Blue & Gold

Dennis' stats at Rittman don't exactly jump off the page, but he obviously had intangibles colleges are looking for. He caught 31 passes for 221 yards and five touchdowns for a Rittman team that finished 2-8 last fall. However, the athletic Dennis has attended a number of college camps where he's been able to demonstrate his talents. Dennis has been hand-timed at 4.49 in the 40 at the BGSU football camp. He set the Rittman school track records in the 200-meter dash (22.6) and 400 (50.49) as a sophomore, but was slowed by a pulled hamstring most of his junior track season.

+1. Interesting.

Hadn't they moved Isaiah Wiliams to OL? I see they once again have him listed @ DL. During the spring game I thought he looked pretty solid on the OL.

Over the years I've taken a number of middle school students to UA games and on a handful of occasions they've remarked, "They don't have a very nice gym." Again... MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS. That's revealing/depressing on a few different levels.

Looking at the scholarship chart, we need to add Nyles Evans. With the departure of Blake Justice, that will give us two scholarships to award next year.

GT on Coach Bowden. Courtesy of Akron.com.

George Thomas quotes Coach Bowden Without being solicited, Bowden made a push for the basketball program to get a new facility to replace Rhodes Arena, which is 30 years old. “I, too, want to be part of the Akron big picture. I can keep my nose to the grindstone. I don’t have to look up or look down. I just have to go try to win ballgames,” he said. “Keith [Dambrot] has now got them to a successful level where if he wants to attract the premier athlete, he needs a premier facility. If we want to be poised to do what he wants to do … it [Rhodes Arena] needs to be replaced.”

That's two 3-star recruits before July 15th. This is by far the earliest I ever recall Akron receiving a verbal from a 3-star player, let alone two of them. Way to go Coach Bowden! Go Zips!

+1. All updates greatly appreciated! We are Zeke's biggest fans & no matter where he ends up we're always going to be in his corner.

Nevermind.

SportsCenter? Really? I'll have to check that out. Did they mention UA?

Excellent comment.

He definitely loves Akron. I was on Waterloo Road/224 today in Springfield. There's a drive through with an old school bus parked out front. Half of the bus is painted red & silver w/ the words "Sloopy," while the other half of the bus is painted orange & brown w/ the words "Dawg." The bus epitomizes much of what ails Akron. The majority of Akron has been PWNED by Cleveland & Columbus to the point we've lost, as Zipmeister said our own sense of place/identity. The mayor is a lightning rod, for sure. But he's a fighter & would die for Akron. Long live The Don.

Have they been shuffling the players a bit? Isn't C.J. James a DE and isn't Moses McCray a DT?

Thank you

Has anyone seen Nyles Evans in action, and if so, how does he look?

"Rebounds in college translate better to both that particular stat in the NBA, and NBA-level athleticism." -Kelly Dwyer in writing about 7-foot OKC Thunder draftee Steven Adams. Linky I always though Zeke should have averaged more rebounds than he did. Then I read the above quote. Maybe this is common knowledge in NBA scout circles? Anyway, Big Z will make very good money playing somewhere. He's got a good life in front of him. If we all could be so blessed to play a game for a living. P.s. Dru & Rome are both in town right now. Zeke should hook up with them & see how much they enjoy playing in Europe.

This is far from random, but again, LBJ gave us a shout out to an international audience after winning the championship. "I'm LeBron James, from Akron, Ohio…" Though I couldn't find a youtube clip, 'Bron then reiterated the sentiment in his post-game interview with Magic Johnson, Jalen Rose & Bill Simmons.

Pohl. Hirschman. Woodson. Kincade. Stacked.

This.

George Thomas for Akron.com. I wasn't aware teams did this. Two teams have invited Zeke to workout head-to-head with another possible draft choice. On June 12th Minnesota is having Zeke workout against Pitt's Steven Adams. Later in the month Portland has Big Z's working out against Indiana's Cody Zeller.

The $40 million University Edge will offer 578 beds and individual bathrooms in two- , three- and four-bedroom apartments with major appliances, granite countertops and leather living room furniture. The complex will include tanning beds, free Internet and cable and a “resort-style” swimming pool. Retail stores — Penn Station and Chipotle have signed contracts — will occupy the ground floor. Chipotle. It's about time.

Ohio.com on the sale of the Rubber Bowl. New owners still thinking USFL franchise.

That's funny, I'm crossing my fingers Big Zeke gets drafted by the Heat. Currently, Miami's two tallest players are "only" 6'10" - Chris Bosh & Chris Anderson. He'd have a great shot with the Heat & playing w/ 'Bron would be fantastic for Zeke's career (LBJ makes everyone better).

Here is an ABJ article on Dom Iero. Dom is a Zips baseball recruit & I'm really excited to see him on the diamond for the Zips. Dom is a great all-around athlete who, besides being an exceptional baseball talent, was Stark County football POY (IIRC... he may have only been Federal League POY), as well as 1st Team Federal League in basketball. [edit:] Iero was Hoover’s quarterback in football as a senior and was named the Federal League Player of the Year and the Associated Press Northeast Ohio Division I Inland District Offensive Player of the Year. He was a first-team All-Ohio selection. In basketball, he was an honorable mention All-Ohio guard in Division I and earned second-team All-Federal honors after being named first-team All-Federal as a junior. Baseball is his primary sport, and he is en route to earning a second consecutive first-team All-Federal League nod as a hard-hitting second baseman. I should have read the article before posting.