Not a good sign

[Zipmeister]

I've read on ZipsNation that the number of commits and especially stars don't matter and yet a recent peak at 247 Sports suggests to me that we have the 10th strongest 2020 recruiting class ahead of only Ohio and Buffalo. And plenty of room for improvement regarding the 2021 class. Please tell me stuff that will make me feel better about this situation.

 

2021.

MAC

Rank  School  commits   3 star

1              Mia        17            10          

2              Tol          14           13

3              niu          13             7

4              wmu      10              5

5              cmu       13              7

6              Buf           5              5

7              bugs        6              5

8              TTech     7               3

9              pccc       9               3

10           OU           3               2

11           emu        1                1

12           Akr          4                0

[Captain Kangaroo]

12 minutes ago, Zipmeister said:

247 Sports suggests to me that we have the 10th strongest 2020 recruiting class ahead of only Ohio and Buffalo. And plenty of room for improvement regarding the 2021 class. Please tell me stuff that will make me feel better about this situation.

OK - Buffalo and Ohio are typically among the MAC's better programs.

[zippy5]

21 minutes ago, Zipmeister said:

Please tell me stuff that will make me feel better about this situation.

 

 

There is upside with 21 unfilled spots

[LZIp]

5 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

There is upside with 21 unfilled spots

and that 3 of the 4 haven't been ranked yet, not that i'm expecting anything crazy, but it doesn't take a genius to understand the formula and how the rankings work.

[GP1]

23 minutes ago, Zipmeister said:

Please tell me stuff that will make me feel better about this situation.

There is a better statistical correlation between cultural fit between players and winning than the number of stars they have next to their name. UNLESS you have both going in your favor. Miami is in a great position right now.

[kreed5120]

9 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

OK - Buffalo and Ohio are typically among the MAC's better programs.

 

Buffalo hasn't had a coach with a winning record since Dick Offenhamer who coached there 1955-1965. Leipold seems to be building something there, but 2 years is hardly a trend.

 

It's way too early to be looking at class rankings for 2021.

[Cykron]

42 minutes ago, Zipmeister said:

Please tell me stuff that will make me feel better about this situation.

 

 

 

Athlon's college football preview ranks Akron's:

 

QB unit ahead of BGSU, CMU ,NIU, and OU.

WR/TE unit ahead of UB and CMU.

DL unit ahead of BGSU.

DB unit ahead of BGSU and NIU. 

 

And predict Akron to win 3 games.  That's moving in the right direction.  

[zippy5]

38 minutes ago, LZIp said:

and that 3 of the 4 haven't been ranked yet, not that i'm expecting anything crazy, but it doesn't take a genius to understand the formula and how the rankings work.

Right but we're way behind.

 

 

[jupitertoo]

These analyses are meaningless, especially at the mid-major level.  Ohio is always fairly low yet is consistently near the top of the league performance wise. Intra-conference rankings are also based on raw numbers - Ohio had far fewer openings for 2020 and thus a smaller class. I saw an article the other day that indicated that many/most current NFL players from the MAC were just 2-star recruits out of high school.  Shows you that it's about finding the right kids for your program and then coaching them up.

 

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by jupitertoo

[Captain Kangaroo]

2 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

Buffalo hasn't had a coach with a winning record since Dick Offenhamer who coached there 1955-1965. Leipold seems to be building something there, but 2 years is hardly a trend.

To take a team that was 2-10, and go 6-6, 10-4 and 8-5 in successive years is a trend in my book. They'd have been a lot better last season if Tyree Jackson didn't listened to bad advice and declared for the draft. 

 

I'm "buying" Leipold. Just my opinion.

 

 

[Cykron]

32 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

To take a team that was 2-10, and go 6-6, 10-4 and 8-5 in successive years is a trend in my book. They'd have been a lot better last season if Tyree Jackson didn't listened to bad advice and declared for the draft. 

 

I'm "buying" Leipold. Just my opinion.

 

 

 

 

Oh, I don't know.  I think Buffalo's QB did pretty well last year.  PFF listed him as an "hidden offensive gem" coming into this season.  

 

https://www.pff.com/news/college-football-who-are-college-footballs-hidden-offensive-gems

 

"Vantrease holds our second-highest passing grade for returning Group of 5 quarterbacks in non-play action, straight dropbacks, at 82.7."  Pretty obscure stat, but I like it.  

[kreed5120]

49 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

To take a team that was 2-10, and go 6-6, 10-4 and 8-5 in successive years is a trend in my book. They'd have been a lot better last season if Tyree Jackson didn't listened to bad advice and declared for the draft. 

 

I'm "buying" Leipold. Just my opinion.

 

 

 

A 6-6 record wouldn't make them "one of the best teams in the MAC." Historically Buffalo has been about on par with Akron when it comes to football "success". I do agree though it does appear Leipold does seem to be building something there. It will be interesting to see if he sticks it through or hops to another job.

[clarkwgriswold]

It's not a good sign but only time will tell if they are right.  With the history of the program the coaches are always going to be fighting an uphill battle for talent.  As fans we have to hope that they are: 1) more persuasive than their counterparts, and 2) able to identify the diamonds in the rough better than the competition.

[LZIp]

11 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

It's not a good sign but only time will tell if they are right.  With the history of the program the coaches are always going to be fighting an uphill battle for talent.  As fans we have to hope that they are: 1) more persuasive than their counterparts, and 2) able to identify the diamonds in the rough better than the competition.

I agree..always going to be an uphill battle until we put together a few decent seasons.

 

Two diamonds in the rough were actually our most impressive freshman last year - AJ Watts and Mike Mathison had a combined zero FBS offers outside of Akron. Whereas two of our highest rated recruits in program history (Hayes-Patrick and Corey Thomas didn't do much at all). Thomas even redshirted.

[jupitertoo]

On 5/29/2020 at 1:52 PM, Cykron said:

 

 

Athlon's college football preview ranks Akron's:

 

QB unit ahead of BGSU, CMU ,NIU, and OU.

WR/TE unit ahead of UB and CMU.

DL unit ahead of BGSU.

DB unit ahead of BGSU and NIU. 

 

And predict Akron to win 3 games.  That's moving in the right direction.  

This analysis means even less than most. Each year different schools have different needs from a position standpoint.  

[zippy5]

1 hour ago, jupitertoo said:

This analysis means even less than most. Each year different schools have different needs from a position standpoint.  

That's the actual roster, not recruiting makeup

[Zipmeister]

On 5/29/2020 at 1:35 PM, GP1 said:

There is a better statistical correlation between cultural fit between players and winning than the number of stars they have next to their name. UNLESS you have both going in your favor. Miami is in a great position right now.

 

How does one quantify cultural fit between players in order to determine if the statistical correlation between it and winning is significant?

Edited May 31, 2020 by Zipmeister
.

[GP1]

14 hours ago, Zipmeister said:

 

How does one quantify cultural fit between players in order to determine if the statistical correlation between it and winning is significant?

It's a long masters thesis. You'd have to read it to fully understand it. 

[Zipmeister]

22 hours ago, GP1 said:

It's a long masters thesis. You'd have to read it to fully understand it. 

 

Unusual thesis title: "How to Duck and Cover when Asked to Defend Some Stuff You Made Up."

 

[GP1]

1 hour ago, Zipmeister said:

 

Unusual thesis title: "How to Duck and Cover when Asked to Defend Some Stuff You Made Up."

 

It's actually on my computer right now. Written by a former MAC player. 

[clarkwgriswold]

Arth discussing the team with Jim Donovan-

 

https://www-wkyc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.wkyc.com/amp/article/sports/ncaa/ncaaf/akron-football-coach-tom-arth-talks-to-jim-donovan-about-state-of-program-how-team-is-dealing-with-pandemic/95-3b6b4d05-3bcb-4585-9f3c-aa3ec3f9a6ab

[dre22era]

Nothing but excuses