Blue & Gold

2025 VERBAL COMMITMENTS TP - Amarie Archer, OL, 6-3, 300, transfer from ECU SIGNED: Markus Boswell, LB, 6-1, 230, Jireh Prep HS via Lake Travis, TX TP - Alex Branch, DB, 6-0, 190, Twinsburg HS, Twinsburg, OH transfer from KSUcks TP - Aamii Branch, DB, 5-10, 185, Forney, TX, transfer from Kilgore College SIGNED: Cibastian Broughton, QB, 6-0 175, Fleming Island HS, Fleming Island, FL TP - Chase Brown, DE, 6-2, 226, Cincinnati, OH, transfer from Dayton SIGNED: Jaiden Brown-Demery, OL, 6-3, 300, West Mifflin Area HS, PA SIGNED: Taven Curry, RB, 6-0, 225, Loxley, AL transfer from UL-Monroe SIGNED: Tairan Davis, S, 5-11, 185, Ursuline HS, Youngstown, OH TP - Jake Dennis, LS, 6-2, 220, Omaha, NE, transfer from Colorado State TP - Israel Duncan, DL, 6-3, 250, Vancouver, WA, transfer from Pasadena City College TP - Cyrus Durham, DL, 6-3, 250, Redwood City, CA transfer from Arizona TP - Mehki Flowers, S, 6-0, 200, Harrisburg, PA, transfer from Penn State TP - Jordan Gant, RB, 5-10, 205, transfer from Tennessee State TP - Chris Gee, RB, 5-11, 215, Fort Worth, TX, transfer from Colgate SIGNED: Jon Gould, OL, 6-5, 270, Maize HS, Maize, KS TP - Tim Grear, WR, 6-0, 190, transfer from Fresno St. TP - Bebe Hills, WR, 5-10, 175, transfer from Washington St. SIGNED: Gavin James, LB, 5-11, 205, Lincoln HS, Tallahassee, FL TP - Allen Jones, OL, 6-4, 310, transfer from West Alabama JUCO TP - Darrell Johnson Jr., OL, 6-4, 300, Indianapolis, IN, transfer from WKU TP - Michael Johnson Jr., QB, 6-3, 225, San Jose, CA, transfer from Syracuse TP - Ben Kamara, CB, 6-3, 205, Philadelphia, PA, transfer from Upper Iowa University SIGNED: Vann Kavals, DE, 6-4, 250, OLSH HS, Coraopolis, PA SIGNED: Maasai King, OL, 6-3, 300, JUCO: Lackawanna CC, originally from Scranton, PA TP - Julien Laventure, DL, 6-2, 285, Upper Darby, PA, transfer from Pennsylvania Western U. SIGNED: Kenneth McManus, OL, 6-2, 305, St. John's College HS, Washington DC TP - Cam Monteiro, WR, 6-1, 180, Brockton, MA, transfer from Pitt TP - Javirea Moore, OL, 6-5, 300, Lancaster, TX, transfer from East Texas A&M TP - Jayme Motley-Simmons, OL, 6-5, 315, transfer from University of North Alabama TP - Nehemiah Musika, DL, 6-1, 315, Milpitas, CA transfer from San Mateo College SIGNED: Devin Reeves, LB, 5-11, 220, Hayfield Secondary School, Woodbridge, VA TP - Adam Samaha, K, 5-11, 185, Ypsilanti, MI, transfer from North Carolina Gavin Schieler, LS, 6-3, 235, Normal Community HS, Normal, Illinois SIGNED: Luke Sivon, WR, 6-0, 195, Perry HS, Perry, OH TP - Jamari Somerville, S, 5-11, 190, Indian Head, MD, transfer from James Madison TP - DJ Stepney, DB, 5-11, 200, Macomb, MI, transfer from Marshall TP - Jamall Thompson, DL, 6-3, 250, Sarasota, FL, transfer from Samford TP - Eddie Vega, DL, 6-3, 285, Dinuba, CA, transfer from Reedy College SIGNED: Ty Watkins, DE, 6-3, 230, Mt. Healthy HS, Cincinnati, OH TP - Marcel Williams, WR, 6-0, 200, Hollywood, FL, transfer from Marshall CLASS BREAKDOWN Total Commits: 41 Offense: 19 QB: 2 (Broughton, Johnson Jr.) RB: 3 (Curry, Gant, Gee) WR: 5 (Grear, Hills, Monteiro, Sivon, Williams) OL: 9 (Archer, Brown-Demery, Gould, Johnson, Jones, King, McManus, Moore, Motley-Simmons) Defense: 19 DL: 8 (Brown, Duncan, Durham, Kavals, Laventure, Musika, Thompson, Vega, Watkins) LB: 3 (Boswell, James, Reeves) DB: 7 (Branch, Branch, Davis, Flowers, Kamara, Somerville, Stepney) Specialists: 3 K: 1 (Samaha) LS: 2 (Dennis, Schieler)

They're on fire and fun to watch!

Apparently God had to pull a few strings to get him the scholarship? 🧐🤨

[EDIT]: The above-posted media only sensitive to KSUcks fans.

On phone but got a commitment from JUCO CB Silas Proby from Reedly College, CA.

On phone but got a commitment from JUCO DE Lajoshua Jackson.

Oooh, a scrimmage! I’m expecting an insightful write up in the local paper tomorrow! 🤗🤗

Keshawn King (the RB from Virginia Tech) committed to Western Michigan.

I don’t remember ever receiving a commitment from a HS sophomore before.

This kid is awesome (IMHO). You have a better eye than me, @catdaddyp, but this kid was obliterating upperclassmen as a sophomore!

He's allowed to do that? I thought he'd be enlisted in the navy?

Much more respectable score yesterday only losing 3-0. Let's try to get one today. Btw, first pitch moved up to 11:00 a.m. today.

This past week Walsh Jesuit HS baseball played the top ranked team from Michigan & the game was broadcast for free on YouTube. The production was fantastic w/ 3-4 different camera angles & competent announcers. It was produced by a Michigan company (the announcers were slight homers for the Michigan team but nothing egregious). It was free. It was high school. I watched it on my 64" smart tv w/out a hitch. With stuff like this Idk how much longer ESPN is going to be relevant... or even a viable business model at all. Looks like sports production is really beginning to filter down to grass roots.

Yeah.

Miami signed Devin Bell. Idk if he has the athletic talent (I don't believe we offered Devin) to help us reach the top of the MAC mountain, but I've met Devin & he's the kind of person you want on your team and at your university. Polite, humble, smiling, well-spoken, mature. He's also a mountain of a young man. Built like an ox. I can only imagine what he's going to look like 3 years from now. 🤯 I'm still crossing my fingers for Hoban LB Rickey Williams. True stud.

My thinking: that's nice, but I'll take quality over quantity. Would you say that is on the mark, or would you say Miami & Toledo's early numbers are a harbinger of how the 2024 classes will ultimately shake out? (Really impossible to know for sure, I know... but just trying to make some interesting conversation.)

Would you guys rather have a true multi-purpose arena - like the Canton Civic Center, or Gund Arena (showing my age), which could also host indoor soccer, indoor football, hockey, etc., or a basketball-centric arena which can also host concerts. I'm torn. I like the versatility of the true multi-purpose arena, but don't like how far back the seats are for basketball as compared to the more intimate basketball-centric arenas. Just by watching other cities & schools online over the past decade, it seems to me the nicer new arenas being built for college basketball are basketball-centric arenas, which, of course, can also host concerts & volleyball, but not hockey or indoor soccer.

We play at KSUcks this weekend. 6:00 tonight 3:00 Saturday 1:00 Sunday

@kreed5120 and everyone else. Look at this beautiful arena. Southern Indiana University. It is 4,800 capacity & I would LOVE to have a facility like this. 4,800-seat University of Southern Indiana arena If we had something like this, like you noted, Kreed, you'd better get your season tickets to ensure your seat. Here is a short video on the arena - MUST WATCH

This is a good conversation, @kreed5120. Thank you. While I still think, if we were to build a true D-1 arena, the capacity should be 7,500, and I also think that across from Canal Park would be a perfect location... I also would be satisfied if it were on Exchange Street. I think the block between Allyn & Kling, where Thursday's Lounge & the Starz Market currently sit would be a good spot. If that block's not big enough, then cross over Kling & go from Allyn to Kathryn Place. Exchange is a major road in/thru downtown & would have auxiliary benefit to downtown restaurants/bars (which in turn would have auxiliary benefit to the U, especially after the city completes the Exchange Street Corridor project. I want Akron to be a college town!).

I'm close to your thinking, @72 Roo. I think 7,500 would be ideal. I definitely see where you're coming from, @kreed5120. I often think about how electric the JAR can get and the old saying comes to my mind, "Don't know what you've got till it's gone." But if we were to build a true D-1 arena (especially if it were downtown and able to attract more casual fans, which the JAR really doesn't) we should go for it & shoot for around a 7,500 capacity (just a shade less than Canal Park seats).

If any of you are on Twitter get on there and tell him he looks good in the blue & gold!

Certainly not great, but not bad either. I don't see any loges.