Meet The Team

[GoZips]

Today's meet the team went well. It seemed to be well attended with a heavy emphasis on kids and young people being in the mix. This bodes well for future Zips support.Looked to me that a couple of players were a bit banged up. Nothing serious that I could tell. The playerswere cordial and talkative. They exude a lot of preseason confidence. That's good.One freshman player I looked forward to meeting was not there. Devoe Torrence missed the event.I do not have any knowledge as to why he was not there. No player that I asked knew either. Perhapshe was in the training room getting an ankle iced down.Ryan Bain is huge. Sewell has arms as thick as my legs (and I have good legs). Hope the rest of youwho attended the event post your observations.For me, I am going with the kids. They are going to surprise people and finish way above the cellar.

[ZippyAlum]

I too enjoyed the meet the team. The young men could not have been nicer. I'm worried about Bain. I heard he needs an MRI on his foot. It seems like many guys were in air casts or limping. I guess that's why girls don't play the game. lol I sure hope there are no serious injuries. If we can put a healthy team on the field I think we'll have a real good season.

[RowdyZip]

Anyone else notice that Will Fleming had his left arm in a sling?

[jupitertoo]

Heard Will Flemming was hurt in an auto accident. Hit by a drunk driver.

[johnnyzip84]

I too enjoyed the meet the team. The young men could not have been nicer. I'm worried about Bain. I heard he needs an MRI on his foot. It seems like many guys were in air casts or limping. I guess that's why girls don't play the game. lol I sure hope there are no serious injuries. If we can put a healthy team on the field I think we'll have a real good season.

Is there any concrete information out there on Bain? Losing him for any stretch would be a huge blow obviously. I was counting on him to be a BIG reason why I believe the D can carry this team.

[Captain Kangaroo]

My random thoughts regarding the event --I wish it were held in the practice facility rather than the JAR. Too small.Nice job making it kid-friendly. Sno Cones, inflatables, cotton candy...all very nice.All the players were great. They all seems approachable and answered any questions.I didn't see Bain's air cast until too late. I can imagine it is too bad an injury, since he picked up Zippy and slung him across his back at the end of the even. He's one big dude.All the DL's looked...well...like DL's. None looked like tweener LB/DL's...we have as much size on our defensive line as any MAC team. Newbies like Dan Marcoux and Shane Shead looked like they put on 20 lbs of muscle. Lively and Pendleton seems to be in much better shape than in the past. Sewell will be a beast. VERY excited about or DL.Incoming Fr Joe Pechuta was about 30 lbs lighter than I thought he'd be. I can see why he's grayshirting. Looking at the upperclassmen surrounding him, predict he'll make a huge jump in body mass in the next 12 months.Jordan Miller is a thicker kid than I expected. He has a lot more muscle than Rodgers did at the same point last season.I wouldn't be surprised if Nate Schuler sees some playing time this year. He's bigger than I expected. Someone "stole' my son's autographed poster about half way through the signing on the offensive side (the tables were split offense/defense). Some guy just reached in and grabbed it in front of Andre Jones...never saw who did it. My son kinda panicked when he saw it was gone. Andre Jones got up from his seat..and it was really busy at the time...and helped track it down. It took him a couple minutes find it, but he did it. I have a new favorite Zip. He's awesome.The Chicago Tribune doesn't have as much ink as the Zips biceps. It's shocking to see a player without tattoos. Maybe that tattoo parlor next to The Sun Bar and Grill IS worth 3 million dollars by itself? Alex Allen switched to #10 (from #26) this year in honor of a HS teammate of his who died this past summer.De'von Moore indicated his knee was still not 100%Andre Jones mentioned his catching and route-running were going "really well," but he has a lot of work to do on his blocking. Bowser said his injury was "no big deal at all," but followed it with "I'll be good as new in a week or two." I was hoping for "...in a day or two."JD stated there was no way we'd finish where the "prognosticators" are predicting. He expects to compete for a championship. I'm going to hold him to that one. To be honest, this is the most size and depth we've had in memory. My two biggest concerns are QB (obviously) and LB. After Kevin Grant at LB, who knows what we've got? Balaam? Williams? Williams? Siler? We have a lot of LB's with little, or no game experience. Everywhere else, I'm confident we're ok.

[Beanie 4 Heisman]

My random thoughts regarding the event --I wish it were held in the practice facility rather than the JAR. Too small.Nice job making it kid-friendly. Sno Cones, inflatables, cotton candy...all very nice.All the players were great. They all seems approachable and answered any questions.I didn't see Bain's air cast until too late. I can imagine it is too bad an injury, since he picked up Zippy and slung him across his back at the end of the even. He's one big dude.All the DL's looked...well...like DL's. None looked like tweener LB/DL's...we have as much size on our defensive line as any MAC team. Newbies like Dan Marcoux and Shane Shead looked like they put on 20 lbs of muscle. Lively and Pendleton seems to be in much better shape than in the past. Sewell will be a beast. VERY excited about or DL.Incoming Fr Joe Pechuta was about 30 lbs lighter than I thought he'd be. I can see why he's grayshirting. Looking at the upperclassmen surrounding him, predict he'll make a huge jump in body mass in the next 12 months.Jordan Miller is a thicker kid than I expected. He has a lot more muscle than Rodgers did at the same point last season.I wouldn't be surprised if Nate Schuler sees some playing time this year. He's bigger than I expected. Someone "stole' my son's autographed poster about half way through the signing on the offensive side (the tables were split offense/defense). Some guy just reached in and grabbed it in front of Andre Jones...never saw who did it. My son kinda panicked when he saw it was gone. Andre Jones got up from his seat..and it was really busy at the time...and helped track it down. It took him a couple minutes find it, but he did it. I have a new favorite Zip. He's awesome.The Chicago Tribune doesn't have as much ink as the Zips biceps. It's shocking to see a player without tattoos. Maybe that tattoo parlor next to The Sun Bar and Grill IS worth 3 million dollars by itself? Alex Allen switched to #10 (from #26) this year in honor of a HS teammate of his who died this past summer.De'von Moore indicated his knee was still not 100%Andre Jones mentioned his catching and route-running were going "really well," but he has a lot of work to do on his blocking. Bowser said his injury was "no big deal at all," but followed it with "I'll be good as new in a week or two." I was hoping for "...in a day or two."JD stated there was no way we'd finish where the "prognosticators" are predicting. He expects to compete for a championship. I'm going to hold him to that one. To be honest, this is the most size and depth we've had in memory. My two biggest concerns are QB (obviously) and LB. After Kevin Grant at LB, who knows what we've got? Balaam? Williams? Williams? Siler? We have a lot of LB's with little, or no game experience. Everywhere else, I'm confident we're ok.

First things first. Will Fleming was not in a car accident with a drunk driver. He may have been at one time, but his arm was in a sling due to a play during a team period of practice. He separated his shoulder. He also had surgery on the same shoulder once before. So the medical and strength staffs want to make sure he will be ok. Dre Jones is a really great person. He is a very genuine. The Meet the Team was held in the JAR to "accomodate the fans". The marketing department wanted it there because it was air conditioned as were the field house is not. The football staff was not very happy with the decision, but hey if the fans liked it that is what matters for this event right?Bowser will be fine. He just got his knee scooped and should be good to go very soon. Bain is a toss up there are a few things wrong there but we will soon see. My bet, He will be ok and this rest he is recieving during camp will help him a the season progresses. Doug Williams actually has as much if not more game experience than Kevin Grant. Doug is one of our best linebackers and is the defensive team captain, selected by his teammates. He is also a great special teamer. The other linebacking spot is a little questionable, but we have some really talented athletes there. Fobbs has the size you would want to see and can make plays. He is probably out most physically imposing LB. Aaron Williams is a good all around player. Still a little undersized, but fast. Mike Thomas is very solid. He can really put a big hit on the opposing players. All of these players will do a fine job of playing the spot throughout the season, but we will have to figure out which one is the best asap.

[Dr Z]

Thanks for the update B4H.I really hope that Bain is okay. Keep us updated with any news you hear.