72 Roo

I saw Brett Ekkins our OL coach a day after the spring game. We had a great conversation. We started talking about the spring game but progressed into the future of Zip football. I'm really impressed with him. His enthusiasm is infectious. He seems to be a guy who is in love with his job and more importantly loves being at Akron. I like having that attitude on our coaching staff. I told him i wasn't impressed with the run blocking in the game. he offered that they did not want to show anything but he felt good about our run game. He said he loved the bigger backs we have coming in like White and Alce (sp ?). Our line is evolving to more athletic guys which will allow us to run wider, something we haven't done much in the past. Coach E said the quality of our recruiting has improved so much because 1) players love our facilities, 2) they see the coaching staff as men who enjoy Bowden, each other, and are here for the long run, and 3) recruits feel Akron will win soon. I asked coach about RJ Kelly from Hoban. Specifically wondering how we beat out Minnesota and other power 5 schools for him. Coach said Kelly really appreciated what Akron could do for him in academics i.e. business school and the future opportunity to play for conference championships. Most of all he liked the culture that is building in Akron football. Finally coach said he has been assigned Columbus for recruiting. The feeling is that too many good players are coming out of there and we need to get our share. I also thought back to ex Pres Wilson when he remarked that we should cut scholarship/recruiting expenses by focusing on more Ohio recruits. Perhaps this is an outgrowth of that. I say fine as long as we are getting the quality we need to excel. I'm tired of losing. No breaking news here, but I thought some of you might enjoy hearing more about football.

The match saw the intensity ramp up after the opening 15 minutes. Both teams came to play and win. It got chippy at times. I thought Maryland had more opportunities to score but the Zips were not impressed. I spoke with Jared at the half and he said the team is starting to come together. They are understanding each other better and he will have depth once again. The new guys coming in will supplant many of today's starters. Bottom line is we played Maryland even with players that may not start in the fall. We will probably have a rocky fall start, but Jared will get them to gel. My biggest concern is who will be our distributing midfielder next fall? get that solved and we are ready to go deep in the playoffs.

I think we all have opinions as to why this presidential turmoil is hitting us now. For what it's worth here is what I have heard from an administrator at UA regarding the recent turn of events on Wilson. The executive committee of the board of trustees felt they needed stability so they went to him and said the following (paraphrased) " Matt we realize the UCF position was a once in a lifetime opportunity i.e. huge enrollment, past experience there, more prestige, more money, bigger stage, attractive area, etc., but we need stability and to quiet down the turmoil. We want a commitment from you that you will give us 5 years. Can you give us that?" Matt responded "I like it here, but if I hear of an interesting situation I will listen." The board said that's not good enough and we won't accept it. Matt and the board agreed he should resign. I have never felt we have had a good, much less visionary, board of trustees. But in this case I firmly feel they finally did their job. So I support this action while I regret losing Matt's talent. Yet with no commitment we can't have him continue. Now I hope we see the board actually lead and not be content with being political appointees who only seek to pad their resume for future opportunities. Not sure that will happen, but I can dream can't I?

S**t, she would have been a perfect fit for us. That lady knew how to build a program, win and coach. Unfortunately our change was necessary. I look to see the same change in softball. Our program is at an all-time low.

I appreciate all you do to keep us informed as to TB's coaching decisions. He's got my support but I just can't get my head around his choices for Offense and Special Team coordinators. We have performed so badly over the last several years in both areas that a change is warranted. I realize this is a pet peeve of mine and maybe not shared by others, but a change can be positive for this team. Coaching does matter as we have the talent to put a better product on the field. None of that affects the respect I have for your informative posts. They are too notch. Thanks.

Cap'n and CDMac, Thanks for the info. It is much appreciated. I believe this team will be much better than last year, but I am nervous as to how many games we will win.

Damn Z, I was hoping for a reorganization that brought us new faces as OC and Special Teams Coordinator. My hopes are crushed.

Count me squarely in the camp that believes we will be deeper and better next year. I see us challenging for a MAC title. That being said I send out much love and respect to Torrey and Sina. I think both made the right call. The fit was not there at UA and wasn't going to be for the next two seasons. Who knows beyond that. Groce will improve the team with the scholly's he now has and I don't see any reason to doubt that he will find the talent we need. The approaching signing date means squat to me. Grace will do it in his time. I felt he did a great job last year with little time and he is now positioned to do even better since he has had more time. The team will have it's problems next season, but it will be much improved over this season. Let the guy do his job. The world is not collapsing.

Be nice now.

Zipmeister, I got one too. I have no lingering aftereffects from my sporting career at UA. It's hard to get hurt on the bench. But in reality I did not deserve to play more. i just wasn't good enough to deserve more time. Regardless I am always proud to have played enuf to letter and to be a member of the Varsity A. I hope the settlement helps others who have the affects of CTE.

I did not mean to imply that the staff had given up on Virshon. They didn't. Rather he gave up on doing things their way. He was a talent no doubt, but this is addition by subtraction. The staff did everything they could to help him along the way, but it was always going to be the Akron basketball way, not Virshon's. He could not accept that. Next year his playing time was probably going to be reduced. With that you risk him being a cancer in the locker room. That is not an acceptable risk. Good luck to him wherever he goes. The team will be better for his departure.

I spoke with a member of the staff this Sunday and he said all were sorry to see Version leave but no one would miss his lack of control and immaturity. The staff felt this was best for the team and the culture they wanted to achieve. That may be a good sign because Groce is looking long term, not necessarily seeking to leverage a great season for a better job as fast as possible. Spare me the comments that Groce will leave ASAP. I believe he will leave one day too, but I feel he will build a higher level of expectation than KD did before leaving. I'll take it. Akron is a stepping stone job, not a destination as much as I hate that.

If we have to lose a player or two due to character issues I'm all for doing it now so we set straight what culture we want from those players coming in. I'm not sold that Virsohn understands that or is willing to submit to a team first mentality. That being said I am not particularly close to the inner workings of the team and if i am wrong I am actually happy to be so. I want to keep talent, but it must be tempered by good character and the team above all else.

Buddy, you got it right! Regardless of our ups and downs this season or our ZNO arguments we can all take pride in this team. They will leave everything on the court. To me that's always been something of a trademark of Zip sports team. It's who we are.

I'll stand by what I said. Within that statement was "Seriously I'd like to see him straighten out...". I appreciate your support of his learning process and he deserves that. But how many freshmen had two suspensions basically within the first half of the season and went on to show good character and be a productive teammate? Do I want him gone? Hell no. Just start putting the team and school first.

But if it gets us leadership in the form of Senator Blutarsky it may be worth calling in Wormer. The country needs him now.

I don't see a future for Cotton here. He blows up under pressure and reveals he lacks character, and smarts. I have seen many times this year that I was not proud to say he was a Zip. If uncorrected it will get worse. I'd put him on double secret probation and have Dean Wormer deliver the news to him. Seriously I'd like to see him straighten out, but I'm tired of trying to talk guys out of being punks. We expect more at Akron. I think Coach Groce does too. Hence, I don't see him here for long.

Does anyone have an opinion on potential replacements? What about tapping into the Mount Union pipeline and seeing if HC Kehres would come to Akron as the DC. Didn't he handle defense for his dad before becoming the HC. Or was he the OC? Hell, I'd gladly take him as OC too! Seriously, I'd like opinions on who we can get. And no I don't want to offer the job to Keith Dambrot back just to get him in Akron again. That thread is so boring.

I gotta get this off my chest. This is not a good team. Not because of talent but because of how they play: they don't protect the basketball. An example is their often lazy, one -handed passes that are picked off they stop running plays and show no movement in the second half. That is not because of fatigue, they lose focus and purpose Ivey is a poor ball handler. He has a high dribble that can be stolen. He turns it over trying to penetrate and when tightly defended on penetration he is a terrible passer because he gets himself sealed off. Groce tolerates too much poor shot selection They will be better next year, but they can be better this year. Why wait. Play smarter basketball.

Skip, are you sure you didn't get a degree from PCCC? Probably in math, advanced math for them.

Thanks Zippy.

Can he be red-shirted this year or has he played in too many games? for sure, if he can take this year as a red-shirt year I'd do it.

A new OC would be a blessing. Continuing the local connection, I have watched Tim Tyrell at Hoban for the last three years. He is a head coach who also acts as the OC. You can not prepare for everything he can do. He is creative while playing to the strengths and abilities of his team. Colleges have started to float offers his way and Hoban knows it is just a question of time before he goes. I believe he would make a great addition to Terry's staff and be a huge improvement as a play caller.

There have been some good replies to my comment about the OL. I agree that an upgrade at running back will make our OL better. No doubt. No argument. My opinion is based on what I saw of the OL over the last two years. They flat out underperformed and that is indisputable. They were big, veteran and poised for production. So we wished but they did not block, period. On nearly every televised game the color commentator noted our guys got handled by the opposing DL. And we played some weak opponents at times. Let's judge them on what happened, not what might have been had Ball or Sands been healthy, or the receivers not dropped balls, or the coaching changed. They did not do what they were asked to so. Simple.