Spring Game Thoughts

[AkronURocks]

Just got home from the softball game via the spring football game. Took the family out to the U. and was happy with everything I saw.Thought the football team looked decent. Getsy was VERY sharp. Jabari is good, he could make himself into one of the top WR in the MAC with his athletic ability. Other than Jabari I was not too impressed with any of the WR's. We do appear to have nice depth at TE and Kasparek made some nice plays. Dennis Kennedy is without question the starter at RB and will do a fine job filling in for Biggs. I was impressed with him. John Mackey had a very good spring game. Smart play, good tackles. Defense looked very good as a whole in the first half.Saw both Charlie and Jason Taylor there. Nice to see some of the more famous alums make it back for the game. On the way out I asked Charlie to take a picture with my kids and he said sure. Very nice. The new video board in the field house is awesome! Crystal clear picture, great addition! Also saw UAM walking around. Did not get a chance to say hello, but was good to see him at the game. On the way out stopped by the new softbal stadium which looks great. Imagine that kind of dedication towards a new football stadium! Would be beautiful, especially on a day like today when spring football should have been outside. Forgot my radio so I couldn't listen to French, did he say why the team was wearing those old white uniforms? The fall can't some around soon enough!!!DEFENDING :macc:

[zipboy]

Good post, a few other observations1. I liked the quickness of Balaam.2. Good to see the real Brandon Anderson starting. Cobham looked good in the secondary.3. I don't see much of a difference between Tuzze and McDaniel. 4. Jackson impressed me more than Jacqumein. I thought Carlton showed a good presence behind center.5. Lindsey impressed me the most of the new WRs. Jabari looked good. Long looked solid. After that, we are unknown. He played well.6. All 3 RBs, Kennedy, Allen, and McMillan looked good. Add 20 LBS, could McMillan play FB? He is a stocky looking guy.7. Best thing was no injuries.

[Beanie 4 Heisman]

the old white jerseys were worn because all of the white jerseys were given out to the players following the motor city bowl game and they are going to have a different look for the white jersey next season. Lindsey had a great game as well as Conham i think he could get some PT this season. McMillon is pretty quick and more a rb than an fb so putting him to fullback wouldnt be that good of a move to me. Oh and by the way if you were wondering why tim zetts was throwing with his right hand one series and his left hand another series is because the left handed thrower was Sean Hakes.

[gozips19]

i too like balaam! sekingger is freaking huge!!!! our o line will be very good for a long time. carlton jackson is the future. he is by far the best athlete out there... every time i see the other cj i think of chris rix? hakes is a twig and has a ways to go. alex allen showed me something as a nice change of pace back and should be able to addd something to the team. with the back ups all playing at the d line i am a little worried about our depth as no one really stood out. i like the change of pos. with henry at fs. neither team really took over and that was a good sign of a balanced team. getsy will be great this year and really looks confident running the offense! paris mcneal is the most ripped player on the team and who was that guy that's 5'5 he looks like a 6th grader in pads? i didn't see jason taylor but did see frye. did anyone else see hixon and was he wearing a walking boot???? can't wait for the season to start and really can't wait to see a spring game in the new stadium!

[Captain Kangaroo]

Most of what was written above echoes my thoughts too. I'll add:That HS punter from Florida can't get here soon enough. If you went to that scrimmage to see a punting exhibition, you left pretty disappointed.The Kennedy/Allen combo looks really good.Offense was really smooth w/Getsey at QB. He looked very good.Jabari is the definitive #1 wr. As someone else said above, no one stood out as a #2. I guess that will be sorted out in the summer?Did anyone see the 3 TE formation? I like Cruz.Biggest hit of the day - Mackey leveled Poindexter.Cheerleaers we're not in mid-season form. Fell like dominoes.Nate Robinson ain't in good shape, per some insiders. He has a lot of work to do before being a contributor this upcoming season.I liked both Jacqumaine and Jackson. If I had to pick, I thought Jacqumaine moved the team a hair better.Lively sure put on some weight.McMillon should get some carries this season. He is a pretty tough kid.I asked someone affiliated with the team "Who's gonna replace Rohr?" The reply was "Someone bigger, stronger and faster. We have a couple of them in line for the position." I thought Balaam looked solid.Staff seems to think this team will again compete for a championship. Insiders say this was easily the best spring of the still-young Brookhart tenure. I believe it.Hope to add some more tomorrow if time permits.

[Balki Bartokomous]

MY inside source says the Zips will win the MAC again this year.

[super]

I only attended the game today to see how we could replace Hixon and Montgomery. So my only focus was to check out the receivers and it’s clear to see that Jabari is #1. But how could you not be impressed with Lindsay, this guy made some great key catches and got behind the DB’s a number of times, however the QB did not look his way or the pass was short. Lindsay will be the #2 for us this year. Long and Patterson also impressed me with their route running.

[Dr Z]

But how could you not be impressed with Lindsay

Early drops hurt my impression, but he did play well yesterdayI would guess Long or an incomer will be more effective this year.Did anybody notice Jabari's size? He is going to be tough for a 190 lb DB to bring down. He packed on some muscle.Disappointed not to see Nate out there. Get in shape big fella!!!I know it is early but I was hoping that Hakes would impress.Maybe next spring game.Secondary looked great. If we don't utilize those TE's this year, we are nuts. I think they are going to provide some serious match-up problems for the MAC this year.I know our OL is set but I saw some good plays from some backups yesterday.That transfer from Minny has GOT to be scary to line up across. Word is, he still might not be eligable this fall.Such a great day outside, it will be nice to have the spring game in the new stadium soon. I took a walk around campus after the game. I think I am going back to college.What a great job they have done with everything new. The place looks great.

[liljc]

Through the magic of my new dvr and ONN, I got to watch the the game this morning. For anyone who saw the spring game last year, how much more impressive was Getsy this spring? He looked lost last spring and I was very concerned. Yesterday, he was in complete control and a fantastic field general. The running backs as a unit looked very good. Alex Allen ran very hard and showed some nice moves. McMillon also ran hard. I don't think there will be much of a drop off if Kennedy needs to catch his breath this season. I think this is a great sign for the future.Lindsay and Long looked pretty good at wr. I was also impressed with Patterson, nice routes, good hands and some toughness. Arthur has come into his own.The tight ends are a definite strength. As far as the kicking game goes, those two freshmen can't get here quickly enough, IMO.Mlb may be a concern. The db's were fine, but I think the whole dl was back-ups.All in all, great fun. Go Zips.

[zipboy]

One other point in reviewing the roster - we will be young next year as well.Only 5 seniors on offense - all starters and good players. But we should have 17 guys on the 2 deep who are underclassmen boding well for this year and 07.On D only 10 seniors were listed on the roster I counted yesterday. Maybe 4 starters and another 2 or 3 on the 2 deep.

[Zips4life]

I made an hour and a half drive for the spring game yesterday and I wasn't disappointed. I thought Getsy looked great and though Kennedy's stats weren't incredible, he showed a flush of absolute greatness on one of his runs early on away from the stands. Also, was it just me or did the backup defense look better than the first string? I didn't know who any of those guys were on the backup defensive line but they seemed to control the line of scrimmage better especially on stretch plays, and Balaam and some of the other linebackers were really filling holes. Maybe it's not so much the defense though as opposed to a huge drop off in talent from the starting OFFENSE to the backups. Also, I wasn't impressed with the transfer from Minnesota. I made it a point to watch him and he got absolutely dominated a couple of times by backup defensive linemen.

[TXZipFan]

QB: Getsy looked smooth out there and is going to be the rock this Offense needs to keep it together and not make many mistakes. The Offense just seemed very fluid with Getsy at the helms. IMO Jaquemain looked alot more comfortable and threw a much better ball than Jackson. Jackson seems to take a false step when he throws. As well Jackson seems to be ansy in the pocket like he's ithcing to run, but the times he did run he looked quick but not as fast as advertised. Jaquemain made some mistakes but stayed poised throughout it all, IMO I think Jaquemain solidified the #2 behind Luke and Jackson will probably get moved to WR. Which will be good cause he looks like he is more comfortable running the ball. I overheard some people talking about Hakes and they were saying, he hadn't practiced the entire spring and that his first snap he took in Akron was in live action at the spring game. They also mention he found out he was playing at 9am on gameday (thats when the he got cleared according to them). He went 2-3 not bad for a kid who just got outta h.s. and has never taken a snap til game time. WR: Jabari looked very good, along with Jermaine Lindsey, Johnny Long and Fuqua. Fuqua had the best catch of the day, with the catch in the endzone from Getsy. The recievers all in all look very solid and adding Kasparek at tight end they are going to be great targets for Getsy and the future QB's to come. They are a very bright spot on this team and are only going to get brighter with the addition of David Harvey and the other recruits they brought in.RB: Kennedy looked solid, but Alex Allen really impressed me with the way he ran the ball. He ran downhill very well and ran with a purpose. Very solid performance over all.

[Beanie 4 Heisman]

Someone said hakes didnt look that great, and i agree with you 100%. That was actually his first practice of the spring. he passed clearing house the night before. Hixon was wearing a boot on his left foot because he broke it during his last try out. It shouldnt effect his draft status though because he finished that work out and didnt even know it was broken. The bone he broke is the bone on the outside of his foot it is the longer one.(sorry i dont know the actual name of it) he will be ok though. Reid, Kiki, and Nate all sat out because of foot/leg injuries. Nate aggrevated an ankle in practice about a week ago. Kiki always has foot/ankle problems. Reid hurt his leg in a scrimmage a week ago. Once most of our d-line returns and chevin pace comes back, moving mackey back to his normal postion i think the defense will have an even better year than last year. Look for one of the juco transfers to be playing the mike backer this fall. also Groza could see some signifigant time at mike.

[Dr Z]

Hixon was wearing a boot on his left foot because he broke it during his last try out. It shouldnt effect his draft status though because he finished that work out and didnt even know it was broken. The bone he broke is the bone on the outside of his foot it is the longer one.(sorry i dont know the actual name of it) he will be ok though.

I'll give you the info that Hixon told me Saturday. I'm not saying your wrong, but this is verbatim what Hixon told me. "It's a stress fracture. I'm wearing the boot for precautionary reasons. It wasn't one thing that caused it, it just happened over time. I'll be fine"

[Captain Kangaroo]

Look for one of the juco transfers to be playing the mike backer this fall. also Groza could see some signifigant time at mike.

I hear Mickey Baker is expected to start @ LB. Regarding Groza...he's made some great strides since the spring of last year. You can tell he's worked pretty hard because he isn't the most athletically gifted players on our roster.

[fear the brown roo]

Look for one of the juco transfers to be playing the mike backer this fall. also Groza could see some signifigant time at mike.

I hear Mickey Baker is expected to start @ LB. Regarding Groza...he's made some great strides since the spring of last year. You can tell he's worked pretty hard because he isn't the most athletically gifted players on our roster.

i'll agree with that but groza made one helluva play at the goal line at BG last year which showed me he can play. being a 4.0 student in engineering ain't shabby either.

[Captain Kangaroo]

being a 4.0 student in engineering ain't shabby either.

I know. It is about double what my EE GPA was after completing my sophomore year! F-ing Calculus....To accomplish a 4.0 in Akron's engineering and be a D1 athlete is unfathomable to me. CKBSEET '89(after the 4-semester EE beatdown I moved on to the Tech program)

[gozips19]

Jaquemain looked good and Jackson will be moved to wr?????? did you see the duck Jaquemain threw down the sideline? he will be a fine back up but that is all.. Jackson has all the tools to be great. i agree that he needs to work on his foot work but his versatility in the pocket will make akron very tough to defend next year... think of Pitt when Rutherford was their qb.... after watching the game on replay i was a lot more impressed with the defense than i was when i saw the game in person... the secondary looks good and the speed of the d will be the strong point of the team... can't wait for the fall game and to see some of the new freshman!

[zipper]

I thought all the qbs were impressive. Getsy is the man, for sure, but Jacquemain is not far behind at all, and Jackson is a stud.

[zipzippy]

I think Elliott Bates is a sleeper when he comes off his knee injury he will be a key part of the offensive line

[zipzippy]

watch out for jose cruz looked good in the spring game add some muscle to him over the summer and he should get some good PT this fall

[fear the brown roo]

I think Elliott Bates is a sleeper when he comes off his knee injury he will be a key part of the offensive line

i hope you're right. he didn't do much in practice last year as the other freshman o-lineman were on the second team in practice (or first team, kemme) and he was strictly scout team. i look for zack anderson to be the pick of that class as far as o-linemen go. anderson will be even better than kemme, who did an outstanding job last year.