bigjim

Last year, RB started as a position of strength, but it went down hill fast. The serious fans remember the details with the arrest and dropouts. So, I am not yet calling this a position of strength until we get into the season with no casualties. Norrils - I really like his running, even out of high school. However, he got in the dog house last year for whatever reason and played little to none in several games. He should be the lead RB starting the season. He has good speed and power, and I like his inside running. Although he is listed as a sophomore due to Covid, this will be his third year and a breakout year. Williams - I loved this transfer, but he did little to impress last year. Hopefully, the new staff will turn him around. Wiley - add depth, but he had little success at Minnesota. He fills a position of need as a backup, but I am not expecting him to contribute much. Kellom - As I have stated in other posts, I expect him to be great by his second year. I saw Kareem Hunt play multiple times in high school at Willoughby South and college at Toledo, and I am hoping Kellom follows suit. He has size, speed, shiftiness, and he sat out almost half of the second half of his senior games since they were skunking their opponents. Let him get acclimated to college, and then let him take off. On first glance, we are set at this position pending no injuries or suspensions, but I thought the same thing last year. In Joe We Trust!!!!

I have read many of the posts and have the following comments: Irons - I am not a fan. He is a good runner and has had some hot stretches, but he is very inconsistent. He missed many wide open receivers. Also, I did not like his decision making. Gibson took over and played much better and put us in position to win games. We have better options. Marousek - I have not seen enough of him to comment. Although he did not play a great high school schedule. Jennings - As I have stated in other posts, I get nervous on QB's who are sub. 500 with their high school record. He has some good tapes, and the good plays are high lighted. Give him time to develop and we will see. Jankowski - first team all Florida in the biggest division. Reminds me of Rothlisberger since he played behind a starter until his senior year. The difference is that Rothlisberger played behind the coaches son and Ryan's dad was the coach. I think he has the arm strength and can run when needed. He will be successful. I will support whoever wins the job. In Joe We Trust!!!

Paxos is a first team D1 kicker that is a walk on that agreed to join the Zips in the later signing period. He will not join the team until the summer period. I do not know why Slike is off the roster, but this addition adds kicking depth. As I stated, if you watched the NFL playoffs, you could see how important the kicking game is to winning. I am sorry that Zipmisses always criticizes the postings. Go Zips!!!!

We need another Marcel Boyce. However, I do not think that the fans realize how good Freeman is. He is a difference maker and I hope he does not transfer to a larger program. He just needs to be able to not get into foul trouble and stay on the floor.

Again, another great post. I sill still grade the high school recruits an A because of the late start and the fact that 90% of the high school recruits sign in the early period. There are 3 recruits that I would like to comment on. 1. Kellom - as I have stated earlier and have received rebuttals since he had only 1 other FCS offer, I expect him to be great and team with Norrils to have a great tandem at RB for the next several years. 2. Bone - this PWO had great high school stats and has run a sub 4.5 40 yard dash. I think he will be a surprise in year 2 of his time at Akron. 3. Paxos - first team D1 all state as a kicker. If you watched any of the NFL playoffs, you saw how important kicking is in football. I see that Slike is no longer on the roster, and I thought he was very good last year. So, we will see how the kicking game develops. I think that most of the recruits will turn out very good. I cannot wait to see what the staff does with a whole year of recruiting. Go Zips!!!

Great analysis. Better than my initial post when I started this thread. I did a follow up review and was waiting for the pain of the basketball loss go pass to post and wanted to downgrade by original grade on the transfers to a C. But, you beat me to the punch. I think we got the positions from the transfer portal that we needed to provide depth, and most of the players were great out of high school but have done little in college. Outside of Jacques-Lewis and Banes, they appear to have little to no starting experience. Even Terry only started 2 games at Buffalo last year, but he should provide depth. I am hoping that the difference in competition allows these players to be top notch MAC players. Go Zips!!!

Not sure if this has been posted or if this is the appropriate place, but I found this and wanted to post. I apologize if it was posted earlier. Go Zips!!

Great start. Thanks B&G for starting the list of commitments. In Joe We Trust!!!

I am very disappointed from the several prior posts. As I posted earlier, when Coach JoeMo was hired I re-upped my season football tix and I paid on the spot. The ticket office said I could wait until June to pay like every year, but I said that I would pay at that time and my credit card was charged and I paid. Now, I am seeing some allegedly serious posters and fans who claim to be huge Zip fans are now considering buying tickets. So Sad!! In Joe we Trust!!!!

Thanks for the excellent explanation. I really appreciate it. I hope he does great next year. However, Harrison Central is a very small school in Cadiz, and they play very small schools. I would not project his future effectiveness based on his high school competition. However, I wish him greatness.

What is the point of this post? This kid had huge numbers at a very small school, but it does not look like he played this season. Was he red shirted? transferred? Do the b-ball experts on this site expect him to get playing time next year? I am intrigued and interested.

Do not forget about Eric McLaughlin in 85/86. He was very good and scored nearly 8 ppg teaming with Marcel Boyce and center and football player Russell Holmes who ruled the key at 6ft. 3in and nearly took down Michigan in the NCAA with the best basketball coach Akron had in Bob Huggins. . However, the best guard was Joe Jaubick in 80/81. He averaged 13 ppg as a frosh and went on to lead the nation in scoring as a senior at 30+ ppg. I played against both Eric and Joe in open gyms and they were so good. Actually, I should say I was on the court and I played ole defense. They went by me like the wind. Joe and Eric are the best freshmen guards in Akron history. Go Zips!!!

It is always good to hear from you JZ84. Now, you have to get football tix and get back to tailgating in Lot 9. I miss you and Keener at the football games. Go Zips!!!

I think I was the first Zip alumnus to say we got screwed with the location, but I am happy that there a lot of other alumni who feel the same way.

East Region and we have to travel to Portland on the west coast to play UCLA. Looks like we got screwed big time. I am good with the seed, but not the game location.

I have looked at the offers and many of them are impressive. Finally, Akron is pursuing top players with a fine coaching staff who know how to recruit. I have been ripped on this forum for stating the same approach of pursuing top players. As I stated earlier, as long as you can sign 2-3 top players per year and a lot of 3 star players, the team will be winning big time very soon. In Joe We Trust!!!!

Akron is dancing!!!

Let's all chant: LETS GO ZIPS! LETS GO ZIPS! LETS GO ZIPS! Get your butts downtown in Cleveland. I am seeing a lot of Zip fans in the bars here, so I am psyched for a win and a berth in the NCAA.

6 ft. 3 in 310 lb. Defensive Linemen.

Bob Huggins was the best University of Akron basketball coach in my lifetime without a doubt. KD or Groce could not hold a candle to him. Huggins and Akron basketball got screwed after Akron hired Faust as the football coach and wanted to move up in Football to Div1A from then Div 1AA (now FBS and FCS). Maybe you all are too young to remember Huggins, but 85-86 season was magical, led by Marcel Boyce. They moved to the Northeast (I believe) conference and Akron went down hill and Huggins left for Cincinnati.

I will absolutely take the over. 1. Look at my post from a few days ago. As long as we sign a couple of top players each year, the program will improve. 2. Go to GoZips and look at the high school signees this year. The coaching staff was successful in being over with just the late signing period. If you count all P5 schools, Coach Joe was way over 2 even though 90% of the high school players sign early. I cannot wait to see what this staff does with an entire recruiting cycle. In Joe We Trust!!!!

All 11 offensive linemen on the roster are listed as SO or R-SO. With the covid year, the 2022 season will be the 3rd or 4th year on the roster for each of the linemen. So, yes, they should start sticking out and performing. I have supported the OL even though the overall performance has not been great since they were so young. Football Grandma pointed out a weakness on the line and when a change was made, OL performance improved. So, with the transfer of Bane and the new recruits, the line should start to being productive and a strength for the next several years.

This information and details is so good. It shows the coaching staff is going after the top players, and in the past, it seems like they did not pursue quality. Only need to land a few top players each year to be ultimately successful in the win/loss column. I asked in the past and did not get an answer to the following question. How is this information on 247/Rivals/Scout updated? Is it from the coaching staff? I remember Bowden saying he does not communicate recruiting status to these sites. If anyone has details on how this works, please reply. As always, I do not like speculation. Go Zips!!!

That would be fantastic. Muchas Gracias. In Joe We Trust!!!

This game just guaranteed the MAC to be a 1 team entry into the NCAA tournament. Ohio had a small chance at an at large bid with 4 losses if they lost in the MAC tourney (to Akron), but that is blown out of the water. Ohio was ranked 54 in the RPI, and will fall with this loss. However, Toledo was a surprise at 52. No chance at an at large bid for the MAC now.