They say they have the speed and power of a horse," Collington said. Gordon said, "I'm hoping to ride this 'Horse' this year." THE FUTURE: Collington has a scholarship offer from Akron, but is hoping more colleges become interested. "I think he's a Division I college tailback," Gordon said. --By Mike White

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I thought DL Morgan was the Can't State beat writer?

Thanks for the Post article. Difference between the post and BJ, I actually learned something in the Post article. My favorite part of the article: He spends nights on a cot in his office, resigned to go at least a few weeks this summer without seeing his wife and two young children. "I've never seen a coach so dedicated," Akron star quarterback Charlie Frye says. I thought the SAME THING. The BJ writes articles...but I learn nothing from them. Gee...what a shocker that Terry Pluto writes about "faith and loyalty." Swap Charlie Frye's name out with any other player, coach or local community figure and you get the same thing every time. Pluto wrote a lengthy article on Frye...but is was of little substance. It is the same thing he writes day after day after day after day. Ditto just about everything else I've read from DL Morgan. You can find the same quotes he references in his articles on gozips.com...it's just that you find them on gozips a few days earlier. My favorite quote from the post column: "Still, that is Brookhart's style. He scripts fundamental truths, then reverses them. To become predictable, he believes, is to undermine your own chances for success." That was my biggest beef with the Owens regime was predictability...on both sides of the ball. I look forward to seeing some complexity in the Zips playcalling this season. Zips: 31-17

No coach's show before the Penn State game? What's up with that? Also...what's up with the size 28 font in the Zips/PSU write up on gozips.com? My eyes are still burning!!

I figured the "click me for parallel 2003 game" qualifier explained the spirit of the post well-enough? Zips 31 PSU 17

Wisconsin thought they'd romp too...

Looks like it is getting towards the end of the line for Konrad. This is his 3rd year of camp, and he’s getting cut pretty early. I wish him the best, but it doesn’t look good. Can you make a decent living in NFL Europe? Matt will be ok. Hope he latches on with someone else. If he gets a chance to develop in Europe for a season, I think he can make a roster next year…or this year if some NFL scout is paying attention!

I like our chances against these guys more and more each day!!! Sales, Brown to get playing time for PSUBy Rob Biertempfel TRIBUNE-REVIEW Saturday, August 28, 2004 Penn State's linebacker corps might soon have more of a western Pennsylvania flavor. Friday, coach Joe Paterno said two former WPIAL standouts -- true freshmen Dontey Brown (McKeesport) and Tyrell Sales (Butler) -- likely will play more than expected this season. BranDon Snow, who was in the mix for playing time at middle linebacker, broke his right foot during preseason camp and will be out six to eight weeks. While Snow recovers from surgery, Brown and Sales have a chance to show what they can do. Snow's injury made Tim Shaw, a former tailback, the de facto starter at middle 'backer. The two had been waging an even battle for the job until Snow broke his foot last week. Senior Derek Wake and sophomore Paul Posluszny (Hopewell) will start at the outside linebacker spots. Backing them up will be Dan Connor, a freshman who enrolled in January, and sophomore J.R. Zwierzynski. "We had a meeting this morning, and I was the only (upperclassman) in the room," said Wake, who this week was named one of the team's two co-captains. "Those other guys are young and they're making big plays. They haven't played much, but when we're out there in practice, you couldn't tell. I'm definitely looking forward to going out there on Saturday and playing with those guys." Penn State opens its season at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 4 at home against Akron. Cornerback Alan Zemaitis has been slowed during camp by a shoulder injury, but is expected to play against Akron. Safety Chris Harrell, who has been out since the spring with a neck injury, will not play this season. Paterno said Harrell will take a redshirt and should be ready to play in 2005.

Akron at Penn State (3:30 PM – TV: ESPN Regional) Highlights: Penn State is 0-3 against the spread versus the MAC and has not covered against this conference since 1999. PSU is 5-10 against the spread in their last 15 season openers. Akron averaged 36-points per game in 2003, including 311-yards per contest through the air behind returning All-American QB candidate Charlie Frye. Akron has lost their last six games against Big Ten competition by an average of 45-20 per game. Comment: Penn State has not been the same team since Toledo whacked them in the 2000 season. Akron has the best QB in the country and can certainly score points on just about any team. The problem is their defense, and even an anemic offense like Penn State should be able to score enough points to win by a respectable margin. Charlie Frye will definitely wow the home crowd though. Nick’s Pick: Penn State 37 – Akron 28 Line: Penn State by 16

That would all make sense...IF Penn Stae weren't coming off a 3-9 season where their only wins were against Temple, Can't State and Indiana. Penn State would be lucky to beat CW Post by 30 points this season, let alone the Zips. Zips 31-17...toothless Lions barely put up a fight. If/when the game gets out of hand, PLEASE, Zips fans...BE CLASSY. Remember how bad it felt when we used to get drubbed. You're representing the University of Akron. Show some respect!

A little more regarding the decision... If I were him, I'd stay at Pitt. If Palko sucks, or gets hurt...he's the man. If he comes to Akron, Jabbari will be a Soph. who's pretty tough to beat out. There's no guarantee he's the #1 guy here either. By Joe Bendel TRIBUNE-REVIEW Saturday, August 28, 2004 Luke Getsy is uncertain about his future at Pitt after losing the starting quarterback job to fellow redshirt sophomore Tyler Palko. Getsy said Friday that he loves everything about Pitt, but also pointed out that he has "options." He also realizes that he faces the possibility of playing out his career as a back-up. "I'm just going to think about it," said Getsy, a Steel Valley High grad who played in six games last season while Palko took a redshirt. "I'll weigh it out and see what goes on. As long as I'm here, I'm going to bust my (behind) for this team because you never know what will happen." If Getsy opts to transfer to another Division I-A school, he must do so by the 12th day of that institution's semester to gain admission. He would then be eligible to play in 2005. If he waits longer than the 12 days, he won't gain admission until the winter semester, forcing him to sit out the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Players who transfer from one NCAA Division I-A institution to another must sit out two full semesters, which is why it is so important to enroll before the 12-day mark of the fall term. Three years ago, tailback Brandon Miree played three games for Alabama before transferring to Pitt on the 12th day of the semester, thereby saving his eligibility for the following season. Akron, which is coached by former Pitt offensive coordinator J.D. Brookhart, could be an option for Getsy. The first day of classes at Akron is Monday. That would allow Getsy to play two games for Pitt -- South Florida and Ohio -- before making a decision. "I'm not sure about all that; I don't know the rules," Getsy said. "I don't know how quickly I have to act." Palko came to Pitt with all the accolades after a stellar career at West Allegheny, while Getsy came in under the radar. But when their competition heated up, Getsy proved worthy of consideration for the starting job. Harris said breaking the news to Getsy was the most difficult thing he's done. He also said he hopes Getsy "hangs in there with it," leading one to believe that even Harris is concerned about a potential transfer. "It's been difficult, no doubt," Getsy said. "I wanted to get my chance on the field and the time's not right. I'm not going to live in regret and think that I didn't bust my (behind) for this team because I did. But things happen for a reason, and I just gotta find that reason."

Harris opts for Palko Friday, August 27, 2004 By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Two and a half years ago, Tyler Palko headlined Walt Harris' 2002 recruiting class. He was considered the top prospect in the class, a gifted quarterback and athlete who was labeled the future of the Panthers' program. It took some time, but yesterday Palko took his first step toward fulfilling the lofty expectations heaped upon him. In a close competition, Palko beat out Luke Getsy for the starting quarterback duties. "This has been a long process, watching both of these kids for three years," Harris said after practice yesterday. "I don't think I've been around two young men that care more about football than they do. "They know as much about what we're doing than anyone else we've had at their age. It was tight. It was real tight. It was a very difficult decision. Both are real good football players. "I have confidence in Luke if the situation goes that way. But right now, Tyler Palko is our starting quarterback." There had been little separation between Palko and Getsy since they arrived on campus together in 2002. Palko, a 6-foot-2, 220-pounder from West Allegheny, earned the backup job behind Rod Rutherford in 2002 while Getsy redshirted. Last season, they switched roles with Getsy earning the backup job while Palko took a redshirt. Even in the first two weeks of practice, Pitt players were unable to determine who played better. Receiver Greg Lee genuinely was surprised when reporters informed him that Palko had been named the starter. Lee said Palko and Getsy had been so close in play that he expected the competition to go into next week. "I thought they were neck-and-neck all through camp," Lee said. But it was time to have some stability at the position, Harris said. The Panthers open the season Sept. 6 at South Florida, and he wanted the offense to have some continuity for the next 10 days of practice. "We have a starting quarterback and we're going to stick with him," Harris said. "We're going to give practice time to him so he has a chance to improve his game. It was time for us to pick a guy and get ready. It's hard to do when you split it up." Harris declined to specify what set Palko apart from Getsy, but Palko is a better scrambler and runner. That likely will be important this season with the offensive line's ability to block for him in question. Palko also has been a winner as a three-time WPIAL Class AAA champion at West Allegheny. Getsy is no slouch on the run, but he is known as more of a pocket passer. "Now that we have a quarterback who can run the ball, [the defense] will have to make a decision if they're going to play the run or play the pass first," Lee said. Harris praised Palko's approach to the game. He likened Palko's study habits and leadership skills to Boomer Esiason, who Harris coached with the New York Jets. "He's a coach on the field," Harris said. "He's into it like nobody's been probably since Pete Gonzalez. He's probably a little more into it than Pete was, and Pete was pretty into it. "Tyler reminds me of the way Boomer Esiason used to practice. Boomer would know what everyone was doing. I think with the football team it gives great confidence to those guys that the guy touching the ball every down is working harder than anyone out there to get himself ready to play. "He's a really good practice player. You can see it in the two-minute drill. He takes great pride in everything. He has very high lofty goals for us. It's one step in the stage of becoming a good quarterback." Harris said telling Getsy the news was difficult. Harris also said he didn't know whether Getsy, from Steel Valley High School, would remain with the Panthers. He said Getsy was going to discuss the situation with his parents, then make a decision. Getsy practiced with the second-team offense yesterday. "The hardest thing I had to do as a coach was talk to Luke Getsy," Harris said. "As competitive as he is, the talented player he is and the person he is. That was no fun here today." There has been speculation that Getsy could transfer to Akron, where former Pitt offensive coordinator J.D. Brookhart is the head coach. Harris said he hoped Getsy remained at Pitt. Neither Getsy nor Palko answered questions from reporters yesterday. Don Getsy, Luke's father, said last night that no decision has been made. "I just found out a little while ago, too," Don Getsy said. "We're going to have to figure it out."

Leaving the MAC would be suicide. Football-wise, we couldn't schedule anyone (MAC schools would avoid us). There's no way we could get anyone to come to the Rubber Bowl. We'd lose our guaranteed bowl slots (if we finish #1 or #2). We lose the potential of a championship game. We incurr HUGE travel expenses (compared to the regional MAC). The only reasonable independents are ND, Navy and Army. Yes, Navy and Army are on Akron's level...but they can get decent schedules because they're nationally prominent and have a large following. I'm sure the Zips learned their lesson in the 80's...D1-A independent is suicide. Furthermore, our other sports would die. They get stuck back with the CSU's and Wright States of the world. That's worthless. Like Z-P said...don't be too down on the schools you mentioned. The MAC is cyclical. BG dominated in the early 90's. Then they sucked...now they're good again. BTW: Toledo is by no means in a "down year." EMU was the best program in the MAC about 10 years ago. Ball State was a Championship team in the 90's too. CMU has a couple wins over Michigan State about a decade ago...but they coming back to respectability. OU beat Minnesota and Maryland only about 5 years ago. Other than Buffalo and maybe Can't...the other schools will come around again. In addition, with Marshall leaving, our chance to get through the MAC East to a MAC championship game greatly improves. The MAC is the perfect fit for Akron. The conference's level of play is better than ever. The top 2 teams are guaranteed bowl bids. National TV games are becoming commonplace. Travel costs are minimal. The MAC championship hoops games are in our back yard. The list goes on... Leaving the MAC now would be like dumping your wife after she got a sweet boob-job. The MAC is looking better than ever...stick with it. Good topic.

Several Potential Zips

If we EVER do that with a Heisman candidate QB I'll kill myself...thank God Lee Owens is gone...

Make them yourself, like I did last year (glad to see someone caught onto the idea!). Adhesive-backed magnetic sheet + nice color pic...and you're done. This is where I got the sheet magnets: http://www1.ecxmall.com/stores/lyt/Page.bo...plate=milsguide An added benefit is you can make them as big as you'd like (the one that came with the tix is kind of small).

The only things I got out of the scrimmage are: It sucks that David Lee Anne Morgan and his boss have no clue how to cover the Zips. They should be there every day reporting on the team. I couldn't know less about this year's Zips team. The little info you get from GoZips.com is fine...but that's all I can say. It is hard to generate any banter on this board, because I have no idea what's going on with the Zips. Will we win at Penn State? Who the hell knows? I haven't seen the team compete since April, and won't see it until September. Weak local team coverage and closed practices flat-out suck.

DA ZIPMAN IZ DA BOMB! Hey ZIPMAN, what the hell is in the beer up in Put-in-Bay? Every newscast I see adds a few more hundred to the "mystery sickness" count. You're giving us brewers a bad name! Although I appreciate the offer, I have to pass on your invite to stop up on the 27th. I don't want to miss the game on Sept 4th due to

Faust.

A player to watch: Monessen's Williams creating a name for himself Friday, August 20, 2004 By Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Like many teenagers, Ernest "Mick" Williams spends a great deal of time playing video games. When he plays football games, he goes to the "create a player" section and creates himself. He makes his video version big, strong and dominating. Players to Watch Last in a series on top high school football players in the WPIAL and City League. So there you have it. Video games can imitate life. On the "real" football field at Monessen High School, Williams is every bit of big, strong and dominating. That's why he is expected to have a big senior season and why he has a handful of Division I scholarship offers. "There are times when he does things you can't teach," Monessen coach Andy Pacak said. "His natural strength and his natural nose for the ball is impressive, and he's a very aggressive kid. Then when you flip it around offensively, he is a very good running back." Williams is a 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker and running back who became a varsity starter near the end of his freshman season. He scored two touchdowns in his first varsity start. On offense, Williams will play fullback and team with halfback Quinton Martin to make one of the most formidable running combinations in Class A. Last season, Martin rushed for 923 yards on 105 carries (8.8 average) and Williams 866 on 101 attempts (8.6 average). But Williams is being recruited by colleges to play linebacker. He has offers from Pitt, West Virginia, (his sister, Latitia, played basketball at West Virginia), Iowa, Indiana and Akron. "I've always been a linebacker," Williams said. "Except when I was little and they tried to put my hand in the dirt and make me a lineman. I didn't like that." Williams wants to be known as a linebacker. What he doesn't want to be known as is "Ernest." "It's just a funny name," he said. He got the nickname "Mick" as a youngster because his father, Ernest, was known as "Mickey." "People said he had big ears," the younger Williams said. Like Mickey Mouse? "Yeah. But I don't have big ears," he said. "Mine are nice." As a football player, Williams has done a lot of nice things for Monessen. One thing he wants to do is prove he has his old quickness. He ballooned to 250 pounds in the spring. He attended Pitt's camp and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds. He ran it again and dropped it to 4.7. "I almost cried when I ran it the first time," Williams said. "When I was smaller, the worst I had run it was 4.55 or 4.6. When I ran that 4.9, [Pitt coach] Walt Harris was there watching. But then I did better the second time." Williams said he has gotten into better shape with the help of Monessen assistant coach Jamie Reader, a former Greyhounds running back who had a brief stint a few years ago with the Philadelphia Eagles. Pacak would like Williams to keep his weight between 235 and 240 pounds. "We're really pushing these kids in practices," Pacak said. "We run them every morning with different distances and sprints. And we do it before we start practicing." Williams said, "We're running so much, I should gain 1,000 yards this season."

RooDude, you seem like a "glass-half-empty" kind of guy. I will offer a reply that lies somewhere between "middle-to-half-full glass." Where is all of the talent at running back? I have watched about 5 practices so far and here are my observations. Dan Basch is out for a month. He has also been hurt in 2001, missed all of 2002, and limped around for most of 2003. He cannot be counted on. REPLY: True. Luckily, this isn't his knee (like before)...it is his ankle. When he's healthy he's a punishing runner/blocker. Hope he gets healthy...we need him. Jerrell Ringer has never had a good game except against 1-AA opponents and the dregs of the MAC. REPLY: That's only because Owens never played him! Jerrell can tote the ball. He looked great in the few opportunities he got against Wisconsin. He cannot pick up any blitzes from the opposition and as a result is a major safety risk. REPLY: Hendry was needed to pick off all those defenders last season because everyone in the stadium knew what the Zips were running! If JD mixes thing up an keep the opposing DL's guessing, Ringer's blocking deficincies will not be a problem. The Zips gave up 32+ sacks last season, due in large part to no depth on the OL which has not gotten any better in the off-season. REPLY: Too early to say this. But at least 10 of those sacks belonged to Ringer and the running backs (other than Hendry) who could not block to save their lives. REPLY: Not true. The sacks were primarily due to the obscene predictability of Owens/Winters play-calling. It makes the DL and LB's jobs a hell of a lot easier when they know exactly what's coming. Mark Tetzel was little more than a special teams guy last year. He is slow and is a 50/50 blocker. REPLY: You're probably right. We'll see. All others are brand new to the program. Biggs is a JUCO transfer and Kennedy is a true feshman. If you see Kennedy on the field as a true freshman the Zips are in MAJOR TROUBLE. REPLY: If we see Kennedy on the field that means he's better than Biggs and Ringer, and I'm happy as hell if that's the case. The offense will be mostly a one back set because there a no runningbacks on the roster who are proven reliable. REPLY: Yes, the one-back set is going to be the majority, but that's what the "west coast offense" calls for. It doesn't bug me if we run a lot of 1-back sets. There are no receivers of note who are proven reliable. REPLY: Somewhat true. Hixson can do the job. He was by far our best athlete in the secondary last season and he looked great in the spring. Goodwin is fast, can jump, and has great hands. He's a solid #2 guy. Montgomery had 4 TD's last season if I recall correctly? He's fine. Between Ellington and the new guys, someone will step up as the #4...or maybe even the #3 guy. Jabari will be awesome. Mark my words. I like our WR's. The offensive line is pourous and terribly thin. If one guy goes down it's a CODE ORANGE alert. If two starters go down in any combination Frye's parents should take out extra insurance. REPLY: I can't speak for "pourous" until I see them play. But, you are correct in saying we're really thin at OL. I couldn't imagine what would happen if 2 of the seniors went down. 5 games in the win column this season would be a success. To be honest I cannot see Akron winning any of its first 5 games against Penn State, Middle Tennessee, Virginia, Can't, or NIU. REPLY: If you "can't see Akron winning against Can't or Middle Tennesse" you've lost some major credibility. The other games will obviously be much tougher. Maybe the team will be better the second half of the year, if Frye is not in a body cast by then. The worst part of this team is the OL - they may be veteran but they are overweight and are getting whipped by a bunch of mites on the defensive side of the ball on almost every drill in practice. REPLY: Everything I've heard is that the OL's are in great shape? Body fat #'s are much improved from 2003? Akron's DL is tiny compared to the Penn States, Virginias, and Marshalls of the world. REPLY: True. But if we run some better schemes we'll be able to stop people. The talent of the defense is no worse than in Owens' tenure. We'll see what JD can do with it. It's amazing that there is no depth at all on this team. REPLY: Not if you've tracked Owens recruiting classes. The retention rate under Owens was very high the first 5 years of his tenure...then it began to drop. Seems like he felt the need to take a lot of risks to "take the program to the next level" and many of those backfired. We have depth at LB. Other than that, we're pretty top-heavy. This is not a very good team, Akron is a mediocre team with a great quarterback and a series of awful recruiting classes the last three years. If this program can string together 12 wins over the next 3 combined seasons I would be surprised. REPLY: A mediocre team with a great QB can fare pretty well in the MAC. I don't expect any miracles, but I expect better schemes on both sides of the ball. I expect a minimum 6 wins too. I'll bet Brookhart is wishing he would have stayed at Pitt. The folks who sold him on Akron being a sleeping giant as a football program hoodwinked him something wicked. REPLY: I bet you're wrong. This guy is 100% dedicated to making the Zips a contender. He inherited a "good" team. He's assembled a GREAT staff. The kids love the staff. The new facilities will reap HUGE benefits...but probably 3 or 4 years down the road. He's smack-dab in one of the best HS recruiting areas in the nation. Hell...he's got 2 nationally televised games this season, a monster Marketing machine that actually got a budget to work with in 2004...Marshall and Miami @ home this season, and he's got a Heisman trophy candidate QB! Compare that to what Owens had....a 1-10 Faust team and crap facilities. I think JD is thinking he's pretty damn lucky to have the Zips' HC job.

That sucks. Hope Tetzel or the kid from Woodland Hills can pick up the slack.

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