Zips Training Camp 2016

[akron4ever]

43 minutes ago, K92 said:

What's wrong with Marcus?

I'm not at liberty to disclose it if Bowden himself hasn't. It is nothing too serious and while he might sit out VMI, he would probably play if Wisc was the first game. He won't practice until the Wednesday before VMI and then go from there.

 

I will say that throughout camp there have been at least 10 different NFL teams there to watch him. A few teams showed up the practice after he got hurt and just left when they saw he wasn't practicing. Apparently in the NFL scouting circles he is absolutely blowing up, hopefully he can get/stay healthy. 

Edited August 15, 2016 by akron4ever

[ziptageous]

On August 14, 2016 at 7:18 AM, Blue & Gold said:

Here are GT's preliminary scrimmage notes:

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/ua-zips/university-of-akron-zips-blog-1.277207/akron-zips-football-training-camp-scrimmage-aug-13-1.704494

 

And here is an encouraging statement about Kato Nelson that that didn't make the final story:

"As for Nelson, he connected on 5-of-17 passes for about 70 yards. Looking at him, it’s not difficult to see what the coaching staff does.  He has the potential to wreak havoc in the conference in the future."

 

Explain to to me what is exciting abou going 5/17?  That's a 29% completion ratio.  As for the QB's they have a lot to prove this year.  Last year the defense kept us in games in the end.  Offense doing just enough to win isn't enough and won't be enough this year.  The team looks like this year could be a breakout year for offense because of the O line potential, the Running backs and current QB development.  A balanced attack with consistency is what we need.  Jury is still out with me.  

[zipsoutsider]

1 hour ago, ziptageous said:

 

Explain to to me what is exciting abou going 5/17?  That's a 29% completion ratio.  As for the QB's they have a lot to prove this year.  Last year the defense kept us in games in the end.  Offense doing just enough to win isn't enough and won't be enough this year.  The team looks like this year could be a breakout year for offense because of the O line potential, the Running backs and current QB development.  A balanced attack with consistency is what we need.  Jury is still out with me.  

Hello? After one week of practice at the D level and just starting to learn the playbook, you don't make evaluations on scrimmage stats. They aren't trying to build Rome in a day with a new recruit. I think posters often overlook not just the football transition that occurs when a freshman joins the zips but the emotional transition, as well. This kid just moved pretty far away from home, has all new teammates, is learning a new system. Give him a year and you will be amazed at the maturation that occurs.

[K92]

Linebackers

 

[Captain Kangaroo]

Quote

“What we’re going to [do is] play off of what Jatavis, Justin and all those boys set in place for us, because there wasn’t a culture of watching film, putting in extra work before we all got here,” Rachal said. “It was a culture of people slacking off, and we all came in and committed and showed results.

Nice job, Rob.

[K92]

Not much new information, but a new Zips piece.

[zipsoutsider]

New article article from GT about the receivers.

[wadszip]

15 hours ago, K92 said:

Not much new information, but a new Zips piece.

 

One positive is having some of the toughest MAC opponents on their schedule coming to Infocision Stadium. Toledo, Western Michigan and Bowling Green will all visit Akron, although Bowden isn’t so sure that playing such games at home is a huge advantage over having to play them on the road.

 

“If it can attract more numbers in terms of attendance, it’s big, but we’ve had Northern Illinois, Bowling Green and Ohio at our stadium before,” Bowden said. “If having those two at home can bring more people, that’s big, but the truth is that nobody averages over 20,000 fans in the MAC and so in terms of the noise and the atmosphere, the homefield edge is not the same at the MAC as it is in other places.”

 

Lol, don't let the Ohio people see this.

[Dr Z]

On August 16, 2016 at 10:52 AM, K92 said:

Linebackers

That, along with other Brown habits such as intense film study, apparently has rubbed off on both players. “He’s a young Jatavis,” Amato said of the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Gilbert. “At this point in time, when Jatavis was a sophomore, Gilbert’s getting that way at this point.” Amato said he sees the potential in this year’s group. “We’ve got a lot of talent and potential. We just have to take our time,” he said. “We just can’t do as much as we did last year and be smart. We’ve got three weeks. We’ll be ready to play whoever.”

 

Coach Amato has earned my trust with the results of his group. 

[Dr Z]

10 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

New article article from GT about the receivers.

I like this:

 

And one of those good guys could be a wild card. Sophomore Kwadarrius Smith is a name that Lane mentions and one that makes Bowden’s ears perk up. Smith, thus far, has shown up and put the spotlight on himself as if to say: “Look at me. I’m here!” It’s worked. Just last year, Jeff Bowden said he thought Smith was at least two years from making an impact in the UA offense.  “Now I’m saying he’s threatening the second team position and if Austin [Wolf] isn’t careful,” he said, “he’ll threaten his starting position. He’s young. He’s learning, but you’ve hit the nail on the head in that he’s very dangerous.” Smith, who also runs track and has been clocked as fast as 4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash, said he took the time from the end of the season to learn from his teammates. He knows what he has to do to crack that rotation.

[K92]

 

[Dr Z]

TW4! 

[LZIp]

i thought this was a well informed and thoughtout preview

http://www.hustlebelt.com/2016/8/20/12562720/2016-akron-zips-football-preview

[K92]

I watched the scrimmage tonight until they took everyone off the field for lightning.  It was 38-3 Blue when it was called.  I don't want to write a long synopsis because it was kind of hard to follow because there were a lot of players mixed up on the teams (1s & 2s) and a few players sitting out along with number changes as well.  Lots of players switching back & forth between Blue and White jerseys with Red and Greens added in as well.

 

Give me a minute to study the roster and I might be able to post a couple of tidbits.  Maybe I could answer a question or two as well.

 

For what it's worth. . .

 

<insert disclaimer here>

[LZIp]

47 minutes ago, K92 said:

I watched the scrimmage tonight until they took everyone off the field for lightning.  It was 38-3 Blue when it was called.  I don't want to write a long synopsis because it was kind of hard to follow because there were a lot of players mixed up on the teams (1s & 2s) and a few players sitting out along with number changes as well.  Lots of players switching back & forth between Blue and White jerseys with Red and Greens added in as well.

 

Give me a minute to study the roster and I might be able to post a couple of tidbits.  Maybe I could answer a question or two as well.

 

For what it's worth. . .

 

<insert disclaimer here>

great post with in depth detail

[K92]

Hey.  Give me a break.  I had to get a bite to eat, quaff a beer or two and look at the roster.  (My phone was dead at the Info so I couldn't look at it there.)

 

So. . .Woody was the only qb that played for the Blue team.  He did not look real sharp but made a couple of nice throws.  Ball made 2 pretty nice runs but didn't carry the ball a lot.  Most plays were passes.  Lots of bubble screens and bombs.  Not much over the middle.  Newman Williams got a lot of work at TE but was basically there to block.  He only ran a few pass patterns and I did not see a ball thrown his way.

 

Gauthney did not dress.  Ericksen slid over to C and Cedric McCoy was playing RG.

 

Lane made a couple of nice grabs but also was over/underthrown on a number of deep balls.

 

Bickley was out there playing X reciever.  Kinda surprising.

 

Kato Nelson got almost all the reps for White.  He throws a nice ball and looks like he has good escapability.  He connected on a deep ball 2 times to #5.  Unless I am badly mistaken, I think it was Chapman.  Speaking of Chapman, he was at qb for the last series before the lightning and looked sharp.

 

Marcus was riding a stationary bike and looked bored.  Moore got a lot of work in his absence.  Looked alright.

 

Remember what LeBron said about Mosgov the first time he saw him?  That's what I said when I saw Jelani Hamilton.

 

That's about it.

[LZIp]

10 hours ago, K92 said:

Hey.  Give me a break.  I had to get a bite to eat, quaff a beer or two and look at the roster.  (My phone was dead at the Info so I couldn't look at it there.)

 

So. . .Woody was the only qb that played for the Blue team.  He did not look real sharp but made a couple of nice throws.  Ball made 2 pretty nice runs but didn't carry the ball a lot.  Most plays were passes.  Lots of bubble screens and bombs.  Not much over the middle.  Newman Williams got a lot of work at TE but was basically there to block.  He only ran a few pass patterns and I did not see a ball thrown his way.

 

Gauthney did not dress.  Ericksen slid over to C and Cedric McCoy was playing RG.

 

Lane made a couple of nice grabs but also was over/underthrown on a number of deep balls.

 

Bickley was out there playing X reciever.  Kinda surprising.

 

Kato Nelson got almost all the reps for White.  He throws a nice ball and looks like he has good escapability.  He connected on a deep ball 2 times to #5.  Unless I am badly mistaken, I think it was Chapman.  Speaking of Chapman, he was at qb for the last series before the lightning and looked sharp.

 

Marcus was riding a stationary bike and looked bored.  Moore got a lot of work in his absence.  Looked alright.

 

Remember what LeBron said about Mosgov the first time he saw him?  That's what I said when I saw Jelani Hamilton.

 

That's about it.

Some good stuff. Kind of makes me scratch my head though... I'd prefer Nelson gets red shirted, but seems like that might not be the case. Chapman at WR seems odd considering how stacked we are at the position. I guess he could have requested it. I am pretty sure Bickley has to sit out this season.

[K92]

Nelson playing so much was rather strange, I thought.  During this scrimmage there were coaches and personnel on the field behind the offense.  While Kato is playing, Chapman was out there standing behind him, watching.  I can't definitively say that Chapman played WR, but #5 red jersey definitely caught 2 deep balls.  The entire scrimmage was a cluster with 4 different color jerseys and both blue and white helmets and mixtures of all of these on both sidelines.  I have to wonder if some of this was done on purpose to disguise what was going on just in case there were any scout eyes peering onto the field.

 

At any rate, it was good to see some football.  It was the first time I had seen any practice at all this summer and it was complete dumb luck that I was able to see this session.  I came up to do a dress rehearsal for my new tailgate setup and grab a couple of beers at Hoppin Frog.   When we got back to Lot 9 we heard whistles and coaches yelling on the field, so we hung around until the storm rolled in.

[skip-zip]

16 minutes ago, K92 said:

I can't definitively say that Chapman played WR, but #5 red jersey definitely caught 2 deep balls.  The entire scrimmage was a cluster with 4 different color jerseys and both blue and white helmets and mixtures of all of these on both sidelines.  I have to wonder if some of this was done on purpose to disguise what was going on just in case there were any scout eyes peering onto the field.

 

My first thought was that, because it was 5 in a RED (QB) jersey, wouldn't that definitely show that it was Chapman?  If so, it would seem that we are going to get some surprises this year by using his athleticism and speed to attempt some big offensive plays at some point.  

Edited August 28, 2016 by skip-zip
edit

[K92]

1 hour ago, skip-zip said:

 

My first thought was that, because it was 5 in a RED (QB) jersey, wouldn't that definitely show that it was Chapman?  If so, it would seem that we are going to get some surprises this year by using his athleticism and speed to attempt some big offensive plays at some point.  

Not sure, Skip.  At some points, there were 3 players with #1 jerseys on the field at the same time for the White team.  Kato in a red jersey, a running back in a green jersey and a wide reciever in a white jersey.  I have no idea who the rb or wr were.  I tried to get as much out of it as I could but it was pretty confusing.

 

LZlp's point about the receivers is spot on, though.  Looks like we have capable guys out the wazoo.

Edited August 28, 2016 by K92

[zipsoutsider]

Just because Nelson got the reps doesn't mean they won't redshirt him. Its an opportunity for him to learn the system. You don't want to wait until next year and you want to show the recruit he is a big part of the future.

[zipsoutsider]

Also, #5 could have been Thaddeus Snodgrass, the new transfer from KY. That was his number at KY and that might not have had time to get him a new number if he just arrived.