Class of '23 Offers & Verbal Commits

[catdaddyp]

We landed a commit from Boston. My best guess is Osinubi. Unless it’s a DB, in which case I have no idea. 

[LZIp]

5 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

We landed a commit from Boston. My best guess is Osinubi. Unless it’s a DB, in which case I have no idea. 

maybe Max Tucker?

https://247sports.com/college/akron/Season/2023-Football/Offers/?RecruitState=MA

[Let'sGoZips94]

Samson Okunlola for sure. 

[LZIp]

4 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Samson Okunlola for sure. 

Maybe if Kaulig is getting into the NIL race lol

[catdaddyp]

28 minutes ago, LZIp said:

maybe Max Tucker?

https://247sports.com/college/akron/Season/2023-Football/Offers/?RecruitState=MA

Good find. Probably is Max Tucker. After watching his highlights, I hope it is Tucker.

[zzx]

 

[catdaddyp]

28 minutes ago, zzx said:

 

Yep. We may be Max Tucker’s biggest offer, but 17 D1 offers to date is nothing to sneeze at. The kid can play.

Edited August 2, 2022 by catdaddyp

[bigjim]

14 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Curious to know what you don’t like about him @bigjim? What I see is a safety who’s not afraid to be physical and will come down in the box to hit. He’s only 185lbs now, but should easily get up to 200lbs. I know South Gwinnett has an excellent strength and conditioning program, but many of these kids do not receive the proper nutrition to assist in their physical development. That’ll change when he arrives here.

Please re-read my post.  It is not that I do not like him, but based on the tapes, I did not see a stud.  With most of the recruits, it is easy to see a significant difference in talent with the tapes in who they are playing.  I concluded my comments with 'In Coach JoMoe we Trust!!!'  

This is my way of saying that I trust the decision that coach is making and my comments (like most posters) probably do not matter.  

Go Zips!!!!

[bigjim]

2 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Good find. Probably is Max Tucker. After watching his highlights, I hope it is Tucker.

What great pickup.  With all of those offers, I am surprised that he has no stars.  It is starting to make me question the value of stars.  Go Zips!!!!

[Let'sGoZips94]

According to 247, he holds 19 offers, including UCONN, Army, BG, and UMASS. This kid is a talent. Great get. 

 

Also, our recruiting has taken a massive step in the right direction when it comes to regions. When's the last time we recruited the New England area this hard?  

Edited August 2, 2022 by Let'sGoZips94

[Captain Kangaroo]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

According to 247, he holds 19 offers, including UCONN, Army, BG, and UMASS. This kid is a talent. Great get. 

UConn...BG...UMass? I think of those 3, BG was the better program, and they lost to the Arth-led Zips?

 

I always like the players recruited by Army and Navy. If that is the type of kid your program is attracting, you're doing things the right way.

[Captain Kangaroo]

8 hours ago, bigjim said:

What great pickup.  With all of those offers, I am surprised that he has no stars.  It is starting to make me question the value of stars.  Go Zips!!!!

Thank you for starting my morning with a good laugh! Welcome to the dark side. 🤣

[catdaddyp]

2 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

According to 247, he holds 19 offers, including UCONN, Army, BG, and UMASS. This kid is a talent. Great get. 

 

Also, our recruiting has taken a massive step in the right direction when it comes to regions. When's the last time we recruited the New England area this hard?  

It’s 17 D1 offers, not 19. 247 probably saw a retweet and thought it was for Max. I verified with Max. Either way, 100% agree great pickup!

Edited August 2, 2022 by catdaddyp

[catdaddyp]

9 hours ago, bigjim said:

What great pickup.  With all of those offers, I am surprised that he has no stars.  It is starting to make me question the value of stars.  Go Zips!!!!

Ah the never ending star debate. Haha. 
 

I’ll try to give a little insight into the industry. Overall, yes stars matter, but it’s not an exact science. For Rivals, the guys that do the national coverage give all the ratings and stars. The kids that go to the Rivals camps will be rated and usually be given a more generous rating. For kids that don’t go to the camps, the national writers will review highlights and give their best judgement. However, their main job is to write articles and get views/subscribers. Ratings and stars are secondary. So schools that are not Power 5 tend to get shafted in coverage. In Akron’s case, not many media members are paying much attention and just assume it’s the same ole Akron. They also assume the players being recruited probably aren’t as good as some others being recruited at more traditional powers in the MAC or elsewhere.

 

Recently On3 came into existence and poached some Rivals employees, so the coverage may not be as extensive as it has been in the past, but Rivals is pushing to remedy that situation.

 

247 is a little more generous in their star ratings than Rivals. Many of their 4 star ratings should not be 4 stars in my opinion, but rating them as such tends to get more media coverage and the kids will post their best star ratings on social outlets. It’s a smart business move by 247, but it inflates the amount of 4 stars. Same could be said about the amount of 3 stars.

 

On3 has tried position themselves as the top dawg by using Rivals, ESPN, 247, and their own ratings to make a “composite” and promote that as the top source. 
 

Some analysts rate more heavily on potential, while others rate more heavily on where the kid currently is. The amount of scholarships and which schools have offered also play into the ratings. Keep in mind, many of the guys rating these players never played or coached, but that’s how this industry is setup. In my opinion, the better players will “pop” off the film regardless of anyone’s expertise or rating.

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by catdaddyp

[Zipmeister]

10 hours ago, bigjim said:

Please re-read my post.  It is not that I do not like him, but based on the tapes, I did not see a stud.  With most of the recruits, it is easy to see a significant difference in talent with the tapes in who they are playing.  I concluded my comments with 'In Coach JoMoe we Trust!!!'  

This is my way of saying that I trust the decision that coach is making and my comments (like most posters) probably do not matter.  

Go Zips!!!!

 

10 hours ago, bigjim said:

What great pickup.  With all of those offers, I am surprised that he has no stars.  It is starting to make me question the value of stars.  Go Zips!!!!

 

Both these posts are in reference to the same kid. What happened during the minutes that separated these two posts?

[LZIp]

15 minutes ago, Zipmeister said:

 

 

Both these posts are in reference to the same kid. What happened during the minutes that separated these two posts?

One is in relation to Darius Owens and the other to Max Tucker.

[Zipmeister]

5 minutes ago, LZIp said:

One is in relation to Darius Owens and the other to Max Tucker.

 

AHA, I  have already negotiated my punishment with the ZipsNation authorities and will not appeal their decision to place me on double-secret probation.

[bigjim]

2 hours ago, LZIp said:

One is in relation to Darius Owens and the other to Max Tucker.

LZlp - thank you very much for the quick reply and clarity.  

Zipmissus - you tend to make incorrect and unfounded comments toward my posts.  Have we met?  I am starting to think that you are trolling as my ex-mother in law.  

Go Zips!!!

[Z.I.P.]

5 hours ago, Zipmeister said:

 

AHA, I  have already negotiated my punishment with the ZipsNation authorities and will not appeal their decision to place me on double-secret probation.

6 game suspension per Miss Sue L.  Can be appealed by NFL.

[Zipmeister]

55 minutes ago, Z.I.P. said:

6 game suspension per Miss Sue L.  Can be appealed by NFL.

 

The ZipsNation authorities were initially thinking about a 6 game suspension, but they were swayed by my argument that the Zips football staff was securing too many 2023 commitments for an old guy to process. That's why they came up with the slightly less punitive double-secret probation. As you point out the NFL does have the right to appeal the sanction, but I don't anticipate that they will.

Edited August 2, 2022 by Zipmeister

[bigjim]

16 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Thank you for starting my morning with a good laugh! Welcome to the dark side. 🤣

I still love stars.  However, I know it is not an exact science.  Mistakes will be made, but for the most part, Stars win out.  Look at Alabama, OSU, etc.  They do not recruit zero star players.  I will continue with my support of Stars.

Go Zips!!!!!

[GP1]

On 8/2/2022 at 9:25 AM, catdaddyp said:

Ah the never ending star debate. Haha. 
 

I’ll try to give a little insight into the industry. Overall, yes stars matter, but it’s not an exact science. For Rivals, the guys that do the national coverage give all the ratings and stars. The kids that go to the Rivals camps will be rated and usually be given a more generous rating. For kids that don’t go to the camps, the national writers will review highlights and give their best judgement. However, their main job is to write articles and get views/subscribers. Ratings and stars are secondary. So schools that are not Power 5 tend to get shafted in coverage. In Akron’s case, not many media members are paying much attention and just assume it’s the same ole Akron. They also assume the players being recruited probably aren’t as good as some others being recruited at more traditional powers in the MAC or elsewhere.

 

Recently On3 came into existence and poached some Rivals employees, so the coverage may not be as extensive as it has been in the past, but Rivals is pushing to remedy that situation.

 

247 is a little more generous in their star ratings than Rivals. Many of their 4 star ratings should not be 4 stars in my opinion, but rating them as such tends to get more media coverage and the kids will post their best star ratings on social outlets. It’s a smart business move by 247, but it inflates the amount of 4 stars. Same could be said about the amount of 3 stars.

 

On3 has tried position themselves as the top dawg by using Rivals, ESPN, 247, and their own ratings to make a “composite” and promote that as the top source. 
 

Some analysts rate more heavily on potential, while others rate more heavily on where the kid currently is. The amount of scholarships and which schools have offered also play into the ratings. Keep in mind, many of the guys rating these players never played or coached, but that’s how this industry is setup. In my opinion, the better players will “pop” off the film regardless of anyone’s expertise or rating.

 

I almost never comment on recruiting for a couple reasons. First, I basically don't care and only care about what a player does in uniform on gameday for the Zips.  My second reason is the recruiting discussion frequently falls into the "stars discussion" and I simply do not understand it.

 

You have provided a very good explanation for the "stars".  Your post is probably the best I have every seen and I still don't get why I should take them seriously. I simply don't understand why the people who run these websites should be taken seriously, because I don't even know who they are.

 

I will now go back to rarely commenting on recruiting.  

[Captain Kangaroo]

11 hours ago, bigjim said:

 Look at Alabama, OSU, etc.  They do not recruit zero star players.

Alabama and OSU are Saudi oil fields. By comparison, MAC schools are fracking in Newcomerstown.

 

Upper-tier P5 programs are starting their own bazillion dollar "LIV Tour." MAC schools are clipping coupons to save 50 cents the next time they play Putt Putt.

 

@catdaddyp did an awesome job of explaining why stars are exponentially less applicable the further you slide down the college football food chain. If the Zips staff is choosing a 3-star guy over a 2-star guy simply because of stars, he's not going to be coaching for long.

 

Quoting catdaddy - "The better players will 'pop' off the film regardless of anyone’s expertise or rating." 

 

Give me a D1 coach that knows talent when he sees it, over one that bases his recruiting on nameless star-assigners who have never coached or played, but have monetary incentive to gain views/subscribers.

[zippy5]

15 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

If the Zips staff is choosing a 3-star guy over a 2-star guy simply because of stars, he's not going to be coaching for long.

Hmm, maybe this is the disconnect. I'd surely hope no one is recruiting off of stars. But as a fan evaluating a recruiting class, they're helpful. Over time and a large sample size, the higher rated your guys are, the more likely they are to succeed. Of course there are always outliers and exceptions.

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Alabama and OSU are Saudi oil fields. By comparison, MAC schools are fracking in Newcomerstown.

 

Upper-tier P5 programs are starting their own bazillion dollar "LIV Tour." MAC schools are clipping coupons to save 50 cents the next time they play Putt Putt.

 

@catdaddyp did an awesome job of explaining why stars are exponentially less applicable the further you slide down the college football food chain. If the Zips staff is choosing a 3-star guy over a 2-star guy simply because of stars, he's not going to be coaching for long.

 

Quoting catdaddy - "The better players will 'pop' off the film regardless of anyone’s expertise or rating." 

 

Give me a D1 coach that knows talent when he sees it, over one that bases his recruiting on nameless star-assigners who have never coached or played, but have monetary incentive to gain views/subscribers.

 

This is why you don't hire a Recruiting Coordinator at a big school as your Head Coach.

 

Oh wait...

 

(Looking at you, Ianello)