ZachTheZip

One of the things that held back the team the past two years may have been a simple lack of confidence. Saying that their goal is to get to the Sweet 16 is great, but to actually get there they have to truly believe that they are good enough to beat every team they play. One of the things that hurt us against Notre Dame in Chicago was that Zeke was something equivalent to being "starstruck". He acknowledged that after the game and understood how it affected him, so I don't think he will let that happen to himself again. The season before that, we had some kind of mental block when playing Can't and it cost us. I do think that the team has finally figured out the mental part of the game and we'll see that reflected in our "big" games. There's no reason why we shouldn't take those BCS teams to the wire with a chance to upset or why we shouldn't beat teams like CSU or Detroit or Valpo.

New offer: DE Willie Brown My guess is we're going to be seeing a lot of that showing up in the near future.

DE Poncho Barnwell commits to Syracuse.

The last place predictions may be accurate. We got curb-stomped by Mount Union in a 7-on-7 last night. I know some of you will say that those are useless and should be indicative of anything, but just on talent alone MU shouldn't be able to compete. And while I do still believe that our players have more natural talent, I just don't think they know how to put in the effort it takes to be a winner. The coaches can only do so much and if the players aren't willing to do the work in the offseason then what can be done about it? Shades of Brookhart's coaching? Maybe the players really do think that the amount of effort they've been putting out the last couple of years is enough. Maybe they think that having talent is enough to skate by. But hard work and playing with a passion can beat talent head to head and it can take the talent you have and make it that much better. From what I've heard, the players here really do think they're working hard, but I just don't think they understand just what kind of level of dedication it takes to be great at what you do.

http://www.ohio.com/news/123981674.html It was only a matter of time, really. UA now owns both sides of Lincoln Street and may simply close it down and turn it into a walkway.

Update: Looks like Andrew will be playing for the Zips this season, possibly as a walk-on.

This is how Clevelanders see Akron. It shows how they think they understand the city without ever coming within 20 miles of it just because they're "from the region" and heard about some stuff here from some friends.

Never heard of them. Does he have enough legroom in an ElDorado?

New offer: LB Lester Liston Jr. It would be a minor miracle for Ianello to land anybody that we are known to have offered currently. Is he incapable of finding the "diamond in the rough" recruits that can get a MAC team to a bowl?

Can't wait to see the result of the OU game on September 10th. VMI, FIU & KSPU 2 pm games work pretty good. Tailgating and you are able to go out at night. G-Webb has a new coach this year. Their OT win here apparently didn't carry over very far, as their old coach was canned I see a fair number of MAC-Big South encounters. Hopefully there won't be any surprises this year, especially when the Keydets come rolling into town. A rather sobering fact from last year is that non-scholly Bobby Moe (Robert Morris) managed to defeat Big South champs Liberty in the same season as the Zips were losing at home to Big South also-ran G-Webb. That's where we were. Let's see how far we can move forward in a year. That same Liberty team beat Ball State last year.

Will sit out the Big 33 game but still train with the PA All-Star team. I wanted to see him tear it up against all those BCS recruits, but I guess I'll have to wait until September for that. Edit: johnnyzip84 beat me to the punch.

Coaches Dambrot and Ianello will be on All Bets are Off today with Bruce Drennan, who is broadcasting from Canal Park. Dambrot is scheduled to be on the program between 3:40-4 p.m., and Ianello between 4-4:20 p.m. I'll be recording it to check out later tonight.

And in Columbus and many other cities they don't need professional sports franchises because the local university has reminded the populace that they're the only show in town. I do wish UA could find a way of reminding the city that we're the biggest show in our town. Feed the disconnect along the Interstate 80 line. Grow our own civic pride instead of latching onto one of the most pathetic sports towns in the country. LeBron started something, or maybe he sensed something that was already there and tried to feed it. UA should do the same, but a little more tactfully and without mentioning LeBron.

New offer: OG Johnny Caspers

Last year our first commitment came on March 19th from DB Bryce Cheek. The second verbal was reported on June 2nd from C John Clay Jr.

Stargel is listed as an OT by Rivals. Can't find him on any other recruiting site. In a 4-3 He'll likely end up playing as a DE.

Should the Heat hire Dambrot as their next head coach?

We'll get one when we start offering kids who don't already have ten BCS offers. Failing that, we might see a verbal commitment or two by September. I always hear about recruits wanting to get it out of the way so they can focus on their senior season, and I hope the Zips benefit once or twice from that mentality.

New offer: WR Kyle Kerrick Check back on the first page for an updated list of all offers so far. There are quite a few.

It is interesting to compare promotional efforts. I would refrain from calling it fun, however, until there's actually something worthwhile to compare.

New offer: DT Justin Montanez S Najee Murray verbals to OSU.

How's about a compromise. Instead of being on scholarship, the university just cuts them a check for the value plus an extra $10k in spending money every semester. They still have to be enrolled full time and maintain their GPA and all that in order to be on the roster. We'll see if they're better off that way. We'll see if their financial prowess lets them live a better life. I would bet good money that more than half of them would end up spending it all on stupid crap like tattoos and video games and then have to resort to doing the same illegal things the OSU players have been doing just to put food on their table. They would then complain how they aren't getting paid enough to compensate for their poor financial skills. You could pay college athletes hundreds of thousands of dollars and it still wouldn't be enough for some of them. What's why the NCAA rules are they way they are.

New offer: DE Adam Kranda The recent flurry of offers seems to stem from the Pitt camp, which our coaching staff attended. They're heading to Columbus for the OSU camp next, except for Ianello who's heading to Los Angeles.

Athlon tabs us at #116 "The Zips have nowhere to go except up after winning only one game in Rob Ianello’s first season. The offense must take a major step forward, and that begins with better play from the quarterback position. On defense, improvement in the secondary is the biggest priority. Akron should be better in 2011, but don’t expect this team to be a factor in the MAC East race. Another last-place finish is a possibility."