Captain Kangaroo

Dr. Z and I were able to take-in our first practice since the beginning of summer camp today. It was difficult to make any profound observations, as the day was split into roughly 80 % drills, and 20% scrimmage situations. Nate Stewart was the star of the day. One-handed catches, sideline catches while heavily covered, TD's...he did it all. Coach Arth singled him out after the practice as and example of a player who competed on every play with maximum effort. He stated "Nate hasn't taken off a play, he hasn't asked to get a breather, he hasn't done anything but work hard the entire camp." Look for a huge year from Nate in 2019. It is interesting to see six quarterbacks practicing. Kato is the obvious #1. Robbie Kelly looks to be the #2. But the kid getting the next highest amount of reps was true freshman Zach Gibson. He made some nice throws, and acquitted himself well today. Some bizarre jersey numbers today, as Zach Gibson wore #50, RB Michiah Burton wore #59, RB Peter Hayes-Patrick wore # 67 and QB Nick Demchuk work #55. On the injury front - Hayes Patrick looks to have hurt his finger shortly after making a nice, 15 yard scrimmage run. Maverick Wolfley's day was over after he hurt his elbow on a crossing route. Julian Hicks was on the sideline wearing a tank top, with an ice pack on his shoulder. Deltron Sands and Keyondre White wore red shirts, and were relegated to drills on the sidelines. One player who seemed to take advantage of Jonah Morris and Julian Hicks' absence was Dustin Burkhart. He pulled in a nice 40-yard TD catch from Kato while being covered fairly well. Has a TD in a short yardage slant over the middle, and made multiple other nice plays over the course of the day. The Zips will be anything but predictable when inside the opponent's 5 yard line this season. The offense showed multiple looks, with slants to both sides, QB keepers, flea-flickers...this ain't the old "hand it four times to Cody Grice up the middle" Zips. On a several occasions the InfoCision speakers would blare rock music to simulate crown noise. We saw Nick Johns split out as a WR a few times. Former OL's John Neeley and Eric Bentley round out what Coach Arth feels is a solid 9-man rotation on the defensive line. Much better than the 5 DL's we had in the spring. At the end of practice Arth stated the defense won yesterdays practice, and the offense won today. So tomorrow is the rubber match. Boogie, Dre and Alvin rotated returning kick-offs. Each one of those guys can take it the distance. Per Coach Arth, Dre Williams is rounding into form after missing the spring with an injury. Landon Forman was also singled out as someone who missed the spring with an injury, but who's having a solid summer. Lots of parents in the stands, as this is Parents Weekend. They had a seemingly well-attended tailgate prior to the practice in Lot 9. More to come later. I know Dr. Z got some nice photos. Arth spoke to us after the practice. I'll transcribe it tomorrow.

Is there a web site with suggestions where to stay in Amherst? Pretty sure I’m going to be at the game. It would be nice to stay at a place near campus and a bar district.

I think there is some truth to that...but it isn't black and white. You don't win the MAC East title, and beat Northwestern, with 85 guys that are sloughing off. But you probably don't go from a 2.4 to a 2.9 overall team GPA in one semester without some players being held accountable for their classwork, who weren't in the past. I think all you need to know regarding the buy-in of the incumbent players to the new staff is seen in the lack of transfers.

Meaggan Pettipiece

Article written by David Moff? Is George off the Zips beat? Did the ABJ actually send a reporter to MAC media day?

Woo hoo! I've been looking for a 6' 3", 300 pounder to appear in the recruiting forum for a couple months! Merry Christmas to us! My season Wins prediction just jumped by 2. He's just what we needed!

A little surprising to see Brandon Lee listed as a WR? We're really thin at RB this year, and he looked pretty good in the backfield during the spring.

The top 5 are all upperclassmen though. Dre Williams Jonah Morris Boogie Knight Nate Stewart Julian Hicks It will be interesting to see how much Scippio has improved. Likewise, has MJ McGriff been hitting the JUGS machine?

They're not Coppin State...but hey, who is?

It disappeared quickly. Time to embrace the 5th year grad transfer.

A QB to watch in 2020

If history is any reference, there is the chance it is an oversight on the roster. I recall he was recently (Arth era) featured as a UA Football Student of the Day?

Rain cancelled the event, but Arth and the staff will still be at Lake Forest CC at 11am for a meet and greet.

UA signed his contract, and UA fired him. If there’s any grousing over TB getting paid not to coach the Zips this year, who should get the blame?

If UA fired me, I’d put what’s best for me ahead of what’s best for UA too.

The good news is we can’t possibly shoot any worse from behind the arc than we did last year regardless of where they moved it to.

I think the traditional "Senior Night" is officially passé. Too bad...I always like the ceremony with the parents alongside the kid that you watched grow from an 18 year old role player into a 22 year old All MAC'er. Call me sentimental, but "Transfer Portal 5th-Year Eligibility Night" just ain't the same...

I'm guessing he'll foul out, get a couple rebounds, score a couple points, make 40% of his free throws and get a couple blocks consistently in Utah.

Trevor Brown doesn't merit even a 4th team all MAC mention? He's started every game at Left Tackle for the last 2 seasons, and done a great job.

So far, only an offer from Hampton? Bowden had said a lot of P5 schools were after him to play LB, but he wanted to play RB. Now he's listing himself as an LB? Twitter

Wasn't Abreu suspended for that game? Maybe Tree too? It was a fun trip. UA chartered a nice bus ride to Morgantown. Even provided beer on the bus!

I'll let you know once we return to being a legit contender for a MAC Championship.

McElwain Tells Hicks to Hit the Bricks

Sorry, there's too large a gap between a 72 Roo and a 19 Roo.

He’s only going to get better. Really looking forward to seeing what Arth and Gasser do with our WR’s this year, and next (with everyone returning).