bigjim
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Posts posted by bigjim
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Why to bet on Akron to Cover tonight
Spread is down to 26.5
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18 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:
Lot 9 was packed for last year's Kent game. I was shocked. We arrived 3 hours before kickoff and there weren't more than a handful of spots remaining.
I saw quite a few people there whom I hadn't seen in a while. To me, it showed that Akron area fans will still come out and support the Zips if InfoCision is a party.
Over half of the people in the lot were Kent fans.
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Let's go Zips
The game is only 10 hours away from kickoff. In the past, If the game was at the INFO, I would be unloading the car and getting ready for a day long excursion of tail gating. Now, there would only be a couple of us in Lot 9, but that number would grow in the hour before kickoff.
Zips need to put on a good show tonight.
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On 11/13/2020 at 8:09 AM, LZIp said:
No stars yet doesn't mean he won't be a 3 star...
We are about a month from the early signing period, and the stars have not been updated for the players. I am still looking forward to all the Zip recruits becoming 3 star players.
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41 minutes ago, John Ward said:
Sorry, Im not seeing what your seeing in Smith. Didn't do anything last yr on special teams.Not impressed. Snowden has potential but has a lot to learn .
My point is that lets get a little playing time for everyone who has potential. The best that the Zips will do this year is 1 win against BG. So, let's keep prepping for next year and get a little amount of playing time for anyone who may contribute in the future. It will prove to be very beneficial as long as Arth is kept as coach.
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20 minutes ago, 72 Roo said:
I agree that Snowden is a talent, but his play against WMU showed he's not ready. Still I'm with you that he needs to get experience, especially in a year when he won't lose eligibility. Work him in gradually. This is the year to do it. I know Arth loves the guy's attitude and he has the size we need from our future LB's. In our strength program he will grow to be a force.
I know these guys are not ready. But, give them 4-5 plays a game to understand the speed of the game. Also, that will help them work harder in the weight room and get ready for next year. It will also give a brief breather to the starters while you are prepping for future success, and it is not at the expense of current success.
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1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:
I picked us for the win simply because I couldn't bring myself to vote for a 21+ Kent win.
I was hoping for rain to slow down Kent's offense, but no such luck. It is only scheduled to be 35 degrees at kickoff, so maybe that will slow their passing attack a little bit? Crum's awfully good.
Hopefully we can continue to run the ball successfully and keep Kent's offense off the field/our D fresh/run clock. So many advantages to being able to run the football.
I've already mentioned how much I'm enjoying watching our OL develop. But our DL is awfully young too.
DL getting the most PT are
#11 Nazir Sy - R-Sophomore
#97 Janirr Wade - true Freshman (don't believe he played in game #1 - made a difference)
#67 Logan Hawkins - R-Sophomore (don't believe he played in game #1 - made a difference), and
#94 John Mitchell - Senior
(Senior Ja'Quize Cross started Week 1 but didn't play last week.)
A freshman who hasn't played yet but whom I'm excited to see on the DL is Deacon Allen. He's listed as 6-1, 290 and was a state-ranked wrestler in high school. I like wrestlers - they know how to use leverage & have good balance.
Our starting LB's also have a couple/few more years to reach full potential:
Bubba - R-Junior (I'm digging the fact this year doesn't count against eligibility)
Brandon Bischof - Junior
Ryan McClain - Junior, and
Julian Richardson - Sophomore
Two linebackers I'd like to see more of are R-Soph. Reggie Corner (undersized but a natural baller) and R-Freshman Quevan Lawson - one of our higher rated recruits and has great size at 6-5, 240. (I haven't seen Quevan at all - I'm thinking he's probably sick.)
DL is young, but it needs to play Brendan Smith and Bryce Wilson in addition to the players listed above. Smith put on 35 lb from last year and is ready to contribute. Maybe rotate in Julius Hawkings. I agree that Logan Hawkins needs to be in the mix.
I support your linebacker analysis, but I think they need to get some minutes for Juan Jarett and Michael Snowden. with the rules this year, they will not be charged a year of eligibility. Give them some playing time.
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2 hours ago, 94zipgrad said:
Odds are not in our favor but I can’t pick anything other than a Zips win against Kent. Hopefully are running game keeps rolling to keep Kent’s offense off the field & maybe Crum will play Crummy ??
that would be great
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Very few replies to this challenge. I think it shows the (lack of) Zips support. My thoughts are that the Zips are going to take it on the chin for this game. However, they are playing mostly very young players. Look, 4 red shirt freshman on the OL. This is similar to other position groups. 2021 will start to show the benefits, but 2022 will be a bowl season. that is if they keep Arth around that long.
Sorry, but I see a loss here, but I see a serious potential win versus Bowling Green.
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12 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:
Back in the Owens days, we recruited 4-star RB Thomas Plummer out of Canada. 0-star RB Bobby Hendry probably outgained him by 2,000 yards in his Zips career.
Nate Robinson was a 5-star DL recruit for the Zips (via Rutgers). He spent a non-descript two years at Akron.
Peter Patrick Hayes was a 4-star RB. I have to believe he saw Teon Dollard and said "I ain't playing much over the next 2 seasons...I'm outta here." Assuming Hayes plays again, I doubt he's ending up at Florida State.
Who's better...4-star Jonah Morris, or 2-star Michael Matheson?
The list goes on...stars don't mean a whole lot at MAC schools. Brookhart and Owens had top-rated classes in the MAC, and it got them nothing.
If the Zips coaches signed a kid because of his recruiting "stars," we have the wrong coaches.
Talent evaluation matters. Coaching-up that talent matters. Retention matters. In-game adjustments matter.
If the OU game isn't an aberration...and it well could have been...the staff may well have identified some good young talent and coached them up (from last season's abomination). We'll see about retention next year, but I'll assume as the program fills with Arth's recruits, the retention will be pretty good.
There are always exception to the rule. Coaching is very important, but you need talent as a base. You have listed several exceptions over a many year period. Stars do not measure heart and desire and that is one way that players make it, based on heart and desire. All 4 and 5 star players do not make it, but the probability is much higher for success over a 0 or 1 star player. Does Alabama and Clemson sign 0 star players hoping that they will pan out. I looked at 247, and between Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State, all of their recruits are 3,4,or 5 star players. Looking at the MAC, Toledo, Buffalo, and Miami all have 17- 3 star recruits. Will they all pan out, no, but there is a basis of talent for those teams. Akron does not have that talent basis. Bowden left the cupboard bare. Look at the Zips football scholarship chart. We need to close the gap. Stars are important.
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7 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:
Not sure its a grade up from EPPS, a 3 star linemen vs. no stars. Akron is not getting better.
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3 hours ago, LZIp said:
This isn’t accurate. The CB was updated to a 3 star. Many of our commits aren’t even showing on 247, let alone ranked. We should end up having double digit 3 stars IMO. There is plenty immediate help in JUCO and the transfer portal...how much immediate help will they take is the question. I don’t think they did enough in their 1st 2 seasons here. But what that said, playing so many young players should pay off down the road. The question is will they (the players and staff) be here?
Not trying to get into an argument, but the comment in the first yellow does not make any sense. With the second yellow, I agree that playing young players will pay off. That is if they have talent to improve with the playing time.
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3 hours ago, LZIp said:
This isn’t accurate. The CB was updated to a 3 star. Many of our commits aren’t even showing on 247, let alone ranked. We should end up having double digit 3 stars IMO. There is plenty immediate help in JUCO and the transfer portal...how much immediate help will they take is the question. I don’t think they did enough in their 1st 2 seasons here. But what that said, playing so many young players should pay off down the road. The question is will they (the players and staff) be here?
We may end up having double digit 3 stars. However, looking at 247, the following schools have the number of 3 stars prior to the season. Toledo, Miami, and Buffalo each have 17 -3 stars. Western 15, Central 12,, and NI 14. We need to catch up on talent. Look at OSU and Notre Dame. Every player has a minimum of 3 stars. Stars are important. They will not all pan out, but it is important to get talent to the school.
You are right. Hence is listed as a 3 star player. We need many more.
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3 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:
At the end of the day, it largely comes down to talent. The Zips are at the bottom of the MAC because their talent is at the bottom of the MAC. Acquisition of talent is a responsibility of the coaching staff in recruiting, but it's not like some coach could drop onto the sideline right now and suddenly change this squad into a winning team.
Last year, they were left with nothing. This year, we'd better start seeing an improvement in the talent level. Hopefully, they are past whatever dents the Covid and preseason scrimmage put in the lineup and we can start seeing any improvement soon.
It does come down to talent, and Bowden left the cupboard bare. Look at the Zips football scholarship list. The receivers had some good returning players. LBs had some upperclassmen, but outside of Bubba, there is not much talent. Same with CBs. The rest of the position groups have little to no good upper classmen. Also, look at the 21 committment list. There is only one 3 star, and that is EPPS who has reopened up his recruitment.
Talent is weak, and it does not appear that the gap will be closed.
s
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On 11/4/2020 at 5:11 PM, Blue & Gold said:
Edit...
The only 3 star recruit is now gone.
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3 hours ago, UA1987 said:
I was watching for his number #67 on the DL for most of the game. Did not see him but once. He reminds me of a Brock Boxen type player. I will focus on the DL in the Ohio game too. Hopefully they don't spend the whole game on their backs again.
I agree that Hawkins should be playing. From a big picture, the Zips have more DL depth than ever, although they are young. I would recommend going to a 4 man front and rotating in the DL men. With a 3 man front, you need good line backers, and we are very weak at this position. Let's utilize the DL depth that exists.
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11 hours ago, LZIp said:
Any player can play any amount of time this season and not have it count towards a year of eligibility.
Which freshman did you expect to be on the field that weren’t?
That is going to have an impact on the 85 player limit for many schools. I am curious on how this will pan out.
I was referring to the freshman running backs and D Linemen. Also, the freshman QB Marousek.
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The last couple of years, freshman were allowed to play 4 games and they still can be red shirted. What is the rule this year? I was surprised that several freshman did not get into the game. Unless, the rule has changed, I do not understand the players choices. I look forward to the responses since I do not know the rules this year. Go Zips.
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5 hours ago, John Ward said:
Seems like there were an awful lot of new faces out there tonight. Looked like a lot of injured players. Thought we had a bunch of new RBs.I only saw 1 . Where the rest? Whats wrong with Kato?
During the game, the announcer said that Kato is not yet recovered from off season surgery. He should be ready in a couple of weeks. Will need to determine if he is the best option.
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6 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:
Thank you.
LT: Gray (R-Fr.)
LG: Beckman (R-Fr.)
C : Petersen (Senior)
RG: Daniels (R-Fr.)
RT: Murphy (R-Fr)
And we should remember that none of them use/lose a year of eligibility this season.
How are we going to win with 4 red shirt freshman on the line. In 2 years, they should be dynamite, but not this year. they did get pushed around a lot.
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On 10/26/2020 at 8:45 AM, Blue & Gold said:
Congrats on a top 20 player. He has no stars in 247. This shows no consistency in rankings. I am glad he will be a Zip.
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On 9/17/2020 at 2:57 PM, Captain Kangaroo said:
God Bless you if you can enjoys a Zips Game Day without tailgating.
I have enjoyed many Zips tailgates, but that is usually because of the good food that I cook and a small group of friends that leads to a fun time. However, the same fun could usually have happened in my driveway at home with the same group of people. Lot 9 is the best location in the nation for a tail gate. We are 50 feet from the field in the perfect location. We get to hear the best band in the land in the mornings before games, but very few people are present in Lot 9.. The band is fantastic. However, the Zips fans are typically really weak; I want to say pathetic. I have been to the Muny lot in Cleveland, to lots at Pittsburgh rooting against the Stillers, to Heiny gate in Columbus, to Ann Arbor, and the times have been crazy. I have been to South Bend and the SEC where tailgating begins on Wednesday or Thursday prior to game time. I have showed up most times when Lot 9 gates open, and there is nobody present. As of 3 hours in, we have a paltry 10 vehicles in the parking lot. Now, I applaud these folks, but that does not make a good tailgate. Also, how many times are you not allowed into Lot 9 when it opens due to some University event. It may be a 5k, Akron marathon, or a lack of workers, but there is no communication that goes out to the fans. And, the 10 - 20 fans are left waiting outside of the lot and we are told not to drink or the cops will be called. But, we have good tailgating. Also, I have showed up may times at 1400 (2 p.m.) on weekday ESPN games, and I have to wait 2 - 3 hours to have 5 other vehicles in the lot to join my group. I like to hear how good the tailgating is in this special lot.
The bottom line is that tailgating is so bad at Akron even though we have the perfect situation. Also, how may past players come back to enjoy the festivities. Almost none. It is fun to see the cheerleaders and other Zips sport teams in Lot 9 before the games, but most people are too cheap to buy a program to support the school.
I will continue to show up and support the Zips and be a Varsity A member as well as making several donations a year to the University. I do not want to hear how good tailgating is at Lot 9. You have set the bar very low. Please, let's figure out how to set the bar high.
As bad as the football has been, it is still the best part of game day. Anyone who cannot see that, has never put on a jock strap and has not been an athlete. T ball does not count.
Go Zips
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On 5/9/2020 at 3:19 PM, bigjim said:
I should have said news herald instead of the news. I hope the link works.
i watched the second half of the Euclid Strongsville game tonight wanting to see Reese make some great plays. I do not recall his name being called at any time. Actually, I did not see him on the field many defensive plays in the second half. I was hoping for some tackles and sacks that would leave me wanting to see him in a Zips uniform, but that did not happen. I am still looking forward to him being a great Zips DL.
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On 9/9/2020 at 2:38 PM, LZIp said:
He is also the brother of Browns kicker Austin Seibert.
After today, I am glad the Zips have Logan committed instead of Austin.
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Week 3: Can't State Golden Flushes
in Akron Zips Football
Posted
T minus 2 hours and counting until kickoff