Are You Ready For Some Football

[johnnyzip84]

This might get us all a little more ready for some football:

[Balsy]

Got my season tickets today. Along with a very nice flag. Way to go Marketing, giving quality crap away these days!

[K92]

Got my season tickets today. Along with a very nice flag. Way to go Marketing, giving quality crap away these days!

It would be great if you included a picture of said quality crap to appease those of us who are less fortunate and not received theirs yet!

[LZIp]

It seems Tommy Woodson is looking solid in a back up QB role from the updates I see from @ZipsFB on twitter. Him and Hirschman appear to be in a battle for the back up QB. But I'd really like some updates on how the starters are looking and players like MTB.

[Zipgrad01]

It seems Tommy Woodson is looking solid in a back up QB role from the updates I see from @ZipsFB on twitter. Him and Hirschman appear to be in a battle for the back up QB. But I'd really like some updates on how the starters are looking and players like MTB.

I am not sure what scrimmage the zip football twitter feed was watching. Woodson looked absolutely dreadful. Hirschman didnt look much better. The quarterback, however, that did look impressive in his one series was Tra'Von Chapman. That kid is legit and looks big time.

MTB didnt look very good. He rarely got open and he had several drops. None of the receivers really did anything of note.

Pohl, Chisholm, Hundley and Boyett didnt play.

The defense looks unbelievable. They absolutely manhandled the offense the entire day. The D-Line is stout, athletic and has depth. Mizell looks like a different player and the secondary actually looked pretty impressive.

As for players that jumped out to me besides the Browns and March's, etc.....

Mizell - His body transformation is startling. He is lean and mean compared to last year.

Brock Boxen - He is only a freshman, but he is built like a senior. He is listed at 275 and he looks every bit of it. He was bull rushing double teams back into the backfield.

Nmesoma Okafor - Looks like he has added about 15 pounds since the spring and he will contribute nicely to add depth.

Se'Von Pittman - He is a man out there. He will call for double teams on many occasions and that will definitely help the other DL and LB's roam free for tackles.

Anthony Clark - Didn't play a lot, but he is another guy like Boxen that has legit size and talent right from the get go.

Nordly Capi - He is going to be a wrecking ball. Fast, looks like he added some new moves to the quarterback.

As you can see, I am talking almost exclusively about the defense. I hope the struggles on offense today were due to several starters being out because they looked terrible.

In other good news, Johnny Robinson and Donte Williams are back with the team. Williams played today and looked good. Robinson just got cleared and is going through his early camp mandates, ie..; only helmet before pads, etc..

[K92]

LZip,

A small group of us ZN.o'ers watched the scrimmage today. I made some observations. We shall see if the others agree or not.

First of all, Pohl, Chisholm and Boyett did not play at all. I hope their absence had everything to do with the offense doing absolutely nothing. And I mean nothing. They looked inept. Now, that being said, the defense looks fantastic. So that puts us back to the age old question: Does our fantastic defense make the offense look a lot worse than they really are or does our awful offense make the defense look better than they really are? Dunno, but the d is passing the eyeball test.

Zipgrad01 said the defense has a bad attitude in a good way. I agree. You can tell the unit is a tight family. They cheer each other on. They stay after practice and work longer. They're cocky. They have some serious swagger going on.

The defense looks incredibly fit. The linebacking corp is fearsome and deep. The defensive line appears to be almost entirely capable of playing both inside and out. Capi lined up at left tackle a lot and Cody Grice played quite a bit at right end. Hollis is a man. Pittman is a stud. Okafor and Horner are quick off the edge. The defensive line got consistent pressure on the qbs all day.

Don't even get me started talking about the hit man JB1. March is as steady as ever and Mizell looks like he is ready to hand out ass whoopins & lollypops but he is fresh out of lollypops.

Secondary looked good, but I might be able to play safety with this front 7. Just sayin'.

The offense was the other side of the coin. Spittin' and a sputterin'. It looks the the hurry up is a thing of the past. No tempo whatsoever. It was a horrible thing to behold.

All who love the Zips: Please pray for Kyle Pohl's health. If he goes down we are in trouble. Neither Woodson (who played wity the 1s), Hirschmann nor Kincade could get anything going. Chapman played about 5 downs and by far far far in a way looked the best of the 4.Too bad he is not eligible.

All who love the Zips: Please pray for Jawon Chisholm's health. If he goes down we are in trouble. Granted, Hundley did not play today and he would have toughed out some yards, but neither Lawrence, Morgan nor Jones look like they can spell Chizz.

O-line looks out of sync. Pressure came both off the edges and up the middle. This has me worried. OTOH, Tommy Brown looked good at right tackle in limited work. TS67 is a mainstay at center and it looks like he has a nice backup in Ericksen. That boy is big enough to eat hay.

No one stood out at WR. Lots of drops. I guess ZD11 had a couple of nice possession grabs over the middle but not much to speak of with this unit. Disappointing.

DM56 was on the sideline but did not participate.

Best news of the day: Talked to Keontae Hollis for a hot second after practice and he said (drum roll please)...

Johnny Robinson and Donte Williams are cleared to play. Both were there today. Williams played and Robinson still hqs to go through his acclimation period. Good news for sure.

Last thing: Print a roster for the first couple of games. Half the team has a new number.

[Balsy]

Is Pohl and Chisholm hurt? Or was this a designed practice for the backups? I don't like the sound of Pohl and Chisholm being out...albeit two weeks away from start.

[LZIp]

Appreciate the info guys. D sounds exciting (as expected out of that deep LB and studs on the D-line). Is Boyett a transfer? Name doesn't ring a bell. The news on WRs seems pretty disheartening. Hopefully they look better with Pohl out there. Hopefully him and Chisholm aren't injured, because I don't understand why they would be sitting out this close to the season.

[Zipgrad01]

Appreciate the info guys. D sounds exciting (as expected out of that deep LB and studs on the D-line). Is Boyett a transfer? Name doesn't ring a bell. The news on WRs seems pretty disheartening. Hopefully they look better with Pohl out there. Hopefully him and Chisholm aren't injured, because I don't understand why they would be sitting out this close to the season.

Pohl was running wind sprints at the end of practice, so his wheels are definitely fine. I am not sure why they were all held out. I have a feeling that their spots are already cemented and Bowden knows what we saw.....if any of those get hurt we are screwed. Why risk it?

Boyett is the big 6'7 left tackle we signed this year from a junior college.

[Dave in Green]

... Secondary looked good, but I might be able to play safety with this front 7. Just sayin'. ...

Now that's something I'd pay extra to witness. Come to think of it, if instead of footballs the opposing QBs were throwing full beer bottles, I'd bet on you to intercept every one thrown your way and be a unanimous selection to the All America Team. But seriously I really appreciate your passion for Zips football and the great reports that you, JZ84 and others have been posting. Summer's winding down, it's almost fall and I'm ready for some real football. Go Zips!

[johnnyzip84]

EA will evaluate each MAC team this week. He starts with the Zips today. Note: the article includes a poll. Now that Zippy is running again for Mascot of the Year in 2014, we need to get those "voting machines" back up and running

[Dr Z]

Team photo:

Slightly larger photo found here.

[GP1]

First time I've seen a team photo like that. I think I really like it.

[Balsy]

The only thing to make that team photo better is to push back the arch so you can seethe entire logo.

[MDZip]

The only thing to make that team photo better is to push back the arch so you can seethe entire logo.

Maybe the team thinks the A-Roo looks like a donkey like some on here have expressed.

[UA1987]

We are about ready for 2014. Key for the O will be to get Tommy Brown eligible and playing before Penn State. If this happens we may shock the world. Good luck Zips fans, we are about to turn it up a notch.

[johnnyzip84]

GT discusses the DL and confirms DBs Robinson and Williams are back with the team.

[AKSportsFan]

247Sports look into the mindset of a winner! I love our coach!

http://coachingsearch.247sports.com/Article/Terry-Bowden-To-turn-it-around-you-cant-be-the-underdog-30385939

[johnnyzip84]

GT lists the current Depth Chart in today's BJ.

1. Let's hope this means Tommy Brown received his hardship request to play immediately.

2. Looks like Stein lost his starting PK position.

3. Senter over Givens?

4. Glad to see Rossi get to contribute as a SR.

OFFENSE

QB: Kyle Pohl, Tommy Woodson

RB: Jawon Chisholm, Conor Hundley

FB: Nick Rossi, Christian Allen

TE: Jeff Allen, Jerome Lewis

X receiver: Andrew Pratt, Mykel Traylor-Bennett

Z receiver: L.T. Smith, Keith Sconiers

H receiver: Fransohn Bickley, Tyrell Goodman

Y receiver: Zach D'Orazio, Imani Davis

LT: Quaison Osborne, Isaiah Williams

LG: Dylan Brumbaugh, Michael Casimos

C: Travis Switzer, Stephen Ericksen

RG: Joe McNamara, Andrew Bohan Jr.

RT: Tommy Brown, Cedrick Brittnum

DEFENSE

DE: Alphonso Horner, Richard Dorvilus Jr.

DT: Se'Von Pittman, Keontae Hollis

NG: Cody Grice, Darius Copeland

DE: Nordly Capi, Nmesoma Okafor

SAM: Justin March, Dylan Evans Jr.

MIKE: C.J. Mizell, John Rachal

WILL: Jatavis Brown, Jon Shelby

ROV: Bre' Ford, Martel Durant

FS: Devonte Morgan, Johnny Robinson

CB: John Senter, Kris Givens Jr.

CB: Bryce Cheek, DeAndre Scott

SPECIALISTS

PK: Tom O'Leary, Robert Stein

P: Zach Paul, Kyle Foster

LS: Michael Buddenberg, Hayden Grover

H: Zach D'Orazio, Nick Hirschman

PR: Imani Davis, Fransohn Bickley

KR: L.T. Smith, Mykel Traylor-Bennett

[Buckzip]

So Boyett went from being a projected starter to not even in the 2 deep.

Great to see Tommy Brown in there. I hope it is official.

Does any know of D. Moore is on the team?

[Captain Kangaroo]

Tommy Brown is an absolute wall at RT. Kyle Pohl hit the lottery.

Brown engulfed Richard Dorvilus in last week's scrimmage. It was like a dad playing with a 6-year old. No offense to Dorvilus...it just showed Brown is the real deal.

It will be interesting to see Osborne at LT. He played there as a true Fr., but last season he rarely saw action.

Will our RB depth chart ever change? I expect to see Chisholm/Hundley there through 2029.

[Balsy]

I'd expect some of the RB's are going to get much needed reps vs. Howard. This will be a chance for Lawrence (didn't he RS last season?) and Jones to show up. I really like what I saw with the limited we got to see of him a couple of seasons ago.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I'd expect some of the RB's are going to get much needed reps vs. Howard. This will be a chance for Lawrence (didn't he RS last season?) and Jones to show up. I really like what I saw with the limited we got to see of him a couple of seasons ago.

I would disagree. Lawrence didn't show any moves. Seemed to go down easily. Jones is a gamer, but has not shown any breakaway speed.

I want to see a "special" back. Brandon Payne, Bobby Hendry, Brett Biggs, James Black, Mike Clark...even a Dennis Kennedy.

Chisholm and Hundley are fine for this offense...they move the chains an grind out yards. But I would kill to have a legit threat in our backfield. A bonifide 1,000 yard guy that racks up 12+ TD's and piques the NFL's interest.

[UA1987]

If we look good this year, I expect a RB or 2 next year coming in that will make us all happy. For now, Chisholm is our answer and I'm glad we have him. Is Boyett injured? I'm surprised not to see him on the line. I do have to wonder if the Howard 2 deep chart is a wake up call to some and I expect changes later.

[LZIp]

Givens not starting is the most surprising to me in that depth chart.

GO ZIPS! Damn am I pumped to get the season underway.