2018 Recruiting

[LZIp]

2 hours ago, ComettoZip said:

Check out this highlight!
https://www.hudl.com/v/x6mxW

 

team highlight of Coventry & Norton, you will see his athleticism & speed in it

He is impressive. He needs an offer.

[Blue & Gold]

William Collier, RB, Hoban, 5-10, 195

 

He's almost entirely under the radar as a RB due to Todd Sibley.  But I've seen Hoban a few times & this guy is absolutely legit.

 

Just like Devanier Floyd @ Akron East, Hoban's rushing attack is in more than capable hands next year.

[Blue & Gold]

Devanier Floyd, Akron East, RB, 5-9, 205 - Junior Highlight Film

[Blue & Gold]

Another big, strong, fast kid from East

 

Jayshawn Robinson, SS/FS, 6-0, 190

 

[33Akrondad7]

11 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

Another big, strong, fast kid from East

 

Jayshawn Robinson, SS/FS, 6-0, 190

 

This kid is a beast. You can tell it all comes very easy for him.

[Blue & Gold]

East is the new Buchtel.

[Blue & Gold]

 

 

[Blue & Gold]

yesssss!  So glad we got on this guy early.  he is true beast!

 

 

[LZIp]

13 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

yesssss!  So glad we got on this guy early.  he is true beast!

 

 

I'm really liking this UA/Akron East pipeline being developed.

[Blue & Gold]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

yesssss!  So glad we got on this guy early.  he is true beast!

 

 

My "Hot Take"... this guy's going to be Ohio's Mr. Football 2017.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Blue & Gold

[Blue & Gold]

Thought we'd offer Keye.  I've seen him listed between 6-0 & 6-1 and 200-205 lbs.  He was D-II 1st Team NEO Inland District @ LB & had crazy good stats, which I couldn't find - I'll look around a little later & see if I can find them.

 

Btw, the above was retweeted by Justin Sampson, so they're obviously pretty tight.  Good sign.

 

Edit: I can't find his stats, but what stood out to me was that he had exactly the same # of tackles as Reggie Corner Jr. but even more solo tackles.  He plays LB while Reggie played S, but still.  Reggie was named D-I Inland District POY, so that shows what kind of stats Keye compiled.

 

Btw, Zips' commit Dustin Burkhardt also retweeted the above tweet.  The players we're recruiting either have, or will have, a lot of friends on the team.  There's a good synergy building in the area!

Edited December 1, 2016 by Blue & Gold

[Blue & Gold]

On 11/18/2016 at 5:14 PM, Blue & Gold said:

CometZip, is Treon Sibley related to Hoban's Todd Sibley?

 

ABJ blurb on Treon Sibley

Sibley’s big finale

Treon Sibley finished his junior football season with Coventry (5-5) with 413 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns in a 46-44 win at Norton on Oct. 28. He rushed for two touchdowns, caught two touchdown passes and threw a touchdown pass.

Treon Sibley was named 1st Team All-Ohio D-III @ DB.

[Blue & Gold]

East is blowing up

[kreed5120]

42 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

East is blowing up

 

I'm no expert, but can someone explain to me how an 8-4 D3 team has so many FBS players? I've been following D3 playoffs for years and the best of the best teams have maybe 2 players with FBS offers. Louisville made the state championship game in D3 with only 1 player going on to play FBS football.

 

I'm all for scooping up the best of the best in the area, but there are only so many FBS players in Akron. Are we perhaps missing out on kids in Cleveland, Youngstown, Cincy, Columbus, etc. because we've become overly committed to offering local guys?

 

EDIT: To be fair I haven't seen East play this year so maybe they are just that stacked. If that's the case how didn't they win state?

Edited December 6, 2016 by kreed5120

[Blue & Gold]

^^This is the first East player I know nothing about.  I saw East play a few times last year & the other guys we've offered stick out like sore thumbs on the high school level.  This guys did not.  Not saying he's not a D-1 talent, but he just didn't catch my eye physically (height, musculature, speed,)

 

As far as public schools, Buchtel & McKinley used to crank out players like this.  McKinley isn't what they used to be (even though they still have solid teams; just not individual talent which blows you away) & Buchtel's been unusually quite the last few years.  Wonder what's up with that?

 

The East juniors which really stood out to me were S/WR Daishawn Brimage and RB Devanier Floyd (who is absolutely amazing and I'm picking him to be Ohio's Mr. Football next year.  He's 5-9, 205, runs angry & is fast as hell.  Plus, East returns their entire OL.)  

 

*Kreed5120: I know I didn't answer any of your questions; just making conversation

Edited December 6, 2016 by Blue & Gold

[Blue & Gold]

22 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

EDIT: To be fair I haven't seen East play this year so maybe they are just that stacked. If that's the case how didn't they win state?

 

I can try to answer this.  East was very one dimensional.  They couldn't throw the ball.  Teams could stack the box.

[Blue & Gold]

I find it interesting we haven't been showering Hoban w/ offers.  There are a few juniors on that team who are gold.  The backup RB, William Collier, is going to be one of the best RB's in the state next year.  Like East's Floyd, he's under the radar right now.  But he shouldn't be to the staff of UA.

 

Hoban also has a junior DE we should offer: Dyaeshon Martin, DE, 6-2, 240

[kreed5120]

Yeah, I'm all for getting the discussion flowing. IDK the case about Buchtel, but McKinley has a significantly larger enrollment and kind of was spending a good amount of resources on athletics developing players before it become a more mainstream thing to do. Also, it was pretty commonplace in the 90s for Stark County families to relocate to the McKinley school district so their kid could be seen by recruiters.

 

If all these East players come and contribute, I'll be thrilled. I'm just hesitant if we are trying to dig too deep into the Akron well for players that we are missing out on other players that are an hour or 2 away and will find their way onto a Kent, Toledo, or OU rosters.

[zippy5]

That's kind of what I'm wondering. I love that TB has the State of Akron on lock, if you will. But is there that much talent in Akron to offer all these kids? Honest question, I'm an hour away and don't know much about OH high school football except what's right across the border from me. 

[K92]

You guys that follow hs football, did you see Lorain play this year?  Their rb Carlos Chavis looked real good to me but I looked him up and he didn't have any offers.  On scout.com it says Akron is a school of interest, though.

 

I saw Lorain lose vs. Olentangy Liberty in Mansfield a couple weeks ago and that kid really showed on offense and defense.

[72 Roo]

On November 18, 2016 at 5:11 PM, Blue & Gold said:

On November 18, 2016 at 4:38 PM, LZIp said:

 

I've seen Hoban play a couple of times and they are loaded. I agree that Collier and Martin should be on our recruiting list. There are a few more juniors and sophomores that we should be after. That program will be a pipeline for a many more years. From talking with parents of current players the school has a strong incoming class of current 8th graders.

 

 Like this

[wadszip]

7 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

I'm no expert, but can someone explain to me how an 8-4 D3 team has so many FBS players? I've been following D3 playoffs for years and the best of the best teams have maybe 2 players with FBS offers. Louisville made the state championship game in D3 with only 1 player going on to play FBS football.

 

I'm all for scooping up the best of the best in the area, but there are only so many FBS players in Akron. Are we perhaps missing out on kids in Cleveland, Youngstown, Cincy, Columbus, etc. because we've become overly committed to offering local guys?

 

EDIT: To be fair I haven't seen East play this year so maybe they are just that stacked. If that's the case how didn't they win state?

 

How didn't they win state is easy to answer. D1 recruits doesn't automatically equal a state title ... see Cleveland Glenville. The school has produced in the neighborhood of 50-plus D1 athletes (a ton to top-tier P5 colleges) and 15 or so NFL players in the past 15 years. Yet, never has won a state title. It has been, by far, the top high school for producing next level-talent in Ohio over that period. ... More overall D1 players, more BCS and more NFL players. 

 

To a smaller degree Buchtel has been similar (though Buchtel does have a couple state titles in the 80s/90s). Still, it's a school that recently has produced a ton of next-level talent that, for whatever reason, hasn't translated to a state title (though Buchtel did lose a 13-12 heartbreaker in the 2010 D3 state title game). 

 

Anyway, what I'm saying is that East has essentially become the new Buchtel. Marques Hayes took over a dead-end program and in four years has built it into a playoff winning team (East did destroy an undefeated an No. 1 ranked Marlington team in the first round of the regional playoffs). Kids from the city are taking notice and I'm guessing you'll continue to see more of them gravitate toward East if they continue to win ... like they did to Buchtel (more recently) and Garfield (going a little further back). What Bowden seems to be doing is trying to build a pipeline into that school, and it helps it is coached by a former UA player. Maybe part of that territory is taking a kid or two out of good-faith (and I'm just speculating on that, but it is not that uncommon in recruiting circles) in order to solidify that relationship when it comes to getting some of the higher-recruited kids who could be coming up through the system.

 

Plus, I think a lot of people don't realize how good Summit County football is becoming. The county has 52 athletes on FBS football rosters this year. That is as many as Stark (26), Trumbull (14) and Mahoning (13) combined (I use those as examples because those areas are historically perceived to be "hot beds"). Plus, it's not like Akron can't go after recruits in those other areas, either, or Cuyahoga (which leads the state with 101), since all are essentially in their backyard.

 

And at the high school W/L level, going back to 2010, Summit County teams have the highest winning percentage in the state playoffs of any of the major counties in Ohio. It breaks down:

 

Summit (Akron): 83-50, .641

Montgomery (Dayton): 70-45, .605

Lucas (Toledo): 37-26, .587

Cuyahoga (Cleveland): 106-87, .549

Franklin (Columbus): 109-93, .540

Mahoning (Youngstown): 47-42, .528

Hamilton (Cincinnati): 103-102, .502

Stark (Canton): 40-43, .482

Trumbull (Youngstown/Warren): 28-37, .431

 

The numbers back up that Summit County has some good football. Akron already has major inroads to St. Vincent-St. Mary. Adding East to that looks like it will strengthen UA's pipeline into the city's public talent ... a base that could grow if East can establish itself as the city's football school and be a UA feeder. Branch out from there and you have quite a bit to work with in a 50-mile radius.

 

With all that said, this program can't afford more years like this past one. Despite one of the most disappointing years in the program's history (relative to expectations), it looks like the local guys are still on board. But if the Zips have another disappointing year in 2017, all the local good-will, IMO, is on very thin ice. You start losing those inroads and have no real backup area to turn to (outside of Tier 6-7 Florida recruits), you are back to being, well, Akron.

[LZIp]

great stuff wadszip. 

[kreed5120]

7 hours ago, wadszip said:

 

How didn't they win state is easy to answer. D1 recruits doesn't automatically equal a state title ... see Cleveland Glenville. The school has produced in the neighborhood of 50-plus D1 athletes (a ton to top-tier P5 colleges) and 15 or so NFL players in the past 15 years. Yet, never has won a state title. It has been, by far, the top high school for producing next level-talent in Ohio over that period. ... More overall D1 players, more BCS and more NFL players. 

 

To a smaller degree Buchtel has been similar (though Buchtel does have a couple state titles in the 80s/90s). Still, it's a school that recently has produced a ton of next-level talent that, for whatever reason, hasn't translated to a state title (though Buchtel did lose a 13-12 heartbreaker in the 2010 D3 state title game). 

 

Anyway, what I'm saying is that East has essentially become the new Buchtel. Marques Hayes took over a dead-end program and in four years has built it into a playoff winning team (East did destroy an undefeated an No. 1 ranked Marlington team in the first round of the regional playoffs). Kids from the city are taking notice and I'm guessing you'll continue to see more of them gravitate toward East if they continue to win ... like they did to Buchtel (more recently) and Garfield (going a little further back). What Bowden seems to be doing is trying to build a pipeline into that school, and it helps it is coached by a former UA player. Maybe part of that territory is taking a kid or two out of good-faith (and I'm just speculating on that, but it is not that uncommon in recruiting circles) in order to solidify that relationship when it comes to getting some of the higher-recruited kids who could be coming up through the system.

 

Plus, I think a lot of people don't realize how good Summit County football is becoming. The county has 52 athletes on FBS football rosters this year. That is as many as Stark (26), Trumbull (14) and Mahoning (13) combined (I use those as examples because those areas are historically perceived to be "hot beds"). Plus, it's not like Akron can't go after recruits in those other areas, either, or Cuyahoga (which leads the state with 101), since all are essentially in their backyard.

 

And at the high school W/L level, going back to 2010, Summit County teams have the highest winning percentage in the state playoffs of any of the major counties in Ohio. It breaks down:

 

Summit (Akron): 83-50, .641

Montgomery (Dayton): 70-45, .605

Lucas (Toledo): 37-26, .587

Cuyahoga (Cleveland): 106-87, .549

Franklin (Columbus): 109-93, .540

Mahoning (Youngstown): 47-42, .528

Hamilton (Cincinnati): 103-102, .502

Stark (Canton): 40-43, .482

Trumbull (Youngstown/Warren): 28-37, .431

 

The numbers back up that Summit County has some good football. Akron already has major inroads to St. Vincent-St. Mary. Adding East to that looks like it will strengthen UA's pipeline into the city's public talent ... a base that could grow if East can establish itself as the city's football school and be a UA feeder. Branch out from there and you have quite a bit to work with in a 50-mile radius.

 

With all that said, this program can't afford more years like this past one. Despite one of the most disappointing years in the program's history (relative to expectations), it looks like the local guys are still on board. But if the Zips have another disappointing year in 2017, all the local good-will, IMO, is on very thin ice. You start losing those inroads and have no real backup area to turn to (outside of Tier 6-7 Florida recruits), you are back to being, well, Akron.

 

Thanks Wadszip! This was the kind of detailed post that I was looking for. I particularly liked how you broke out how many FBS players are from different counties. I knew Summit County was better than Stark County, but these numbers actually put it into perspective of just how much better it is.

[Blue & Gold]

8 hours ago, wadszip said:

 

How didn't they win state is easy to answer. D1 recruits doesn't automatically equal a state title ... see Cleveland Glenville. The school has produced in the neighborhood of 50-plus D1 athletes (a ton to top-tier P5 colleges) and 15 or so NFL players in the past 15 years. Yet, never has won a state title. It has been, by far, the top high school for producing next level-talent in Ohio over that period. ... More overall D1 players, more BCS and more NFL players. 

 

To a smaller degree Buchtel has been similar (though Buchtel does have a couple state titles in the 80s/90s). Still, it's a school that recently has produced a ton of next-level talent that, for whatever reason, hasn't translated to a state title (though Buchtel did lose a 13-12 heartbreaker in the 2010 D3 state title game). 

 

Anyway, what I'm saying is that East has essentially become the new Buchtel. Marques Hayes took over a dead-end program and in four years has built it into a playoff winning team (East did destroy an undefeated an No. 1 ranked Marlington team in the first round of the regional playoffs). Kids from the city are taking notice and I'm guessing you'll continue to see more of them gravitate toward East if they continue to win ... like they did to Buchtel (more recently) and Garfield (going a little further back). What Bowden seems to be doing is trying to build a pipeline into that school, and it helps it is coached by a former UA player. Maybe part of that territory is taking a kid or two out of good-faith (and I'm just speculating on that, but it is not that uncommon in recruiting circles) in order to solidify that relationship when it comes to getting some of the higher-recruited kids who could be coming up through the system.

 

Plus, I think a lot of people don't realize how good Summit County football is becoming. The county has 52 athletes on FBS football rosters this year. That is as many as Stark (26), Trumbull (14) and Mahoning (13) combined (I use those as examples because those areas are historically perceived to be "hot beds"). Plus, it's not like Akron can't go after recruits in those other areas, either, or Cuyahoga (which leads the state with 101), since all are essentially in their backyard.

 

And at the high school W/L level, going back to 2010, Summit County teams have the highest winning percentage in the state playoffs of any of the major counties in Ohio. It breaks down:

 

Summit (Akron): 83-50, .641

Montgomery (Dayton): 70-45, .605

Lucas (Toledo): 37-26, .587

Cuyahoga (Cleveland): 106-87, .549

Franklin (Columbus): 109-93, .540

Mahoning (Youngstown): 47-42, .528

Hamilton (Cincinnati): 103-102, .502

Stark (Canton): 40-43, .482

Trumbull (Youngstown/Warren): 28-37, .431

 

The numbers back up that Summit County has some good football. Akron already has major inroads to St. Vincent-St. Mary. Adding East to that looks like it will strengthen UA's pipeline into the city's public talent ... a base that could grow if East can establish itself as the city's football school and be a UA feeder. Branch out from there and you have quite a bit to work with in a 50-mile radius.

 

With all that said, this program can't afford more years like this past one. Despite one of the most disappointing years in the program's history (relative to expectations), it looks like the local guys are still on board. But if the Zips have another disappointing year in 2017, all the local good-will, IMO, is on very thin ice. You start losing those inroads and have no real backup area to turn to (outside of Tier 6-7 Florida recruits), you are back to being, well, Akron.

Damn! Post of the Year!  Thank you, Wadzip!

 

There's so much I could comment on.

 

Kreed had asked how Summit-Stark recruiting compared & all I could tell him was Summit generally has considerably more D-1 recruits than Stark.  But i didn't have any links or data - it was just from personally following recruiting.  The numbers back up what I have watched over the years: Summit generally (at least) doubles-up Stark on recruiting, and Cuyahoga generally (at least) doubles-up on Summit.  But I don't follow Cleveland area HS football like I do this area.

 

I'll also comment on the point above which I highlighted: yes, concerning Kyre, I'm sure he's a very good athlete, but Coach Bowden may have gotten word that he is also a team leader & if we get Kyre on board it could have a first-domino effect.  Pure speculation because, frankly, I consider Jemarulin Suggs our first domino.  Following a lot of these young men on twitter, I'm excited to see how many of them are friends & there really seems to be a synergy growing out there that getting an offer from UA is... a status symbol.  Good stuff coming!

 

I'm hoping one day we look at Suggs the way we look at Ampi with the soccer program - the first big recruit who recruited other top-tier recruits & really built something special.