LoyalZIP

The wind was a massive factor in the first half, it was truly an equalizer. Once Malik got in there for the Zips, everything changed and it was like Akron soccer of old, dominating the possession and running wild. He and Dyson could take this team to the next level this year. Let's hope. Not a great match for Wan Kuzri, I look forward to his bounce back. Go Zips!

A great week to be a Zip! It's finally here! Thursday is going to be special, I've got high, high hopes. Which scares me to death in a program and stadium that has done everything to beat the hope out of me for nearly its entire existence. I know nothing about SFpa. and will not pretend to. Looking at their season last year, they weren't much of a match for EMU to open the year, and they weren't as fortunate as Mr. Arth's Zips as they lost to the Bryant Bulldogs. A look at their schedules from previous years, and they along with 2021 opponent Bryant have also just recently begun playing FBS teams. They were on Buffalo's schedule in 2020 before it was canceled, and of course the EMU game last year. In the UA game against Bryant last year, which was an incredibly painful experience, it was obvious how much of a physical advantage the Zips had, but it didn't matter until the final quarter. They were much tougher than Akron despite the lack of size, speed, and skill. We don't have an official 2-deep, but we've got a lot to be intrigued by. I loved Irons' potential last year, but once he got hurt against Ohio he was never the same. Perhaps saving him from getting killed the last 8ish games will be good for his future. I have all the faith in the world in JoeMo + Fessler and the offensive staff to help with his decision making and ball security. He's one of the most athletic QBs in the league, and made plays against the likes of Auburn and Ohio State. I feel good-not-great about the UA QB situation going into week 1. I like opening against a team like this to ease into the new season and new system. Word out of camp is that Cam Wiley looks the part in the backfield. I loved what I saw from Norrils last year. Will Akron have a consistent rushing attack (sans Teon Dollard year) for the first time in decades? Wait to see! The thing I'm most excited for are the receivers--including the TE. Replacing Mumpfield, Mathison, Qualls, and Williams was no easy task, but this staff did that and then some. Daniel George has been phenomenal in camp, Alex Adams may be one of the best prospects to ever wear a Zip uniform, and Shocky Jaques-Louis is a seasoned vet who has done a lot of winning. Throw in Brank and TJ Banks and you've got options all over the place. What does this all mean if the O-Line continues to be swiss cheese? Not a damn thing. Joel Rodriguez is one of the most important pieces to the puzzle. He's had a great young career with JoeMo and got his college football start with one of the best teams of all time at Miami back in the early 2000s. The line is big and experienced. They've also got the potential to take the next step. Defensively? I'm hopeful, but not as sure. This will be an experienced unit with a lot of nice transfers sprinkled in, which I'm quite excited about. It will be so nice to see Bubba back out there on Thursday, that in itself is something to be pumped about. Overall, I see this as a vastly improved team already, simply based on the improved coaching staff. They put together a phenomenal recruiting class including a lot of transfers to get this thing turned around fast. JoeMo talks a lot about the seismic transformation that's going to take place. As the season has approached, I've started to feel the same way. I mean, how can it not work out this time? It's a perfect storm for Akron football to go where it wants to go. And the journey begins Thursday. Can't wait! Go Zips!!!!

This is shaping up to be a really nice, tough schedule. The Zips will be ready to go for the gauntlet in March, that's for sure. We may see more Ls on the schedule early compared to most years depending on how early this group gels together, but I like the amount of true mid-majors we'll be playing early.

Nice looking get! Runs the floor and finishes like Cheese, but with a bit more size. Groce is building something special, hopefully he sticks around a few years to see it through!

Totally in over his head from the jump, as would just about anyone. The entire strategy of bringing back baseball and adding WLAX was a total cluster*** by Larry Williams & Co. Thank goodness for the Skeeles family for donating the funds to at least give us a D1 facility. But UA baseball is not currently setup to even be average in the MAC. UA half-assed the revival to this point. Big opportunity here for Guthrie to right the ship.

That's just a byproduct of the transfer portal. These guys were severely under-recruited so it has worked into Groce's advantage. These two additions are very exciting. It'll be interesting to see what this rotation turns into.

This is an insanely talented team on paper. Repeating in sports is one of the hardest things to do, especially in this league. I think Buffalo is the only team to repeat recently since Kent in the early 2000s. With that said, I feel that this team could face similar challenges that the title team did. While there may be some early season struggles with guys figuring out their game and the staff playing around with lineups and matchups, I firmly believe that we'll be back in the thick of the title race once again. I am a bit concerned right now about the lack of a second true center, especially for foul trouble situations and when the shots just aren't falling. It's always nice to have Freeman to throw it into for a high-percentage look after all. I'm excited for the possibilities with the shooting. Clarke is a decent shooter, X is a great shooter, Dawson is a really good shooter, Hunter has shown potential other places, Hankerson is a great shooter, Kobe Mitchell is supposed to be a great shooter, Tavari Johnson is supposed to be a great shooter, Ryan Prather is supposed to be a great shooter, Mosengo is billed as a great shooter, Amani Lyles looks like he can be a shooter. On top of that, all of these guys look to be supremely athletic, still with plenty of potential to continue to bulk up. As I look at it right now, I simply see a lot of options for this coaching staff. They've got the whole offseason to come up with a plan of who to redshirt, who to put at the end of the bench, who to put in each lineup, and then watch it play out in the early goings. If we've learned anything from this past season, it's that we shouldn't get too high and too low no matter what we see on the floor in November and December. A long list of highly touted guys will be putting the uniform on for the first time this year. While I would've hoped a guy with experience like Ali would've stuck around, we've got a great mix of young talent and seasoned vets. X is one of the most experienced basketball players in the country, Freeman is one of the best centers in the country and has been here for a ling time, Dawson has blossomed into a tremendous glue-guy and he's been here a long time, Clarke has been here for a while now. This could be special. I won't get my hopes up yet because we all know that potential is just that--potential. But wow, this is amazing and we're lucky to have Groce.

After watching the video, I got very excited about this guy. Whether he lives up to that potential is up in the air of course. The thing that caught my eye is how active he was in a lot of the clips of defensive possessions. While he’ll be playing much better competition at this level, it was great to see so much defense mixed into a highlight reel. He’s got a nice athletic build that could use some bulking up, and he doesn’t appear to be shy to shoot either. Could be a decent step up from Ali in the long run, especially if he and Groce stick around a few more years. I’m very curious as to how this roster is going to play out, there’s so much potential for this upcoming year!

A fun time. Always nice to have a cold beer at a ball game no matter how ugly the game is.

I’m salivating for the gold hoodie and navy polo they teased on Twitter. Come on UA!!!!

Thank you for gathering this info. I can definitely see a few things from the old logos being incorporated, including what looks like a FedEx-esque arrow hidden in there. I guess my issue with it is they're so very very subtle that it almost seems like a stretch to me. If the Z was a bit more obvious I think this would have gone over a lot better. Also is that supposed to be a kangaroo shape at the bottom? Again, it's great that these things are included, but the people this logo is geared toward will largely only ever see a fancy A. Die hard fans can see the nuances, but that's about it. I guess I would just like to hear from Guthrie/Miller a dissection of the logo and how exactly it signifies moving forward and all that jazz that they claim.

Haha! Thanks for the info, of course they post all kinds of merch on social media and aren’t selling any of it yet other than the most basic.

What all did they have at the bookstore? Did they have the gold hoodie?

Court looks sweet, helmets look nice, field looks okay. It’s been a roller coaster but the logo is fine and at the end of the day, I’m Akron til’ I die. Time to order some merch! Go Zips! #1Akron

Well said. It’s been stated that UA alumni and fans were consulted, well it must not have been many, or ones that actually care. Joe Bosack has designed some cool logos, this ones is lazy and boring and most importantly, it doesn’t say AKRON to me at all, in any way.

The Akron Black Stockings vintage baseball club isn’t thrilled either 😂

On one of the Facebook pages there’s a link to the bookstore that just has a navy blue T shirt or hoodie right now.

“The Athletic” has an awfully similar look

Fortunately I was expecting to be underwhelmed so I don't really care. It's a fine A. But if you showed this to anyone who either didn't watch the video or didn't know anything about Akron, the Z gets completely lost. I like the idea, but a more prominent Z or the Z logo were accustomed to being included in this design would be much better. Design was done by Joe Bosack's company, who is the creator of the MAC shield logo and I believe the A-Roo as well. I would have expected better. Oh well.

Eh. Cool video though.

Very strange to see the Hoban exodus, that's for sure. Tecca's brother-in-law and former Zip Will Fleming is the offensive coordinator at Valpo.

I am always skeptical of new logos. It feels like almost every sports team I’ve ever seen change logos ends up embarrassing themselves with something overly flashy or silly. I’ll wear the gear, but I’m definitely nervous.

Jalin Billingsley heading to EMU

O/U 6.5 days 😉