Blue & Gold

In other MAC news... Toledo beat Loyola 74-70 & NIU beat USF 59-48 Edit: Oregon State took it to Kant, 69-50

This past year showed how valuable Rodney Coe & Cody Grice were. I was hoping Hamilton could fill the massive void left by those two, but alas.

Final: 88-80 Zips. Great game!

Josh Williams!

Man, great game!

So... TDM's on fire and, in typical KD strategery, KD takes him out of the game. I will go to my grave not understanding why KD does that.

Wish I could see that battle between Big Dog & Green. TDM!!

Josh on fire tonight!

This is where I'm at in my thinking on these two. (The staff is still going after a JUCO RB, so may hope to redshirt both. Idk.) But Suggs could be the starer by the end of next year, maybe by the middle of the year. He's a good, old-fashioned RB. My only concern is, with the offense we run, does a RB ever get enough carries to get into a groove? Idk, but I digress... Marquise Bridges is a breath-taking athlete. I mentioned in another thread that when I watched him accelerate through the hole I had the same feeling I got watching Jimmal Ball dunk. He's that kind of athlete. But I'm betting the coaches want to use him like a JoJo Natson, slot guy. Get him the ball in space & hope he makes the coaches job easy. I never saw Weston Bridges play, but I've seen Todd Sibley a handful of times and I'd take either Suggs or Bridges over Sibs in a heartbeat, every time. I love Todd Sibley's build - he's a bulldozer & will be a great "workhorse" back for Pitt. (I believe Sibs ended his career as Ohio's #5 all-time leading rusher.) But... and I'm not just saying this because I'm a Zips fan... give me either Suggs or M. Bridges over Sibs... let alone BOTH!

On the defensive side of the ball I think it's going to be tough for these guys to make an immediate impact. One, because we'll want to redshirt as many as possible to give them a year in a college strength program, but also because of the talent we've got coming back. Returning D players: SAFTIES: Zach Guiser Shawn Featherstone Jordan George Reggie Corner Jr.? (This guy's legit & is going to be a great one) CORNERS: Kyron Brown Alvin Davis (S, I know... but with his size he may be better suited @ C?) Jordyn Riley? (LOVE this guys' film) LINEBACKERS: (this should be a team strength next year): UGIII Jamal Davis II (this guy's a beast & a game changer) James King (hey, just like Jelani Hamilton, this guy's a transfer from The U, so he's gotta be awesome, right?) DEFENSIVE ENDS: Deon'Tae Moore Brian Bell Justin Sampson? (still a little light in the britches) Tracy Jordan? (has a college body already... but I question his motor; he didn't dominate this year like he should have) Kobie Booker? (this is where I think Kobie could be a terror. 6-1, 250 & can run & has quick feet. He's built like the Incredible Hulk) DEFENSIVE TACKLES: (almost unheard of for true frosh to make impact here) Brock Boxen (crossing my fingers) Ibrahima Camara Darius Copeland (coaching staff loves Darius but I never saw him do much this year but get pushed off the LOS) Davon'te Jest (excited to see him next year - after the desired year in the weight room) DeAndre Brimage? ("Brim" needs a year in the weight room to compete @ DT on the D-1 college level. Definite redshirt IMO.)

^^Good calls. I'll edit the above list. Actually, I should probably list Justin Sampson as an ATH because he may end up playing WR.

Here's the current class broken down by position. I'm excluding the two verbals from the Oregon kids because I'm with WadZip in doubting they'll ever set foot on campus. QB: 1 Nick Johns, JUCO OL: 2 Marcus Kidd (Garfield) Hunter Corne (Dunnellon HS, FL) RB: 2 Jemarulin Suggs (East) Marquise Bridges (Ellet) WR: 1 Dusty Burkhart (Coventry) DL: 4 DeAndre Brimage (East) Tracy Jordan (Springfield) Kobie Booker (Barberton) Justin Sampson (STVM) LB: 1 Will Barto (Briarcrest Christian HS, TN) DB: 2 Marquess Callaway (East) Reggie Corner Jr. (McK) Jordyn Riley (North Marion HS, FL) ATH: 1 Malik Woodridge (STVM)

Tweet from Marla Ridenhour from tonight's CAVS game in Milwaukee: P.s. the AKRON Beacon Journal can send Marla to Milwaukee for a regular season CAVS game but can't send GT to Youngstown for the Zips' season opener?

This class is filling up. 18 verbals now. Still hoping we sign one more QB. Still hoping we get a verbal from local product Bubba Arslanian (LB). Still hoping to get that huge verbal from UGIII's brother Uriah Gilbert, DT, 6'-3", 325. We also have an offer out to Hudson P Jonah Wieland. Kyle Foster is excellent with the placement punts, but Jonah is one of those punters who can change field position. With our D we really could have used a leg like that this year. Wonder how many schollies we're gonna hold on to for potential transfers? (DL, DL, DL!!!)

Lame sauce

Hope we're still going after this guy with everything we've got. WE NEED DEPTH.

Per LZip: Some more info...looks like he signed with Virginia out of high school. Got into a little trouble and transferred to JuCo after freshman year. He should have 3 years of eligibility. http://247sports.com/Bolt/QB-Nick-Johns-granted-a-release-from-UVa-45171395 247 currently has him ranked as a 3 star prospect. Shows no offers though? http://247sports.com/Player/Nick-Johns-27568 And here is his HS profile http://247sports.com/Player/Nick-Johns-27568?Institution=1057 edit: Also good to see he will be here in the spring per Milwee.

Season highlights

^^Awesome! I should have started a new thread for this since he is a commit. I'm going to re-paste everything in a new thread, LZip.