Lee Adams
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Posts posted by Lee Adams
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Yesterday is another example of why I hate payday games. I see little value in them.Kids get hurt, discouraged. Hold on! I know Akron and others play these games for the big paycheck. That to ostensibly operate and IMPROVE the quality of athletic programs. Since we are talking football I ask, where has been the long term IMPROVEMENT in football? Ain't happening. Hasn't happened consistently here. You can't blame one or two people for what's going now, This has been a systemic problem with the football program for years. Apparently those payday funds have not been well spent at least as far as football is concerned. When I see OU beating WVA and being consistent year in and year out. I see Toledo, Miami etc.being competitive year in and year out. They can fire another coach. Bring in another 'savior' and where do we end up?
Time to look in a different direction for the program.
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On 7/8/2025 at 11:37 AM, catdaddyp said:
2024 Rewind:
The Blazers took a step back in Trent Dilfer’s second season. After winning four games in year one, UAB only managed three wins in year two. Those three wins came convincingly over Alcorn State, Tulsa, and Rice—two of which have new head coaches in 2025. All of UAB’s losses came in convincing fashion, with the exception of a two-point loss to Charlotte. Coincidentally, Charlotte also has a new head coach this season.
Recruiting under Dilfer:
2023:
On3 - 9th in AAC
247 - 10th in AAC
2024:
On3 - 11th in AAC
247 - 9th in AAC
2025:
On3 - 13th in AAC
247 - 11th in AAC
Blazers on Offense:
Former Florida quarterback Jalen Kitna is back for his second season in Dilfer’s offense. The redshirt senior threw for 2,209 yards, 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and completed 62% of his passes in 2024. Kitna is considered one of the top quarterbacks in the AAC, with most publications including him in their preseason All-AAC selections.
UTEP transfer Jevon Jackson is expected to start at running back. Jackson was an FCS All-American before transferring to UTEP, where he rushed for 754 yards and 4 touchdowns. He’ll split snaps with returning senior Isaiah Jacobs.
Redshirt sophomore Corri Milliner is UAB’s most productive returning receiver. Milliner posted 24 receptions for 416 yards and 3 touchdowns last season. Former consensus 4-star Kaleb Brown transferred in from Iowa (originally committed to Ohio State) and will attempt to live up to his potential, while the tight end position will be littered with new faces and minimal experience.
Quarterback Jalen Kitna will be playing behind a less experienced offensive line that gave up 33 sacks last season. However, two of the returning starters are dependable—center Brady Wilson and former South Carolina tackle JonDarius Morgan. New starting guards Calib Perez and Barry Walker combined to play just 86 snaps as backups. Former Wagner offensive tackle Brandon Sneh is expected to start after spending the spring at Kansas State before transferring a second time to UAB.
Blazers on Defense:
The Blazers’ pass rush in 2024 was on par with Akron’s, to give a general idea of their effectiveness. UAB’s run defense was horrendous, and they struggled to stop most teams from scoring. Supposedly, the bulk of their NIL funds went toward upgrading the defensive line, and they’ve added five transfers. Three of the four projected starters will be newcomers—Old Dominion transfer Amorie Morrison, Boston College transfer Nigel Tate, and Sam Houston transfer Denver Warren (who originally committed to Bowling Green out of high school). A returner that is expected to start is former backup James Smyre, who collected 9 total tackles and 2 sacks last season.
UAB lost nearly all of its production at linebacker and have turned to the portal for replacements. Eli Ennis will be one starter and he was an FCS All-American at Nicholls. The other starting linebacker will be Idaho State transfer Calvin Pitcher.
The Blazers’ secondary didn’t allow many yards per game, but that was partially because most opponents were able to run the ball at will. Regardless, UAB brought in five portal defensive backs this cycle and returns just one starter—safety Sirad Bryant. Bryant collected 59 total tackles and one interception. Not overly impressive numbers, but PFF graded him well in pass coverage. Backup safety AJ Brown will move into a starting role, and backup cornerback Donald Lee will also step into a starting spot. Pittsburgh transfer Tamarion Crumpley is expected to start opposite Lee, while Maryland transfer Perry Fisher is slated to start at the “star” position.
Kicker Jonah DeLange and punter Patrick Foley are back. The duo had a strong year and so did the rest of UAB’s special teams. They should be solid again.
Position Advantage:
The positions turned out to be closer than I expected upon a deeper dive. I think Akron holds a distinct advantage at wide receiver and tight end, and a small advantage at defensive back. The rest of the rosters are either up for debate or have so many question marks at this point that it’s hard to call.
QB - Even
RB - Even
WR - Akron
TE - Akron
OL - Even
DL - Even
LB - Even
DB - Akron
ST - UAB
Way too Early Prediction:
There’s a strong possibility this will be Dilfer’s last season at UAB. It’s hard to fathom this Blazers squad pulling out more than 3–4 wins again.
Akron should be able to move the ball fairly proficiently against an almost completely rebuilt UAB defense. This would be a good time for Moorhead to become stubborn and run the football. We usually don’t run enough—to my liking at least—until later in the season.
I don’t expect the UAB offensive line to be any better than it was last year. If we can’t get a decent amount of pressure on the quarterback in this game, I’ll be worried about what the rest of the season has in store. Kitna is going to get his stats no matter what, but we can’t make it easy on him.
I imagine both fanbases have this one circled on their calendars as wins. This is a game we absolutely must win to show progress going into year four of this regime. I think the Zips get it done 24-21, and we finally get an out-of-conference road win in the Moorhead era.
Respectfully your position advantages don't seem realistic given what we have seen.You may call it a must win. But that seems meaningless until they actually win a so called must win. We have had plenty of those.
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4 hours ago, KentZip said:
I gave 33.5 and took the Huskers. Can’t see Akron team from last week scoring a point. Hope I’m wrong
4 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:I thought Brophy played for Buchtel. Maybe he was from Kenmore.
Nebraska will name its score. Gonna be at least half a hundred.
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1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:
Same
These were my thoughts exactly. I mentioned to a few of my friends at the game how Finley didn't look comfortable (I'm still surprised by that) and how he looked like he was aiming the ball instead of just letting it fly. But then my brother-in-law, who was watching on ESPN+ said it was due to him being rushed all night. So I wanted to get some expert opinions 😂
Finley was bad from the jump. Puzzled me as I watched. The O line didn't seem THAT BAD. something else going on there.
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19 hours ago, GP1 said:
OU had a chance to win the game and only lost by three. OU is what a competent MAC program looks like. There is no reason a top third of the MAC shouldn't be able to complete against a bottom third Big Ten school.
College football is broken in that almost everyone is just playing games and trying to make money to support a bloated athletic department. There are only 5 to 7 programs tops who have a shot at winning a championship.
Akron can compete, but it has to be at a level where money is less important. I don't know that exists right now nationally, but I would bet a lot of universities would breathe a sigh of relief if it did.
I watched the offensive debacle, offensive in both senses of the word. I have no idea what was wrong with Finley. He wasn't that bad last season. Something more than a sore arm going on there. With that said, that was a bad Wyomong team and should have been beaten.
My comment again and again has been that if football is to continue being played at Akron it has to be at a level where the program can consistently compete. That is NOT at any DI level. Hasn't been. I watched this program in the '60's and '70s when it was ALWAYS competitive. Look it up. I would be all for dropping back to DII. I don't think this program would be real competitive even at I-AA. And at that level you are still getting players poached by bigger schools. I'd rather watch them play competitive games against the IUP's,the Ashlands, Sag States, Grand Valley States etc. etc. as opposed to the crap we see now. Maybe something is brewing with a new sheriff in town.
As for the rest of this season, go to most of the games,hope they beat KSU and see what happens.
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General observation...Akron looks small. Some speed. O line is still weak. Finley just looks lost. Defense is small. If Wyoming ran right at them they could roll.
Wyoming looks beatable but Akron isn't going to score with Finley tonight.
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I like some of the loaded backfield sets. But Finley is taking a dump right now.
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Finley looks like has a sore arm.
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On 8/17/2025 at 1:59 PM, Z.I.P. said:
Am I correct that the spread on this game has slipped from an opening 10 pts down to 7.5? I live in a Mountain West city ‐‐ Honolulu, and have some sense about the league. The Cowboys are in the bottom half - to bottom third of a league that is clearly top-heavy. I had Akron winning 6 games this season. To get to that summit they MUST win this one first, and if they aren't able to stay close to Wyo then even 5 wins are in doubt. I like the Zips by a TD.
I do see the line is now 7.5 with O/U 50. Looks like the winner needs to generate some offense. Think its either Wyoming going away or maybe Akron pulls one out late. I doubt the defense will hold a lead.
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18 hours ago, DCPoke said:
Checked with my friend, we've got rooms at the Embassy Suites near the Akron airport.
If you are at the airport and want to eat go south on I-77 a couple of exits and get off at Portage St. and turn right. The area is called The Strip. There are tons of restaurants of all kinds. Easier to get to if you are out of town and near the airport.
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I find it interesting that oddsmakers who never see teams like this play can influence fans and bettors so much. Since neither team has taken a snap against an actual opponent what do you base your speculation on. I would thank that the overall level of play in the MWC is better than that in the MAC with a couple of execeptions at the top of the MAC. It would sure be nice if the Zips could win an opener against an actual DI opponent. But Wyoming may be bad in the MWC but thats not the MAC.
Better keep this one close early. Score first or could be a long evening.
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Speaking of the schedule. Wyoming is a 9.5 point fave coming in here in August. Projections around 5 wins. May not be the best way for the Zips to start an already strangely developing season.
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On 5/22/2025 at 6:31 PM, GP1 said:
That would be awesome. My question is, what would that framework be? What if the framework was this simple below the P4 level.
1. Eliminate scholarships for college athletes. We are the only country bankrupting universities with athletic departments.
2. Allow college athletes to earn a living. This is America.
3. Restrict transferring to one time. Eliminate the obnoxious.
4. Academic standards that require movement towards a degree. This is actually helpful to kids.
5. Better regionalized conferences. Better rivalries.
6. Needs based financial support for athletes who cannot otherwise afford college. Help those who need help.
7. Schools agree to not charge out of state tuition for varsity athletes. Stop the shell game.
A lot of this sounds good. I am afraid that a lot may be difficult to put into operation. When we talk about 'needs based financial support' for athletes. I am wondering where that money is going to come from. With the current political environments in Washington and Columbus the politicians running the show right now aren't allocating more money to higher education. If anything its generally getting reduced. Where do you get the additional financial aid that would be necessary?
Athletes allowed 'to earn a living'. What are the parameters? How much can they work to earn a living? They still have to attend classes, do school work and practice and play their sport. I worked part time jobs while in school. I didn't play sports. I couldn't work enough to 'earn a living'.
I would love to see the P4 schools go away. I would love to see the NFL have to do what baseball and hockey do. Develop high school athletes who can't or don't want to attend college in a minor league system. The NFL has gotten a free ride on this. Start spending some of those billions of $$$ developing your own players. That would help eliminate some of the BS that is going on at the college level.
How do schools like Akron really expect to consistently compete the way the system is currently set up?
Frustrating. Great discussion.
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On 5/9/2025 at 11:20 AM, kreed5120 said:
I've tried fighting the good fight of arguing to keep the program FBS. Each passing year as the cost of FBS escalates and the football program reaches new levels of ineptitude it's becoming harder and harder to defend.
If this path continues one has to ask at what point should we explore the decision of joining Dayton in the non-scholaship Pioneer League? I'm not saying we're there yet, but that date might be approaching. I don't see the value in scholarship FCS as any cost savings there is more than offset by reduction in revenue.
I was about to renew my long held season tix. After reading all this I have to ponder.
First, I am not in any way defending the so called 'rating system' the NCAA uses. It has never really worked before and as many here have pointed out it is probably even more antiquated now. How do you keep track of the movement from program to program. Schools have different academic standards. On and on. I also see here that some are again mentioning dropping down in level of competition. I assume there are rating systems that apply at all levels of scholarship sports?
I have no idea what the new administration's attitude is about the football situation other than it doesn't want this situation hanging around its neck for long.
Do they fire Moorehead now. Not likely given the calendar. Do they wait to see how the season goes into October/November? Do they seriously consider overhauling a football program that can't seem to gain traction at the end of this year? Can Moorehead et. al remediate the academics enough this year to buy some time. Or, does Moorehead bow out and move on. OR, does the adminsitration seriously consider a drop down to a lower level of competition in football?
Now about those season tix?!
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19 hours ago, MangoZip said:
Like clockwork - the talk of Morehead to Ohio State talks again
https://bvmsports.com/2025/02/03/top-5-ohio-state-offensive-coordinator-candidates-for-2025/
Just speculation like everything else here but it seems OSU might make a little more sense. Isn't there an Oregon connection with the departing Chip Kelly and Moorehead?
Help me out here. Ryan Day may want someone who is might run an offense similar to Kelly's.
Actually I think the bigger isue for OSU is finding a D coordinator who can coach up that side of the ball.
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Do we have a new AD?
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On 12/9/2024 at 12:00 PM, UA1996MAENG said:
I hope he finds some replacements in the portal. It just seems like the team is running in sand having practically to rebuild from scratch each year.
I think a significant number of us have been sseing that. Akron can do nothing to change the direction of DI football.Lets stop talking about basketball. Its a different world. For god's sake a a major university just hired $ Bill Belichick as its HC. He hired Ernie Lombardi as his GM! $ Bill said he was going to run UNC like a professional football team. There is no reason for teams at the MAC level to play or be connected with programs like that. We can hem and haw all we want about what we think would make Akron football consistently competitive where it stands now.
Given the current state of the University overall, especially financially there is little reason to believe that the Administration is going to make a bigger commitment to football specifically or to athletics generally. Its time for athletics programs at the MAC level to either collectively or individually go a different direction.
By the way, do we have a new AD yet?
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On 12/2/2024 at 9:14 AM, catdaddyp said:
If Moorhead is hoping to land another P4 HC gig, he’ll be back in 2025. I still believe that’s the case and if so, he needs to complete the turnaround. Moorhead can leave any offseason he chooses and land a high profile OC position, regardless of his record as a HC here.
Here are some reasons why I think he’ll return despite having limited resources:
- He’ll have a starting QB return for the first time since DJI. We never got to see DJI progress in Moorhead’s system due to injury. If Finley flipped the TD/INT ration by only 2 or 3, we are talking all-conference.
- 4 out of 5 starting OL return. It was the youngest starting OL in conference play. I know some have been disenchanted with the OL, but here are some facts. For the first time in Moorhead’s 3 years we rushed for over 100 yards per game. The OL has also drastically improved in pass protection. Sacks have dropped from 63 in Arth’s last season (2021) to 56 in Moorhead’s first season (2022) to 46 (2023) to 30 (2024). None of that is elite, but it’s all headed in the right direction.
- The defense has improved in conference play, especially in points allowed. Arth’s last year allowed 35.3 (2021). Tibesar’s first was 30.4 (2022) to 28.4 (2023) to 26.6 (2024). Again, not great, but headed in the right direction.
- The 2025 schedule is MUCH easier than the 2024 schedule.
- The majority of the team will return - barring a mass portal exodus.
Unless Moorhead is just done fighting the constant uphill battle, I can’t see him leaving when he could potentially make a bowl (or more) in 2025.
Well, first of all he doesn't have to be looking for a "P4" HC job. We may know that soon. The portal has already started to open. We still have to see how many others bail. They are losing key D players to graduation. In this day and age its hard to evaluate a team's overall roster until the dust from the portal has settled. What may look good in December may not look so good in April.
I am HOPING that Moorehead can keep most of this group together through 2025 and see if he can get them to maybe 5 wins in the MAC.
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2 hours ago, UA1996MAENG said:
At some point, maybe in the not too distant future, will the MAC, C-USA, Sunbelt et al have to seek a divorce from the NCAA as it is structured and governed right now? I keep thinking that eventually all of the "mid-majors" will come to the realization that they cannot survive or succeed by being the de facto developmental league for the Power Conferences. Obviously I'm thinking of my alma mater, UA, but even more successful programs like OU and Miami will eventually face serious problems faced with a rebuild from the keel up every damn year. Is there even one G5 athletic department that breaks even? No NIL to speak of and even winning programs lose 10, 15, 20 athletes a year to the portal.... It's crazy. I suppose younger people have adjusted to this new reality, but I'm in my 50s; for me the whole system, which was never angelic, is now a grotesque and terribly uneven professional league in which a team with a 20 million dollar roster plays teams without a nickel of NIL? WTF, are we really talking about Michigan spending 12 million on a high school QB over four years? What planet am I on?
And its only gonna get worse. Its the hamster on the wheel. It keeps moving but ends up in the same place.
The 'mid-levels' like Akron and the rest of the MAC now have to overhaul their rosters pretty much every year.
They get a decent player from the portal. Whether its a DI castoff or a prospect from 1-AA or DII. Those kids either don't work out or contribute little taking up a scholly or they come in, play well, hit the portal and get picked up by a better program. Maybe a few who play well stay a second year but probably not enough to keep the roster very competitive.
The 'mid-majors'( with the 1-AA's second) may be in the worst position of all. Their best players are gonna move up, or try to constantly leaving holes in their rosters. Look what Cignetti did to James Madison. Took a bunch of kids to Indiana.
You are right its 'grotesque'.
What do you do. Can't compete with the Big Boys. Its even difficult to be consistently competitive at this level.
Stuck in the middle is know place to be. Either gotta be a top dog or get out of the rut. I know what I would do but nobody wants to hear it again. And, I'm not suggesting dumping football.
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On 11/30/2024 at 12:42 PM, MangoZip said:
Just heard during the Ohio State game that Joe Morehead is a top candidate to watch for the Michigan OC job. I really think he is gone unless there are some big changes in the football budget - and I don’t think that is going to happen.
If he goes all bets are off for 2025. Possibly a lot of his recruits would bail. All new staff. Too bad.
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4 hours ago, GP1 said:
Lost two games by a total of 11 points mid season.
Maybe better scheduling gets one more win. Maybe confidence and momentum from that one more win results in winning one more MAC game. Maybe Akron goes bowling. Lots of maybes, but they don't count as actual wins.
The wins that count are the wins in the MAC. The yardstick for me is being competitive in the MAC. They haven't even done that recently. I'm looking at a minimum of 4-4 in the MAC on a regular basis. When you get to 5-6 wins there you have a good shot at playing in the MAC Championship game. And, most likely you are going to be bowl eligible. You beat your 1-AA opponent and hope you are competitive against another mid-level team. Win games in October-November.
Hopefully thats how it sets up for 2025.
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8 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:
2005 MAC Championship game. My dad wanted to leave with 3-4 minutes to go to beat traffic. I convinced him to stay and the rest is history. His karma was puncturing his finger on a staple on the Go Zips sign we brought.
A close second is the game prior to that, AKA the Snow Bowl - Kent @ Akron. Field visibility was nonexistent at times from the upper portions of the Rubber Bowl, and the bathrooms were full of people trying to get warm.
That entire 2005 season was memorable. Beating NIU during the season, the'Snow Bowl', the MAC Championship win, then the almost comeback win against Memphis State in the Motor City Bowl.
But I'll go back a lot farther. The 1976 season when Akron won 2 DII playoff games at the Bowl. The second was deemed the Knute Rockne Bowl. My buddy and I were there with a bottle of Southern Comfort as I recall. It was cold. Zips won the first overtime playoff game in NCAA history. They were good.
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13 hours ago, UAZipster0305 said:
And like you always say, @GP1, it's the MAC, you can count on teams to beat themselves.
Toledo beat themselves tonight every bit as much as we beat them, but I will take it.
I looked at the stats and play by play of the game. If I hadn't known the score I would have figured Toledo won.
A few observations: 1)while Akron didn't have a huge number of yards on the ground Moorehead seemed committed to putting more running plays in the offense. Hope he remembers next season; 2)Finley and Bullock were on the field at the same time a little more. At least created some confusion for the defense; 3) No picks by Finley. Not a great % or yardage, but took care of the ball. No fumbles either. 4) The defense showed up. 'Bent but didn't break'. Gave up a lot of yards, but made plays. Nunnally, is just a beast. Hate to see him go. McCoy, Summers, Lewis in on lots of tackles.
Didn't think Akron would win this one. Ya, Toledo helped. But ya gotta hope that there is some carry over to next season.
Hopefully they can keep some key guys, but some bigger schools are going to come looking. But its hard to predict with a new AD coming in, the portal etc.
Enjoy this one right now.
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12 hours ago, Sergeant Zip said:
Great scene
That was adumb play call.
Early Football Previews and Predictions: Game Three at UAB
in Akron Zips Football
Posted
Well at least Wyoming won another game.