Dr Z

Thanks for taking the time to post @72 Roo. Great information! You had the running backs name spelled correctly, Abraham Alce @boss_abraham. Below are some quotes from coach Bowden (in case you missed) about players you mention above. Info extracted from the recruiting article @Captain Kangaroo wrote back in February. RJ Kelly―Toughness is the first word that came to mind when describing RJ Kelly, the offensive lineman from Akron Hoban. “Tough, tough kid. Good student. He got looks from a lot of Power 5 schools. But when it came down to choosing between MAC-level programs I think Coach Boykin did a great job convincing him to come to Akron. He and Fonte...those are the two local linemen we were after, and they’re absolutely huge for us.” Keyondre White―The Zips staff felt the need to develop a bigger, more physical presence at the running back position. Keyondre White fits the bill. “At 231 lbs, Keyondre is a big guy. We haven’t signed a big back like that since we’ve been here. Now we’ve got Devanier Floyd, Abraham Alce and Keyondre. He enrolled early, and I can’t wait to watch him in the spring. He looks a little heavy right now, but I don’t want him to lose any weight until we see how he runs. He runs real low, and carriesa big punch. He’s got enough speed to break a long one, but he’s also apunishing runner. If he can’t run around a safety, he can run over him.” Abraham Alce―“Great story. He’s a six foot one, two hundred fiftypound running back He played on a great high school team that lost in the state championship game. He’s just a big back that can run. We (Coach Eric Hickson – now at Kansas State) recruited him heavily, early- on. You know we really didn’t think he’d be available past December. But when he decided he didn’t want to play on the defensive side of the ball, we got back into the picture. He had a lot of offers to ‘mid-Power5’ type schools. We’re really excited to have him.”

From Darian Dailey's Instagram page. ?

Now that I see where most QBs have gone, I think Darnold or Rosen have the best chance, unless the Steelers or Patriots end up with Rudolph. It will be interesting to see where he ends up.

Nice article By David Jablonski, answers some concerns and questions. “Akron really, really just won me over,” Williams said. “They showed me the opportunity they’re going to have for me. I really bought into that. I loved their plans to utilize me. I have to sit out one year, and I love their plan for me in my off year. It’s a really important year for me, health-wise and skill-wise on the court. After I came back from my Kent State visit and talked to both coaches and really talking to Akron, I really felt they were 100 percent about me and wholeheartedly wanted me in their program. I wanted to be in the program, too. I’m 100 percent all in.” “I love coach Groce,” Williams said. “I love his excitement. I love his honesty. I love his plan for me. He talked a lot about what I need to work on. I love that. I love the development piece. I still need to develop. I’ve only scratched the surface of my potential. He really wants to develop me, and I’m ready to go to work for him.” The year away from the court — at least in game action — will give him a chance to get healthy. He battled a back injury last season. “I’m at about 90 percent,” Williams said. “(Groce) wants me to make sure I’m at 100 and there’s no question and I’m not going to do anything to reset the process.” Asked what the main reason he left Dayton was, Williams said, “There was just a disconnect with the coaching staff. I didn’t like their plan for me. It’s a good group of guys, a good coaching staff, but our plans didn’t match up. I want to go to a place where the coaches’ plan and my plan match up. We both want to win championships. I know basketball’s not done for me after these two years. I want to find a program that’s going to set me up for life after college and even life after basketball.”

@frankptenza_

You never know with injuries, but when coach gathered the team after the game, he stated there were no injuries. Fingers crossed. Random thoughts. Saturday reiterated my excitement for Jamal Davis. He seems to have multiple effective moves to get seperation from his man. Among other plays, I saw a great inside stunt that would have been quarterback chaos in normal game play....Speaking with an anonymous coach "I'm not sure how you are going to keep Wolfley off the field", he responded "you're right, he is pushing every day." Speaking of that position, I saw Darryl Long being more vocal than I have ever noticed before, I'm wondering if that is going to translate to some more playing time...Rob Kelly, told me his labrum surgery went well, and he is looking forward to getting back at it during the summer. He was very positive and excited about the QB group...Bubba Arslanian is going to make Zip fans happy he plays for their team. He seems to be one of those linebackers that has good anticipation, and always ends up near the ball...I thought the offensive line showed well on run plays. I need to take a game and concentrate on what is going on up front, and see who is doing what. I focused on Trevor Brown a few times. He disguised a couple of misdirection plays pretty well. Enough to fool me. I feel short changed (other than Van), that I didn't get to see the elite RBs. A few players told me that Van had a great spring....Multiple coaches expressed their enthusiasm about the depth of this team. One coach in particular was extremely excited about the future of the team because of the young talent already pushing the veterans. Look for a ZipsNation™ article on the defense coming soon. For reference: 2018 Akron Spring Football Awards Offense MVP– Senior RB Van Edwards Most Improved– Senior TE Darryl Long & Sophomore OL Brandon Council Unsung Hero– Redshirt Freshman TE Maverick Wolfley Defense MVP– Senior CB Kyron Brown & Senior LB Ulysees Gilbert III Most Improved– Senior S Shawn Featherstone & Senior LB Brian Bell Unsung Hero– Senior CB Denzel Butler Weight Room Awards Offensive MVP– Senior OL Kyle Ritz Defensive MVP– Senior CB Kyron Brown Most Improved– Redshirt Freshman LB Bubba Arslanian

There were about five recruits on the field before the game yesterday, these might me two of them walking off the field before the game started.

Senior lineman Brian Reinke mentioned "going from coach Amato to coach Stroud" in his interview with Joe Dunn yesterday. I'm told only some paperwork is holding up the official announcement. Congratulations to coach Stroud, couldn't happen to a nicer, and more talented guy.

Yes, only precautionary. I got to speak with him for a bit, he is feeling great, and was in great spirits. His attitude is infectious.

Turned an ankle earlier this week, held out for precautionary reasons. More notes to follow soon. Notes from gozips.com: In the first quarter, senior Tom O’Leary (Tucker, Ga.) put the Blue squad on the scoreboard on the opening drive with a 42-yard field goal. As time expired in the quarter, the White squad tied the score with a 49-yard field goal by senior Nick Gasser (Liberty Township, Ohio). In the second quarter, the White squad took the lead with a 24-yard field goal by junior Jerry Fitschen (Orange, Calif.). In the third quarter, sophomore QB Kato Nelson(Hollywood, Fla.) connected with redshirt senior WR Kwadarrius Smith (Orlando, Fla.) on a 65-yard touchdown pass for the Blue squad, completing a six-play, 95-yard drive to give Blue a 10-6 lead. In the fourth quarter, Blue won capped the 17-6 game victory with a 10-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman QB Alex Ramart(Richmond, Texas) to sophomore WR Nate Stewart (Bethlehem, Pa.). No statistics were kept.

"Keyondre White, the freshman who came in January, was having a great spring, until he sprained his ankle." --TB It's a shame fans won't get to see Keyondre Saturday, he impressed me. I was hoping he would impress other ZN members. If I have a chance, I'll ask about Suggs.

Browns Consider Drafting Two Quarterbacks in First Round. "I have asked multiple members of the Cleveland Browns organization—which owns picks no. 1 and 4, in addition to three second-rounders—what I thought was a very stupid question: Have you considered ignoring all norms and drafting two quarterbacks high in the draft? The answer is yes. The people I asked have thought about it, discussed it, and investigated it." -- Kevin Clark

The Blue-Gold game may not have enough to field two squads like we are accustomed to with coach Bowden. Don't be surprised to see some sort of modified scoring system like coach Brookhart used to use. This is not the system, just an example of one used. JD brought the system that Pitt used. Offense • 6 points - TD • 1 point - PAT • 3 points - FG • 1 point - Explosive Run (12+) • 1 point - Explosive Pass (16+) • 1 point - 3 Consecutive 1st Downs Defense • 1 point - 3 and Out • 2 points - Sack • 4 points - Turnover • 1 point - TFL • 4 points - Offense Starts @ defensive 35 or deeper and doesn't score a TD • 1 points - FG/PAT Block

I'm surprised I haven't seen any official announcement yet, but the new help on defense is revealed in the video that @CDMac posted. Former DC (2002-03) for Lee Owens, Joe Tresey will be coaching the linebackers this season. Joe coached cornerbacks at Kent last year. Not meaning much, but I do remember writing(or saying) something about being impressed with Kent's DBs when they played us last year. Edit: found my comment here..."Kent is ranked third in the MAC in passing defense, I can see why, they played excellent pass coverage last night." Here is a piece on Joe when he used to be the defensive coordinator at UCLA. I still expect coach Stroud to be named DC.

Two weeks ago, I was shooting next to a starting corner who wasn't playing at the time. He was calling out each play to the corner that was playing. I think the defense has seen our offense enough to recognize a lot of the plays. I forgot to mention last week that I noticed some misdirection, and more motion in the offense than I remember. Looking forward to Saturday.

Here are a few things I noticed. I thought Denzel Butler looked very comfortable covering on the edge. His man coverage was tight and his mechanics looked improved to me. I saw Andy Jean-Baptiste get inside penetration twice early, then get stood up late. MTB was getting separation on go routes, for whatever reason, both QB's missed him deep Saturday morning, I would bet we see multiple connections throughout the year on that go route. His size is noticeable. If I'm a special teams coach, I want Maverick Wolfley blocking for me, he gets low and destroys would be tacklers. If he is catching the ball out of the backfield, I don't want to be the guy that has to take him on one on one, ouch. Reminds me of Peyton Hillis.I noticed Gilbert blitzing (run and pass) around the end, once disguised in coverage. He had a TFL on one run play away from him, reminded me of the way Polamalu executed from the backside. It made me wonder if he is able to freelance like Troy did if he reads the play. Keyondre White is hard to tackle, he impressed me for my first look. During warmups I witnessed a trick play out of the FG lineup that I think has potential. This scrimmage was hard to judge being inside the field house and using a shortened field. The offense was working on particular things (red zone, short yardage...), so everything I observed won't be taken too seriously. I'll be out of town this week, but back for the spring game, hopefully the weather cooperates. Hopefully a few can attend and report.

@72 Roo, there will be some reorganization with the special teams staff. Coach Milwee is definitely still in charge of the offense. Sorry to be cryptic, but there will be an official announcement from the university coming soon. I would guess before the spring game, but not sure. This could be coach Stroud's help speaking with Zips linebacker James King

I expect coach Stroud to be eventually named DC, he ran the show today. His help will come in the form of a new LB coach...think Lee Owens era. There will also be a few other coaching announcements, coming all at once very soon. Some reorganization, nothing earth shattering.

I'll have some more photography of Mykel (and others) from this morning late today, or early morning.

...JJ felt under-appreciated after 2017 season: "The MAC did some political things & I know damn well I was better than those guys ahead of me. It’s time for me to do what I do without the MAC." Good luck to him. But also good luck to finding a conference without "political things." When your a good player in the MAC, the NFL has proven over and over, they will find you.

I would guess coach Stroud. With all his other responsibilities, it's a good idea to get him help.