Blue & Gold

6'3", 280 3-star OL from McKinleyville, CA.  Former Nevada commit.

5'11" 160 WR/CB Courtney Jackson Gateway HS, Monroeville, PA

We seriously have three really good rivalries. Makes football & basketball seasons a lot of fun! Wish we had more of a rivalry with Toledo. Seems so natural.

Thanks, @Let'sGoZips94 Seems like awfully light interest for an Ohio Mr. Football award winner. Idk. Whatever.

Kostalac needs to not leave his feet while playing D. I'd recommend he not try so much to block shots; just put his arms straight up & make them shoot over you.

Abraham Alce 6'0" 235 lbs. 3-star Linebacker / Running back

ABJ: Zips top Falcons for first MAC victory I didn't realize BUGS' Justin Turner - a freshman - scored 30 points. He's going to be tough.

Jaden Sayles' mom is on twitter & around 7:30 simply tweeted "Way to go!!!" along with a retweet of Akron Zips MBB's tweet about the win today. The fact she's happy about the win & doesn't seemed primarily concerned with Jaden is probably an extremely good sign. I hope Jaden keeps taking it strong to the hole. I love it. I don't believe we've had a big attack the rim like this since Tree.

@chapelrob

Sayles & Cotton both looking really good for true freshmen. Sayles is going to be a beast & Cotton looks like a keeper! Great defensive intensity this first half. Much better than -vs- Buffalo. I thought we'd have to hold BUGS to the low-60's to win & we're on pace for that. Once Torrey Patton starts hitting his 3 the game's really going to open up for him. Right now he's awfully hesitant with that shot, but I still wish he'd launch 2 or three of them a game; he's got to get his confidence going with that shot.

I was gonna say that I'll bet the kids love it. I retweeted it & Devanier Floyd almost immediately "Liked" the retweet. But a bit later Zips Equipment tweeted that it's not going to be used in-game; just a recruiting tool.

This game's going to be won or lost on the defensive end of the floor.

ABJ: Zips hope to rebound from poor start, get first MAC win against BUGS

I pray the surgery is successful & that E-man recovers fully and quickly.

Loved the defensive intensity displayed by Buffalo. I truly appreciated that effort and hustle. The quick, relentless, swarming defense Buffalo displayed against us on the hardwood reminded me of what Stanford did to us on the pitch. Totally took us out of our game & we weren't able to adapt/respond. Haven't had a beatdown like that since VCU. I think we're athletic (at least relative to past Akron squads), but Buffalo looked much quicker to a man. Loved the game & attitude Cotton displayed. He's the only one who didn't look frustrated & rattled. There was one point where we had four freshmen and a sophomore on the floor last night. Earlier in the season I said I just didn't appreciate E-man's game. Then he had, what, 3 good games in a row (and even made basketball moves a couple of times)? Looks like that was clearly an aberration; he's just not worth much -v- quality competition. Kostelac looks to have potential, but remember how underwhelming even Zeke Marshall was his first 3 years? I guess most bigs are like that. Kostelac's got a ways to go. I wasn't able to make the game last night, but this team definitely needs our support. I'm going to be there cheering for & encouraging the fellas on Saturday, win or lose.

Already excited

@Illini Zip, all good questions regarding LePear... I know this topic has likely been covered at some point and it doesn't belong in this thread. But since it's slow today maybe some of you will humor me and answer my questions about Lepear Toles. He is from your general area, has anybody watched him play in person, thoughts? I think he's a steal from the clips I see. There is no way he is a 2 star prospect in my opinion. He is 6'-6" with smooth guard skills. I see him playing 1 through 3, possibly the 4. Groce has used shooting guards and small forwards to initiate the offense in the past so it's not an impossibility for him to play the point. Tony Carr at Penn State, point guard - 6'-5", is a nightmare for small guards. Also, does anyone know why Toles went the military academy and junior college route? Grades perhaps? Did he have any good offers coming out of high school? Finally, does he have 3 years of eligibility left starting next year? I would appreciate any feedback, thanks. Yes, LePear is from Canton, which is a neighboring city to the south of Akron, less than 20-minutes away. I saw LePear play, oh, maybe four times while he was in high school. I always enjoy following the local guys, so I was hoping we'd sign him coming out of high school. His game reminds me of Eric Parrish. I'd say he's not quite as athletic as Eric, but a slightly better ball handler. He was always know for his outside shot in high school, but really started blowing up when he became more aggressive driving to the hoop. He's also a pretty good passer. As you mentioned, I'd like to see him try to run the point. He was part-time PG in high school, but McKinley had another nice guard named Darryl Straughter who was only 5'8" & was also an excellent PG so LePear usually played off the ball. LePear is a versatile player. He lets the game come to him & doesn't normally force things. Sometimes in high school I wished he had forced the issue more, but he's a good team player. In the state playoffs his senior year he finally developed the attitude of "Give me the d@mn ball and get out of my way." He led McKinley to the state quarter finals before losing a close game to eventual state champion Lima Senior.

This has ended up being an extremely difficult schedule next year. Away games at Nebraska Iowa State Northwestern Buffalo Ohio EMU K.ent Good grief. I'll be surprised if we make a bowl next year :/

It's undisputed that our top 2 rivals are Ohio & K.ent. I feel our top 3 rivals are Ohio, K.ent and Buffalo. I don't like how it's been hammered out that every year we either play all three at home or all three on the road. Wish we could mix those three up a little. (Though, I suppose driving the 10 minutes to K.ent isn't a big deal. Lol.) P.s. Remember when Miami was a pretty big rival... especially in basketball? I'll bet a lot of younger posters don't.

Jayvon Graves scored 16.

Going small ball to start the 2nd half