Blue & Gold

😅 Missed this one earlier today

Yeah, it's a gamble. When you enter the TP you forfeit your scholarship.

Huh? Who to OU?

On my phone so can’t post link, but we’ve received a verbal commitment from an OL. Maurice Long, 6-6, 285, out of South Point, Ohio.

I vote we do that anyway!!!

I've thought about Marshall quite a bit over the past season. I think losing him hurt us this year more than we'll ever know.

Thank you so much for this! This series is going to be great! DJ is definitely the clear cut #1 coming into Spring Ball. But I'm glad you like what you see in Marousek. I think Joey is surprisingly athletic (he played short stop in HS baseball) and might surprise some people in what he can do in JoeMo's system.

The can of worms is open now. Is there any way to put the toothpaste back into the tube? I've thought this for about a week but hadn't posted, but if you look at the list of transfers on the Verbal Commits website is absolutely ludicrous. This simply is not sustainable. I think (hope?) It'll work itself out over the next handful of years. Kids will see that the grass is not typically greener on the other side of the fence. (I think our current roster will learn this while watching what happens with Ali's career.)

I liked Azis' potential and liked having a 7-footer... but I'm thinking old school. The game really has changed and Aziz not being an offensive threat anywhere but inside 2-feet of the basket really was a liability... especially in today's game. Give me a 6-8 post player (call him a "center" if you want) who can run the floor and stretch the floor on the offensive end with an outside/mid-range shot. Who knows how he'll ultimately develop, but right now Aziz is essentially a mediocre rim-protector.

A comment not specific to the Zips but college basketball in general: the transfer portal has made the coaches' jobs much more difficult recruiting wise. Are they going to have to recruit new teams every year? It may really lead to coaches kissing a lot of current players rear ends and ultimately that is not best for player development. Just some thoughts.

Another fantastic article from GT. Props.

What?!

Yep. I cheer for anyone who wears AKRON on their chest. But it's fun watching the young men develop & then tearing up for them on Senior Night.

This is what I posted on social media But I'll be more blunt here. This hurts. This hurts for us and for him. For us it hurts on a personal level in that Groce & Co. gave Ali his only chance and have poured 3 years into developing his game. Now some other program gets to enjoy the fruits of Groce's risk, faith, and labor, while we fans get yet another "what if" scenario. But more importantly, this hurts for Ali because I think he's gotten woefully bad advice. He would have been a team leader here for the next two years on a young team with fantastic locker room and on-court chemistry, enjoyed a luxuriously long leash from Coach Groce, would have continued to have plays drawn up for him, and would have gotten 40-minutes of PT a game if he wanted. He was a perfect fit for this culture and for this system. Good luck getting that anywhere else.

An ABJ article on Day One of Spring Ball! Props.

3 players from Cincinnati Taft on an unofficial visit. OL's Mysta Moore and Elijah Garnes, and LB Ronald Cutts.

I like the increased excitement around the program. This tweet was posted around 1/2-hour ago & already has 67 "Likes" and 19 retweets. Not Ohio State, but certainly better than we've been doing the last 4 years.

Thanks for posting that, @bigjim. I love watching those in-depth video breakdowns. They really demonstrate how football is the ultimate team sport & why they say QB is the single most important position in all of sports. That's a lot for any current Zips QB to absorb in one off season, isn't it? Maybe for you guys who've played ball at a higher level Coach JoeMo is using jargon you're already somewhat familiar with? Maybe the version of JoeMo's offense we'll run this first season will be greatly watered down?

Not in the slightest sense.

Wow, you are new to the Zips. The answer to your question is none. Not even the local Akron Beacon Journal. However, as far as the Akron Beacon goes, if you need to know anything about the Cleveland Browns or Columbus Buckeyes you are in luck!

What excellent breakdowns, @catdaddyp. THANK YOU!!