Captain Kangaroo

Tuzze SPARQ Stats...click here Tuzze's local paper talks about his verbal to Akron (see below) Lakeland's Tuzze To Continue Career at Akron BY JOBY FAWCETT THE SCRANTON TIMES 07/12/2004 Rather than rest and relax, Lakeland's Joe Tuzze spent the early part of the summer showing off his talents to college recruiters at football camps. That diligence paid off in a big way. Tuzze, who will be a senior at Lakeland this fall, verbally accepted a scholarship to play football at the University of Akron. The decision came after impressing the coaching staff at the camp at the Mid-American Conference school. "They had a coach follow me everywhere," the 17-year-old Tuzze said. "They called me with my results from the testing and offered me a full ride. "I guess that's not too bad. I wasn't expecting that." At the camp, the two-time Times-Tribune All-Region performer ran the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds and broad jumped 8-feet, 11-inches. That mobility, combined with strength -- he bench pressed 185 pounds 38 times at the Nike Camp -- made the 226-pound linebacker/fullback a top recruit heading into this fall. Last season, Tuzze earned the Times-Tribune Male Athlete of the Year award and was the Defensive Player of the Year after leading Lakeland to the District 2 Class AA championship and a 13-1 record. From his middle linebacker position, Tuzze compiled a school-record 132 solo tackles. He also had five interceptions and two fumble recoveries. The Associated Press named him a first-team Class AA all-state linebacker Offensively, he rushed for 1,196 yards and scored 24 touchdowns. Tuzze joins an Akron program that finished 7-5 overall last season and 5-3 in the MAC. The school is getting ready to cut the ribbon on its new Lee Jackson Field athletic complex and will play at Penn State to open the 2004 season. "They have everything new there," Tuzze said. "They invested a lot of money into the football program. I'm extremely excited about this opportunity." As a senior, Tuzze begins his fourth season as a starter at Lakeland. During his career, the Chiefs have posted an overall record of 34-4 and have won back-to-back District 2 Class AA championships. "This is a big weight lifted off my shoulders," Tuzze said. "I didn't want to go out and try to play knowing there would be scouts watching. I'm happy to have made this decision before the season."

Here's another one (Tuzze article). Damn I like this kid...and I've never seen him play a down! Here's to a great start to the 2005 class! Congrats to JD, the Staff and the players that recruited him! November 25, 2003 Tuzze too much for Line Mountain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Todd Hummel For The Daily Item -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCRANTON — As Lakeland finally got by the District 4 champion Friday night at Scranton Memorial Stadium, earning the school’s first state playoff win in history, a lot of the Chiefs’ fans were wearing Tuzze Trucking hats. Line Mountain fans weren’t sure if the hats promoted a real firm, or were just to recognize Lakeland’s senior fullback Joe Tuzze talents and style on the football field. It’s hard to pinpoint where Tuzze’s talents were most on display, on offense or defense. On offense, Tuzze, who looks bigger than his listed 5-foot-10, 210-pound frame, rushed for 186 yards and a touchdown. "They really opened some holes for him," Line Mountain linebacker Dustin Heintzelman said. "He’s quick for his size. He’s a great runner." On defense, Tuzze was intstrumental in stopping the Line Mountain option attack from his middle linebacker spot, holding the Eagles to just 126 yards on the ground. "Their linebackers did a great job of fulling holes," Heintzelman said. "They were where they were supposed to be." Tuzze got the Chiefs on the board in the first quarter to tie the game at 6. Tuzze broke through the middle on a dive play, skirted to the outside and outraced the Line Mountain secondary for a 39-yard touchdown scamper. Tuzze would have a hand in Lakeland’s second touchdown of the first half, breaking a 46-yard run before being chased down by Gary Maurer at the Line Mountain 26. "We had some injuries up front that hurt us," Line Mountain coach Sam Stroh said. "And he was an outstanding back." Tuzze was instrumental in holding the Line Mountain option game in check. Hentzelman had 74 yards on 18 carries, but 39 of those yards came on three carries, on his other 15 carries, Heintzelman had just 35 yards. Tuzze also had the biggest hit of the game, knocking Line Mountain taiback Gary Mauer out in the fourth quarter after a 12-yard run. "We knew we could wear them down," Tuzze said. "We believed the whole time. We knew we could win."

Tuzze story from 2002. Looks like we'll have a nice successor to Dan Basch in 2005! Joe Tuzze's uniform looked dirty after a football game played on artificial turf. Typical Tuzze. Typical Lakeland. The Chiefs linebacker romped all over Lackawanna County Stadium on Friday night, taking no prisoners, leaving it all on the field, living out whatever clich high school football players utter before football games to get pumped up. It almost wasn't enough, though. Because, down seven points with just under 2 minutes to play in the District 2 Class AA championship battle, the Hanover Hawkeyes stormed down the field. Starting at his team's 15, quarterback Jeff Shook hit receiver Joe Cefalo for 20 yards. Then, Shook found Joe Ruane, who scampered 44 more yards to the Lakeland 24. Shook followed with a 4-yard run of his own, and with 1:10 left, the Hawkeyes were on the verge of the upset. How many times does it happen in football, though? The best teams don't always play the best. But they always seem to make the best play. The key play. And they always seem to win. Lakeland needed a play at a time great teams can muster something from the far reaches of their soul, or maybe their past, to get one. Shook dropped back. Fired a bullet over the middle. Off Tuzze's hand. Into the air. Finally, it landed in Lakeland cornerback Nate Hosie's sure hands. "I tipped it, and I was thinking, 'Oh no, I tipped it up instead of down,'" Tuzze said. "Then I looked back and saw Nate Hosie came down with it." "I was filled with joy." Ballgame over. Lakeland wins again. What, the Chiefs worry? No chance. They've been there before, and it shows. In their last three seasons, the Chiefs are 33-3. They are the dominant high school football program in this area, as good a team as local fans have seen in many, many years. They are this high school football-crazy corner of the state's answer to Berwick, to Mount Carmel, to Allentown Central Catholic. Hanover Area found out the hard way Friday night. They outgained Lakeland and, it could be argued, outplayed them, too. The Hawkeyes outgained the high-powered Chiefs offense by 129 yards. Shook attacked Lakeland's vaunted secondary and came away with an impressive 251 passing yards on 10 completions. Lakeland lost one of its key players, receiver John Wormuth, to a shoulder injury on the opening kickoff and then proceeded to fumble away possessions on its first two plays from scrimmage. Still, the Chiefs never trailed. They can thank players like Hosie, who intercepted three of Shook's passes and returned one for an 82-yard touchdown in the first quarter. They can thank senior Jake Rogowski, who surrendered his post as the league's leading receiver to help guide a run-oriented offense. And they can thank Tuzze, who harassed Shook all over the field. Lakeland has been here before. They've succeeded in the district playoffs before. With experience like that, it almost seemed like nothing that went wrong would prevent them from winning. "It helps a lot," said Rogowski, who came away with a key fourth-quarter interception of his own. "Especially late in the game, when you need to keep everybody under control." Still, Lakeland didn't have everybody. Starting tailback Brian Hilling played sparingly in the first half because of a leg injury, and there were so many bumps and bruises that coach Dan Case likened the Chiefs' locker room at halftime to a MASH unit. Nothing -- not injuries, not turnovers, not a precise Hanover Area passing attack -- could prevent Lakeland from its apparent destiny. The team's second District 2 championship in the last three years. "It's just the heart. It's just their heart," Case said. "We knew they weren't going to quit. (Hanover) had the hearts of champions." Very true. Lakeland, though, had the pedigree. dcollins ©Scranton Times Tribune 2004

Lonnie Jones was...probably still is...a 7 footer with some decent skills and Zero motivation. 7 footers will ALWAYS get looks form the NBA. Ok, Matt Seibert shouldn't be waiting for the phone to ring...but you know what I mean. Hell, The Human Q-tip John Edwards signed a summer contract with Sacremento. He B-L-O-W-S...but he's 7-foot. Tarver is a 6 foot 3 inch 100% one-dimensional offensive player. There are about a billion of those out there. Look at the recent MAC guys that have stuck in the NBA: Sczerbiak - He can play. Trent: Wide-body that can rebound Hunter - A Younger Trent Theron Smith: NBA body Tamar Slay: NBA body Kaman: NBA Body Daniels: NBA skills and body Boykins: All-around player (assists, decent scoring, steals...) McCloud - Solid all-around game Tarver would need to undergo the most amazing metamorhasis ever to draw an NBA scout's attention. Bad attitude, zero passing skills, zero defensive skills, sub-par ball handling, undersized, etc. All he can do is score...and to be quite honest, that was streaky most of the time too...he usually took a hell of a lot of shots to get his points. I wish him well in Turkey, but I'm glad he won't be on our roster again come Thanksgiving 2005.

Click to Find Out Courtesy of some industrious Penn State fan.

Looking at Theinsiders.com site over the weekend, 14 of the 20 recruits listed on the Zips' radar are from Pennsylvania. At the golf outing, Pry also stated "We're gonna have a ton of kids from Pa." (in the next class) A few more Brandon Payne's, Jason Taylor's, and Jake Schifino's would be great! On an unrelated note: This Tyrell Sutton recruitment is really intruiging to me. He will be THE super-high profile HS player in the City next season. He'll average 200+ yards per game. He's presently waiting on some "big time" schools, but no offers as of yet. To me, he is the key Zips recruit for 2005. If he goes to Ohio State...ok, I'll deal with that. However, if he goes to BG, Toledo, Pitt, Minnesota or any other mid-BCS/upper MAC school, I'll be really disappointed. We MUST keep players like him "home."

Now THERE'S a prediction...a FA WR will make it to the 1st or second cut. Whew...went out on a limb with that one! Cherry embodied all that a fan would want in the Zips' program...outstanding athlete...great student...great person...the total package. Assuming he gets cut, I'm sure he'll hone his skills in NFL Europe in 2005, and land a roster spot in 2005-6. I wish him the best, and put nothing past him...he just might make the cut. Looking forward to watching Jax's preseason games next month!

Sounds like you saw the same thing I did for 9 years?

I think they have written more regarding Zips football in the past 2 1/2 months than GoZips.com. The last entry...something about "Coaches Who Cook," is dated April 28th? The silence is deafening!!! Hope things pick up quickly!!

Penn State will open the 2004 football season against the Akron Zips, meeting for just the second time, at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 4 at Beaver Stadium. Makes for a late arrival home.

Nick is a good guy. I look forward to seeing him again sometime. Note: I could be wrong, but I do not believe Nick runs the bbs. He runs Vandelay Sports, and he sponsors the bbs (like Ashland Obsessed did) but that "Georgia Tech Swagger" guy runs the bbs. What are there...like 8 Saturdays until Penn State? Can't wait!

Why YSU? Because it is a slam dunk, no doubt, 100% guaranteed, gimme, 23K+ attendance game @ the Rubber Bowl. That's the only reason. Personally, I would like to wax their ass once, just to shut them up. All YSU fans are quick to point out their "recent" dominance of Akron..."recent" being Gerry Faust's teams and Owens' teams with Faust leftovers. Wax their ass 52-3 and cancel the series forever. That would be swell. Like you, I don't like listing my "sources." All I can say is...you know how the team drove down to YSU last summer on their own dime and practiced 7-on-7? They were requested not to do that this season due to pending scheduling of YSU. Fair enough explanation?

A.) Hey, we're in the running for these guys...that's better than we were before. B.) Claude Brown/JD relationship isn't as strong as we initially thought. C.) It's June 2004 recruiting...the kids haven't even played their senior year...so shut up. D.) We're doomed. JD can't recruit Akron City. E.) As long as Tyrell Sutton is a Zip, I could care less about Buchtel players going to Pitt...hell...Toledo beat Pitt last season. Recruiting: Pitt lands another DB from Ohio Wednesday, June 30, 2004 By Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Bryan Williams, a 6-foot, 187-pound cornerback from Akron, gave a verbal commitment to Pitt yesterday, making him the second standout defensive back from Ohio in three days to choose the Panthers. And much like Brookhaven standout Dominic Jones, who committed to Pitt Sunday night, Williams said he was sold on the Panthers the first time he visited the campus. "I was just comfortable there from the minute I got there until I left," Williams said. "It is a wonderful campus, a great city, and I really liked what the coaches had to say to me." Williams, who had 31 tackles and five interceptions last season, was third-team all-state last year at Buchtel High School. He had offers from Illinois, North Carolina and Akron. The Insiders, a national recruiting service, rates Williams the one of the top 15 prospects in Ohio and one of the top 65 players in the Midwest. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds, has a 34-inch vertical leap and squats 350 pounds. Williams is the Panthers' fifth commitment for the class of 2005 and their second from Buchtel. Williams' teammate, defensive lineman Marlon Terry, made a commitment to the Panthers earlier this month. Pitt fullback Tim Murphy is a Buchtel graduate. "I liked the fact that there were already guys there who I know and that one of my teammates will be going there with me," Williams said. "I won't feel like a stranger and I won't feel all alone. That's important to me because going away is a big adjustment to begin with."

Dan's little brother, or what?

Seems like, if Dambrot is the coach we all hope for, we should expect 15 or 16 wins this season? #5: Myers is better than Hipsher gave him credit for, but still is slow on D. Futch regressed as 2003-4 wore on. I liked him in December, then it looked like he quit listening to the coaches, slacked off on conditioning, and became possessed by the ghost of David Falknor...becoming a 6' 8", 300 lb three-point shooter. I wonder which Futch will show up in 2004-4...if any? #4: Wood is awesome when in shape. His conditioning seemed to become a problem late in the season? If he can hit 65% from the stripe in 2004-5, we'll be a much improved team. BTW: I heard a rumor Wood is injured at the moment? Anyone have better info than me? Preston: Tough to say. Is he healthy? Are his grades ok? Has he bulked up at all? It wouldn't shock me if he had a break out 12 ppg, 6rpg 3blk pg season...it wouldn't surpise me if he had a stack of DNP's. Big wild card with Preston. #3: Peterson - Is he healthy? He's our #1 scoring option if he is. After sitting out a full season, how long until he gets back into form...assuming he can? Travis: Has he worked on his hands at all? Has he added a short-range jumper? Will he stop with the silly reach-in fouls? To me, he had a "nice" Fr. year. For the Zips to improve as a team, Travis needs to add something to his game. Like Futch, a 65% free throw percentage would be nice. Milum: The book on him seems to be: "Phenomonal athlete, marginal shooter." I don't expect much from him in 2004-5. #2: McFadden - Really came on last season. I look for him to have a senior year much like Schindewolf did...hitting big 3's and being a leader. Walther - The pic's I've seen of him remind me of a young Bryan Hipsher...shinny as a rail! I'm sure his "game" dwarfs Bryan's, but how many minutes can that skinny body log in MAC play? Goddard - Allegedly the dude can shoot. I saw the same type of player in Penno and Kowall under Hipsher...guys that could stick the 3 at will...and those guys rarely saw the court. It will be interesting to see how Dambrot utilizes such a player. #1: Collins - Should be good for 10-12mpg. Joyce- Has he added any bulk? Can he penetrate as dish? Can he keep up with the DeAndre Haynes of the MAC on D? I'm curious to see how his game has progressed over the summer. Middleton - Seems like the minutes are there for the taking? He has great HS accolades...hope he's the real deal. I'm happy with 16 wins and a trip to Cleveland in March. Anything beyond that is gravy.

Based upon Zipwatcher's post we're losing 3 seniors this year. If you add Goddard (assuming he's scholarship) and Dials, it would appear there are still 1 or 2 "free" scholarships remaining? Also...you can pretty much bank on someone not making grades or transferring every season. We'll see what happens...I'm still in shock that Bryan Hipsher didn't transfer to an ACC school or enter the NBA draft. Will he play the #5 or #4 spot at Capital?

Playing in Turkey? Click me

Tough call. Drew is a hell of a player...but the bitter taste of Tarver still lingers. Roll the dice on him? I would hope Dambrot asks him some serious questions regarding his goals and expectations before signing him on. If he's all about scoring 30 points...and not about winning a MAC championship and making the players around him better...then I agree with some of the others in wishing him well at another school and using the scholarship on a Fr. we can build on.

Whoa there Finkster...no one said anything about YSU joining the MAC. Also...if MT gets us out of the MAC, where do we go? In my opinion the MAC is exactly where we want to be. Football-wise, it is very competitive on a national scale. Even with Marshall leaving, BG, Toledo, NIU and Miami are legit Top 25 threats every year. If the Zips can get their act together like we all hope, the Conference can be very top-heavy. Hoops: Yes, it sucks that 4-out-of-5 years the MAC gets only on NCAA bid...but you can blame that to some extent on the Zips...who haven't fielded a tourney-worthy team in 15 years! We are a major contributor to keeping the league's RPI low, as we lose to every "major" team we play and are perennially below .500. The MAC tourney is in out own back yard and we've made it there ONCE...for a 40 game-minute stay. Hope KD can change things. Akron in CUSA? Blech. It's the MAC-lite, with higher travel expenses. Akron in the Big East? Yeah, I'm sure we're real appealing to them at the moment. Akron as an Independent? Maybe in 1974, but pretty stupid/suicidal in 2004. Akron in the Big 10? Let's consistently compete in the MAC before considering leaving the MAC.

Z-P: You gotta have faith! BTW: I saw Tim Crouch and Jim Borecci at the outing. Pretty beefy paper mache!

Don't ask me how...just trust me when I say something is in the works.

Spoke to Frank Stams at the outing. He seems pretty excited to be following Charlie and the Zips this season. He promised to practice objectivity while still being the "Akron Guy." I had never met him before...seems like a really nice guy. Disappointment of the outing: Thomas drove Dambrot around on a golf cart during the front 9. Dambrot waved "hi," and sped past. It would have been nice to meet the guy. Oh well... Also: No JD at the outing. He was at the Ohio State football camp along with 3 other coaches. Only Pry and Flemming were in attendance. Also...I wouldn't worry about Ringer getting his fair share of totes this year (if you read this site, Jerrel!). I just think it will be a bit different this upcoming season, where 3 or 4 guys will get carries, as opposed to 2003 when Hendry was the only one allowed to touch the ball.

I have is on good authority that, unless something has changed in the last 24 hours, you are wrong. We shall see...that's why I stated 80-85% chance... Your rationale seems pretty weak too...because of Dials, he won't attend Akron? What...like there isn't a player like Dials at Can't or MTSU? I would think playing next to a guy like Dials would take away a lot of double teams from Drew. Drew going to Duquesne? The team he jilted to attend WVA 3 years ago? I doubt it. Hope he chooses Akron...he's a hell of a player. If he doesn't...we'll roll on.

Here are a few random notes gleaned from the golf outing yesterday: Shippy is gone for good. Homesick. Chance of Drew Schifino becoming a Zip: 80-85% (maybe higher) Won't be eligible until 2005-6. Cornerback depth chart: Henry, Agyeman, Corner. Expect JUCO RB (Briggs?) to see significant PT in 2004. Supposedly pretty tough. Ditto McDaniels from Woodland Hills. Jabari is the solid #2 WR. Pry couldn't say enough positive things regarding his progress. Expect YSU on the football schedule in 2005. Charlie, Chase, et al working hard at the Rubber Bowl (7-on-7's) Per an OL: "The DL has a bunch of new schemes this year...they're a lot harder to block in practice." Great time, as always. If you weren't there, you missed out big time. More to come...

What? Has it been confirmed that someone "smirked?"