2012 Recruiting

[Zipgrad01]

I know I will be bashed for this, and I know it takes a few years to truly evaluate a recruiting class, but this really looks like Coach B is just trying to fill schollies.

I understand that recruiting rankings don't mean everything. What I take most serious is offers from other schools. Not interest, but real offers. Many of our recruits have Akron as their only D1 offer. That isn't good.

We are taking away recruits from YSU..really?

I know coach B got started late and has to catch up, but I would rather he save schollies to have the max 25 next year or more since some enrolled early, rather than give them out to undeserving players.

JMHO

Sweet...we will field a 60 team roster. That would be fantastic. We cant carry 50 scholarships into next year. All things considered, I am happy that we are getting some of the people that we are. He is filling holes in key areas of need. Nobody else recruited Chisolm, and he is one of the best guys Ianello brought in. Lets hope we have a few Chisolms.

[Buckzip]

Sweet...we will field a 60 team roster. That would be fantastic. We cant carry 50 scholarships into next year. All things considered, I am happy that we are getting some of the people that we are. He is filling holes in key areas of need. Nobody else recruited Chisolm, and he is one of the best guys Ianello brought in. Lets hope we have a few Chisolms.

I never said that we shouldn't offer anyone. I also don't think we would be under 60 players.

As for Chisholm, there are quite a few under the radar recruits every year. But the chances of 1 team getting more than 1-2 is not very good.

[Zipmeister]

Due to an incredibly late start, this year TB is basically after bodies. Next recruiting year should be interesting.

[zipboy]

Zak, thanks for all the work, much appreciated.

[Buckzip]

Due to an incredibly late start, this year TB is basically after bodies. Next recruiting year should be interesting.

Yeah, you are right. That was kind of my point. I know he has to have bodies. I just hope that he is being sure to have his full allottment of schollies next year when it should be much better for him.

[NewZipsFan]

Yeah, you are right. That was kind of my point. I know he has to have bodies. I just hope that he is being sure to have his full allottment of schollies next year when it should be much better for him.

He is also doing something that many coaches would not ---- he is honoring the commitments made by the previous staff. He cares about the student- athletes and knows that he can get the very best out of them.

[ZachTheZip]

New offer: RB Wade Edwards from Armwood HS in Florida.

Armwood is a powerhouse. Just look at their senior class.

[johnnyzip84]

Yeah, you are right. That was kind of my point. I know he has to have bodies. I just hope that he is being sure to have his full allottment of schollies next year when it should be much better for him.

The following is a pertinent comment from Marla Ridenour's article on Coach Bowden's recruiting approach/challenge at UA:

The Zips have six oral commitments for signing day Feb. 1, all of whom enrolled in January. But Bowden realizes the Class of 2012 might not be fully filled. He seems ready to make that concession and dive in Feb. 2 to recruit the next class of players who will be with him for four or five years.

[ZachTheZip]

Please don't leave open spots, coach. There are some good local kids who can contribute on special teams and the like. Think of it like a PR move. Recruiting locally helps fill the stands and creates goodwill. NE Ohio is fiercely loyal to their local high schools, far more than other areas of the country. Developing relationships with the coaches and communities in the area is a major key to success that you might not need to focus so hard on at other schools.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Please don't leave open spots, coach. There are some good local kids who can contribute on special teams and the like. Think of it like a PR move. Recruiting locally helps fill the stands and creates goodwill. NE Ohio is fiercely loyal to their local high schools, far more than other areas of the country. Developing relationships with the coaches and communities in the area is a major key to success that you might not need to focus so hard on at other schools.

Please leave open spots, Coach. We will not win squat with Division 3 talent.

You know BCS schools pull scholarships at the last minute, leaving a lot of great talent searching for a scholarship on signing day. You also know that great talents, but with borderline grades or on-the-edge credits can be looking for a scholarship in a couple months, after their BCS offer is pulled.

The Akron Zips are not a scholarship donor for every short, slow, injured-but-gritty local high school star. There a reason Walsh, Mount Union, Ashland, YSU etc. exist. There's a reason the term "preferred walk on" exists.

Fill our 30,000 seat stadium by taking the best Division 1A student athletes. Taking-on non-D1 talent for the sake of building a relationship with a local coach is suicide.

I'm not telling Bowden anything he already doesn't know. But some other people think we can build a winner in Akron with First Team All State kids from Mogadore...and that ain't gonna happen.

[NewZipsFan]

New offer: RB Wade Edwards from Armwood HS in Florida.

Armwood is a powerhouse. Just look at their senior class.

I see the connection now... Another player on the team is being/was being recruited by Colorado State - Todd Stroud's former employer. Todd is from that area of Florida.

[ZachTheZip]

RB Bryan Green from Farmington (Mich) has committed to Akron!

[ZachTheZip]

After doing a bit of digging, it looks like we offered DE Allen Covington from Armwood HS at the same time we offered Wade Edwards.

[NewZipsFan]

After doing a bit of digging, it looks like we offered DE Allen Covington from Armwood HS at the same time we offered Wade Edwards.

I believe he's coming for a visit either this weekend or next. It's the Todd Stroud connection. He was very high on hm when at Colorado State - and looks like he will follow the coach who was recruiting him - to Akron

[ZachTheZip]

I was at the JAR the other day and there were flyers on the front doors mentioning walk-on tryouts for the football team. Forget which day they said. It's good to see the coaching staff organize something like that so immediately. The last coach usually waited until two weeks into the season to hold tryouts. Nobody went to them.

[tpsjugglerdude]

I was at the JAR the other day and there were flyers on the front doors mentioning walk-on tryouts for the football team. Forget which day they said. It's good to see the coaching staff organize something like that so immediately. The last coach usually waited until two weeks into the season to hold tryouts. Nobody went to them.

Or posted it in the Buchtelite midseason.

[AKSportsFan]

Any mention or discussion of Andrew Pratt out of Green HS? 6'5 WR. JW.

[Buckzip]

Please leave open spots, Coach. We will not win squat with Division 3 talent.

You know BCS schools pull scholarships at the last minute, leaving a lot of great talent searching for a scholarship on signing day. You also know that great talents, but with borderline grades or on-the-edge credits can be looking for a scholarship in a couple months, after their BCS offer is pulled.

The Akron Zips are not a scholarship donor for every short, slow, injured-but-gritty local high school star. There a reason Walsh, Mount Union, Ashland, YSU etc. exist. There's a reason the term "preferred walk on" exists.

Fill our 30,000 seat stadium by taking the best Division 1A student athletes. Taking-on non-D1 talent for the sake of building a relationship with a local coach is suicide.

I'm not telling Bowden anything he already doesn't know. But some other people think we can build a winner in Akron with First Team All State kids from Mogadore...and that ain't gonna happen.

Thank you.

[GP1]

Please leave open spots, Coach. We will not win squat with Division 3 talent.

You know BCS schools pull scholarships at the last minute, leaving a lot of great talent searching for a scholarship on signing day. You also know that great talents, but with borderline grades or on-the-edge credits can be looking for a scholarship in a couple months, after their BCS offer is pulled.

The Akron Zips are not a scholarship donor for every short, slow, injured-but-gritty local high school star. There a reason Walsh, Mount Union, Ashland, YSU etc. exist. There's a reason the term "preferred walk on" exists.

Fill our 30,000 seat stadium by taking the best Division 1A student athletes. Taking-on non-D1 talent for the sake of building a relationship with a local coach is suicide.

I'm not telling Bowden anything he already doesn't know. But some other people think we can build a winner in Akron with First Team All State kids from Mogadore...and that ain't gonna happen.

Fantastic post CK.

What I badly want to have happen now that TB is in the house is for the Akron fan base to finally, once and for all, grow up about what college football really is and what it takes to win. Things are going to change for the better.

BCS schools don't give two $#its about pulling a scholarship and the potential problem it creates at a school. They only care about winning. Believe me, if we win, coaches will be begging Akron to take their players. We need to care about winning. Akron can't run a welfare program for bad talent. During the Owens years, an entire family went to school for free and only one of them was any good. It was moronic. The scholarships were money flushed down the toilet.

I thank God that TB is the coach now. He knows how to win and what it takes to win. Goodwill doesn't win games, good players win games. Toledo Tom always told his staff before recruiting season, "You don't win with Xs and Os. You win with Jimmies and Joes." Toledo Tom knew the value of talent. We need talent. Try to run the ball with goodwill and see how far we get.

[Zipgrad01]

Fantastic post CK.

What I badly want to have happen now that TB is in the house is for the Akron fan base to finally, once and for all, grow up about what college football really is and what it takes to win. Things are going to change for the better.

BCS schools don't give two $#its about pulling a scholarship and the potential problem it creates at a school. They only care about winning. Believe me, if we win, coaches will be begging Akron to take their players. We need to care about winning. Akron can't run a welfare program for bad talent. During the Owens years, an entire family went to school for free and only one of them was any good. It was moronic. The scholarships were money flushed down the toilet.

I thank God that TB is the coach now. He knows how to win and what it takes to win. Goodwill doesn't win games, good players win games. Toledo Tom always told his staff before recruiting season, "You don't win with Xs and Os. You win with Jimmies and Joes." Toledo Tom knew the value of talent. We need talent. Try to run the ball with goodwill and see how far we get.

I get what everyone is saying about bringing in talented players. I don't think anyone would advocate bringing in D3 talent simply to fill the roster, but we are already short on numbers. We can ill afford to have a tiny class this year because we wouldnt even have 2 or 3 deep in a lot of positions. If we get a large group of walkons that may help, but I am sure the coaches know where we are think on numbers and are focusing in those areas.

Like you said, the SEC is famous for pulling guys scholarships if they don't cut it. Somehow I think Bowden will be taking a risk on a few guys and then doing this to bring in better guys in the next year or two.

[ZachTheZip]

Right now we don't have enough scholarship players to even run a practice. We only have 16 recruits out of a maximum of 25. Coach can bring in five more recruits and still have enough room to get four BCS castoffs. I would be more inclined to agree with CK if we had enough players to allow the starters to prepare against opponents without cutting into their prep time because we also need them to be on the scout team.

[akzipper]

I get what everyone is saying about bringing in talented players. I don't think anyone would advocate bringing in D3 talent simply to fill the roster, but we are already short on numbers. We can ill afford to have a tiny class this year because we wouldnt even have 2 or 3 deep in a lot of positions. If we get a large group of walkons that may help, but I am sure the coaches know where we are think on numbers and are focusing in those areas.

Like you said, the SEC is famous for pulling guys scholarships if they don't cut it. Somehow I think Bowden will be taking a risk on a few guys and then doing this to bring in better guys in the next year or two.

I'd much rather see Bowden take a risk with players that BCS schools pulled scholarships from, as opposed to these random HS players that NO ONE else is offering. There's what 16 players pinned in this section? How many only had Akron as an offer? 13? 14 of them? I understand thinking we may have found a diamond in the rough, but really doubt we found dozens of them. Like I said before, if these are people Bowden's staff found I will at least give them the benefit of the doubt for now. But if these are the Ianello players and he's simply honoring the initial offer, we will be in for a rough year...since Ianello was completely incapable of finding good players.

[GP1]

I'd much rather see Bowden take a risk with players that BCS schools pulled scholarships from, as opposed to these random HS players that NO ONE else is offering.

This player has to sit out a year. He could go to a lower level school and play next year.

[GP1]

We can ill afford to have a tiny class this year because we wouldnt even have 2 or 3 deep in a lot of positions. If we get a large group of walkons that may help, but I am sure the coaches know where we are think on numbers and are focusing in those areas.

We'll be fine next year. If we are reaching into the third guy on the depth chart, losing won't be because there aren't enough guys on the team.

Walkons? They are there to be on scout team.

[NewZipsFan]

We'll be fine next year. If we are reaching into the third guy on the depth chart, losing won't be because there aren't enough guys on the team.

Walkons? They are there to be on scout team.

From what I'm hearing, after this successful recruiting weekend, the staff may actually be "slow playing" more than a few guys they've been recruiting... They are pretty confident that they're getting some guys they really want, and so some of the guys who are "verbally committed" may not actually have received actual scholarship offers from us to begin with.