Blue & Gold

6' 4" __________________________________________________________5' 11" sixteen year olds typically have a little bit of growth left in them. Even if he doesn't, a 5' 11" guard can do some serious damage in the MAC. That pic is not of Bryan Hipsher, is it?

Thanks Timmyboy!6'3", 250lbs and a 4.5 40?! :blink: Holy cow!I love seeing the city boys getting offered!Come on Johnny Adams, stay home and represent!

I'm hoping to see Bryan Williams at RB. We need a home run hitter back there! I think Bryan has the potential to be the best RB in the MAC! But I'm biased.And I think we need to find a way to get Almondo Sewell on the field. Shane Shead too! I think we should move to a 3-4 defense. That may not be a big switch from a 3-3-5, but having another linebacker on the field as opposed to another DB just seems more smash-mouth to me. Besides, our linebacking crew is stocked and has a ton of potential! Get as many of them on the field as possible!

6' 4" __________________________________________________________Who the heck is this? And what's your point, is this dude actually 5'8" or something?

Looking ahead to next football season, I think we're in BIG trouble...I think we have a Big 10 caliber talent and depth at these positions (okay, the Big 10 excluding OSU and Michigan, because they are head and shoulders above the rest of the Big 10):-Running Backs = Big 10 caliber talent and depth-Wide Receivers = Big 10 caliber talent and depth-Linebackers = Big 10 caliber talent and depth-Defensive Backs = Big 10 caliber talent and depthHowever...-We will be breaking in 3 literally BRAND NEW QBs. 2 redshirt sophomores and 1 redshirt freshman!!!-Our OL looks like it may be a serious weakness!-Our DL is virtually non-existent due to academic casualties!I think our downright gluttonous wealth of talent at RB, WR, LB & DB could very well all go for naught due to a green QB & awful line play - for the game is won and lost at the line of scrimmage.In fact, I'm gonna toss out for discussion the possibility of us only winning 2 or 3 games all year. (I think we could beat Buffalo, Temple and BGSU while sleepwalking - but even Can't State tore us up last year.) Naturally, I hope I'm wrong, but can you build an intelligent argument against this? Good luck!

If Darryl Roberts and Lance Jeter join the team, would they then probably be counted with the scholarships we give out next year?

Since Jason is by far the best player to have come out of UA, we should have a larger-than-life bronze JT statue at one of the entrances.

There was an article in yesterday's Business section of the Beacon concerning the University Park Alliance. It mentioned a "possible" project for '07-'08 worth, I believe, 100's of millions. That's got to be the stadium and all the redevelopment surrounding it! Those rinky-dink bars and the Odd Corner had better not stall monumental progress such as this!

To be taken more seriously in basketball we really do need a new arena. Simply renovating the JAR, however nice the renovations may be, just won't suffice. But we've already got a new football stadium on the way. I think the train has already left this station. Maybe a few years after building our football stadium we can begin work on a new arena? Both the U and the city could really benefit from a nice arena facility.

Does anyone know why Marcus Johnson wanted to play at Dayton instead of stay home and represent? He knows KD, Rome & Dru and I just thought it would be a great fit. His athleticism could have really been an asset last season. Now he's in Dayton playing in a league with a bunch of Catholic schools that aren't any better than the MAC. (I'm assuming we offered him, maybe we didn't?)

There are a lot of talented players on this team. If we add Lance Jeter and Darryl Roberts next year (okay, Jeter would not be eligible till the following season, but for the sake of these numbers I'm going to include him) as well as preferred walk-ons Eric Coblentz and Andrew Moss, look at this roster:1. Mike Bardo2. Tim Carroll3. Jimmy Conyers4. Nick Dials5. Nick Goddard6. Nate Linhart7. Chris McKnight8. Steve McNees9. Cedrick Middleton10. Quade Milum11. John Rybak12. Jeremy Sallee13. Zach Sowers14. Jeremiah Wood, plus...15. Steven Sweich16. Brett McKnight17. Ronnie Steward, plus...18. Darryl Roberts19. Lance Jeter20. Andrew Moss21. Eric CoblentzThat's a lot of players!However, after next season we'd lose Dials, Goddard, Middleton, Milum, Sallee, Sowers and Wood, so it might not be as deep as it looks. That would leave us:1. Mike Bardo2. Tim Carroll3. Jimmy Conyers4. Nate Linhart5. Chris McKnight6. Steve McNees7. John Rybak8. Ronnie Steward9. Brett McKnight10. Steven Sweich11. Darryl Roberts 12. Lance Jeter13. Eric Coblentz14. Andrew MossSo that's more like it. There'll be a log jam this next season, but the following year, things will be thinning out quite a bit.

Check it out. Jason Taylor's little brother is a senior in high school this year. He's on the Zips' radar, but according to Rivals we have yet to offer him. Knowing he comes from the same gene pool that produced Jason, I say we offer him... YESTERDAY!!!http://www.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=63000

I heard from a reliable source today that Lake HS shooting guard Eric Coblentz is talking with Keith Dambrot today about walking on to the team. Eric is a very good student so will be given an academic scholarship, instead of an athletic scholarship. Eric is a very good player. He's 6-3, was named 2nd Team D-2 All-Ohio and averaged 24 points per game, 5 rebounds per game and 3 assists per game. From what I hear he really wants to play for Akron. Earlier this season he was offered a scholarship by Liberty University, but turned it down. Considering we would not be using an athletic scholarship with Eric, this would be a very solid pick up for the Zips!

Between the new fieldhouse and Exchange St.

Maybe they were just trying to spread the wealth a little bit.

Toledo and Akron are both building their programs to compete with mid and lower level BCS schools. We both are building Top 25 caliber rosters. But, with those high goals, both of our programs have accepted a few players of incredible talent but questionable character. Oh, well. What are we gonna do? We simply can't be as selective as OSU, Texas, USC or Florida. We would have probably been thrilled if he would have enrolled at Akron and then we'd be the program w/ red faces. Hopefully Toledo can clean things up a bit.

This is huge! We need a bigger, athletic shooting guard and Jeter fits that role perfectly! It would be amazing to see him running out there after next season!PG - Ronnie Steward 5-10 or Steve McNees 6-2SG - Lance Jeter 6-3SF - Brett McKnight 6-6PF - Chris McKnight 6-7C - Steven Sweich - 6-9That's a sweet 16 lineup!

I wish the game were still on Saturday. I'm not going to be able to make it this year.

Dru's has NBA range, but he shoots the ball from his shoulders and not from above his head = too tought to get that shot off in the league. Also, Dru has NBA handles, but he's not explosive/quick enough for the league. Actually, he wasn't explosive enough for the MAC! With the exception of Cedrick, we didn't have any guards who could regularly beat their defender off the dribble and get into the paint. That's why I'm excited to see what Ronnie Steward brings next season! He should give us some needed quickness at the PG spot, which will open things up for everyone else. And if Darryl Roberts is eligible and playing, all the better!

We need more FBI agents to investigate programs like Toledo! Just joking! Toledo's a great institution as well.UA's School of Law is one of the finest you will find. I have an acquaintance who is a graduate of the UA School of Law. He finished the Bar Exam with the highest score in the state of Ohio, was employed directly out of school, and is now employed (quite lucratively) right here in our fair city.I also have a friend who is a graduate of UA's accounting program. She was also employed directly out of school, and is now a young and successful accountant out on the west side of town.UA is a great school; Akron is a city in the process of a very real renaissance; and the U is on the cusp of building a truly special athletics program. We'd love for your son to be a part of our community!Also, I must say, that we Zips fans are an awfully loyal group of people. It is exceedingly rare that we EVER get down on ANY student athlete. Of course we all want to win, but honestly, as long as the student-athlete is hustling and giving it his/her all, that's the primary concern and source of pride for most Zips fans. We are absolutely NOT a fair-weather crowd.While on your visit, if by chance you are shown any pictures or architectural renderings of the new football stadium, would you come back to ZipsNation and share with us what you saw?! We are all extremely eager to see what the architects have drawn up and for our new stadium to be built!

This might be a good time to bring up the old question of why aren't Zips football and basketball games on WZIP. We had this discussion a couple years back, but I remember what the reasoning was. Doesn't it just seem logical and obvious to put our flagship sports broadcasts on the university's station?

Last year I was expecting Johnny Long to have a breakout year, but then he rarely ended up seeing any PT.

True, but I'm hoping Williams takes over at RB. We need a more explosive option than Kennedy and Williams is the man!

I posted this elsewhere, but FYI, Roberts was 1st Team D-1 All-Ohio at PG last year. If he makes the grades that would give us three 1st Team D-1 All-Ohio and one 1st Team D-2 All-Ohio players on the roster next year! Plus Wood! Plus Sweich! Holy cow!

Never mind, I just saw the Roberts post further down the page. Yeah, Roberts was 1st Team D-1 All-Ohio PG last year!!! I was excited about him last year but he didn't end up graduating from high school, or something ridiculous like that, so he was, needless to say, ineligible. He would be a TREMENDOUS addition!!!