Transfer Portal Needs - Class of 23

[LZIp]

Joe Mo & Co did a nice job filling in a lot of holes with the transfer portal this past offseason. The "hit rate" (defined by average MAC starter) doesn't appear to be 100%, but that is difficult to accomplish with the # of players brought in. I also still hope some of those players will continue to come along as they still have eligibility left beyond this year.

 

My thoughts on the needs below come from consideration of players leaving due to graduation and what we've seen so far by underclassman who would look to take their spots. Per the roster online, and excluding special teams, we lose the following  estimated scholarship players (12) after this season:

Jalen Hooks (CB), Ryan McClain (OLB - may get a medical redshirt), Nic Ognenovic (TE), Bubba (LB - may have an extra year from last year's injury), Curtis Harper (DL), Ravontae Holt (DL - may have an extra year due to his injury history pre-Akron), Victor Jones (DL), Zach Morton (DL). Shocky (WR), JKP (S), Chu Ogbonna (CB), Tim Terry (LB), Anthony Whigan (OL). We currently have 14 non-special teams players committed, but we shouldn't be counting on any freshman to come in and fill holes right away.

 

Based on the current production from the players above, we need somebody to replace potentially 2 LBs (1 if Bubba comes back), 1 CB, 3/4 DL (depending on Holt), 1 WR, 1 S, and 1 OL. There will also be a number of players transfer out, hopefully mostly due to not having the talent to elevate our program rather than players currently playing and showing promise.

 

DL - I don't see any young DL playing and showing promise, and DL needs addressed as is. I say bring in 4 more DL transfers.

LB - A couple guys show flashes - Fish and McCoy. The staff is high on Griffin, but we still don't have the proven depth we need there. Need 1 transfer LB, 2 if Bubba is gone.

CB - I think Golden Nelson and Amankwaa are a capable pair of starters, but would like to see them challenged, and we need more depth regardless. 2 more transfers here. Lewis has Nickelback on lock and Durant should probably be his back up as he showed flashes there last year..he isn't an outside corner.

S - I think we are good with Thompson, Martin, and Woods for the next year or two.

OL - We lose Whigan, and have some promising freshman, but I still say bring in 2 OL for security to ensure OL is upgraded. The OL play is holding the offense back the most.

RB - I think we're okay. Biggest reason for lack of production here is run blocking.

QB - think we're okay. DJ is the guy and Undercuffler should at least be a serviceable back up if/when DJ goes down, though he isn't as mobile. Darius Jennings and Steele Wasel were also pretty highly recruited, so would hope one of those 2 could step in and be serviceable if needed.

TE - we should be set for the foreseeable future with Brank, Banks, Clark, and Darnell.

WR - Staff is high on Golden, Grimes is alright, Anderson doesn't get many targets though does have some potential, and Gathings has looked alright as well, but he's only been healthy enough for I believe 2.5 games in 2 years for us so far. I'd bring in 1 transfer to replace Shocky to ensure the passing game keeps humming since none of the aforementioned are showing that type of potential yet.

 

With the 14 commits, and up to 11 transfer needs, that would put us at a total of 25 new signees. With up to 12 guaranteed to move on, this means there will be at least 13 scholly players with eligibility left no longer on the team next year., not going to speculate individually (think upperclassman/players who have been here a few years and aren't sniffing the field), just hope additional holes don't get opened up. I think Joe is actually going to look to bring in more than 11 transfers, however. Hitting on the majority of those with the likeliness of a few players on the team taking the next step, our holes are filled at the starter level and we have some depth. Filling holes doesn't mean we are MAC contenders next year, as there's still positions you probably need to upgrade to take that next step, but I think it reasonably gets you to .500 play. We may not see much if any improvement in the win column this season, but I strongly believe we will see encouraging results in getting our program to at least an above average conference team is in the near future. Go Zips.

 

[LoyalZIP]

Nice work, thank you very much for putting this together @LZIp . I’m very much looking forward to the few weeks following the season when the portal carousel starts to spin. And the QB competition with Irons, Jennings, and Wasel will be fun to watch for next year. I hope Wasel can come in for the spring so we can get an earlier look at him. I’ve got a feeling the staff has their eyes locked in on him for the future of this program. 

[catdaddyp]

Wasn’t sure where to put this, but Ogbonna has hit the portal.

 

 

[LZIp]

21 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

Wasn’t sure where to put this, but Ogbonna has hit the portal.

 

 

Just came here to post the same thing. I though Ogbonna was done after this year as he was listed as a senior. The COVID year is making eligibility tougher to follow. With that said, Ogbonna was a prime example of a player I'd look to see transfer out. Senior whose only getting PT on special teams. Good luck to him.

 

Side note - he's already been removed from the roster, so the staff seems to be keeping up on that, therefore its a resource to follow any other players who may transfer out where we don't see it announced.

[Zipmeister]

Question: What are our transfer portal needs?

Answer: We need at least one for every position; more if we can get them.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Zipmeister
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[catdaddyp]

Didn’t see this one coming. When Moorhead was asked about any players that haven’t played much potentially redshirting, he responded with “coaches do the redshirting.”  I think even he is finding out the game is changing.

[LoyalZIP]

Wow, how about that. I’m disappointed, but I suppose I can’t fault the guy. 

[catdaddyp]

36 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

Wow, how about that. I’m disappointed, but I suppose I can’t fault the guy. 

If he’s using it as a way to continue to have his education paid for, more power to him. If he believes he’ll be able to transfer to a P5 school based on his 4 games this year, he may find himself disappointed. 
 

As far as our program goes, it’s frustrating in the fact we were one corner away from having a half way decent secondary to finish out the year. Amankwaa and Golden-Nelson on the outside would have made a nice combination - assuming Golden-Nelson would be healed up. 
 

While this move has no effect on next year, it makes winning another game this year a little more challenging.

Edited October 26, 2022 by catdaddyp

[LZIp]

Thats a bummer. As @catdaddyp said, it might be an avenue to get his final year of his MBA paid for, which is kind of how the tweet reads. Regardless, I couldn't blame him for trying to find one year of "fun" football before his career is over.

[LZIp]

I went through the scholarship chart and counted 19 players who are not seniors that have been in the program multiple years, but aren't contributing at all, or are contributing, but clearly out of necessity as their play on the field has been subpar. Point being, there are plenty of opportunities to further filter and improve the roster next year. I have a feeling this losing is eating at Joe Mo as he's been a winner everywhere he's been and he will take full advantage of the transfer portal again for the upcoming recruiting class. In the words of @bigjim, In Joe I trust.

[blueandgold]

On 10/25/2022 at 8:00 PM, catdaddyp said:

Didn’t see this one coming. When Moorhead was asked about any players that haven’t played much potentially redshirting, he responded with “coaches do the redshirting.”  I think even he is finding out the game is changing.

I'm having an issue viewing some posts. Who are you referring to?

[catdaddyp]

2 minutes ago, blueandgold said:

I'm having an issue viewing some posts. Who are you referring to?

Amankwaa. I should have added his name in the post as well. Sometimes the tweets don’t load correctly.

[blueandgold]

Just now, catdaddyp said:

Amankwaa. I should have added his name in the post as well. Sometimes the tweets don’t load correctly.

Thanks! I was thinking that was who you were referring to. I think it loaded fine as others seem to be seeing it, something is going on with my account I believe.

[LZIp]

Joe confirmed on Zips Live tonight what I thought the announcers said at the Liberty game. There’s a good chance Bubba has another year of eligibility. I assume the determining factor is officially getting the medical redshirt for last year. Would be big to get him back.

[94zipgrad]

9 hours ago, LZIp said:

Joe confirmed on Zips Live tonight what I thought the announcers said at the Liberty game. There’s a good chance Bubba has another year of eligibility. I assume the determining factor is officially getting the medical redshirt for last year. Would be big to get 

Edited November 4, 2022 by 94zipgrad

[Blue & Gold]

On 10/16/2022 at 6:29 PM, LZIp said:

 

DL - I don't see any young DL playing and showing promise, and DL needs addressed as is. I say bring in 4 more DL transfers.

 

@catdaddyp, what do you think of DL #55 Kyle Thomas? He's currently a junior so we'll have him next year. 

 

Have we gotten any more information on Ravontae Holt's possible medical redshirt status? On GoZips.com he's currently listed as a R-Sr.

 

I'm excited to see what freshman Kiawan Murphy adds to the mix, as JoeMo has mentioned him to Joe Dunn on Zips Weekly  a couple of times now.

[catdaddyp]

2 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

@catdaddyp, what do you think of DL #55 Kyle Thomas? He's currently a junior so we'll have him next year. 

 

Have we gotten any more information on Ravontae Holt's possible medical redshirt status? On GoZips.com he's currently listed as a R-Sr.

 

I'm excited to see what freshman Kiawan Murphy adds to the mix, as JoeMo has mentioned him to Joe Dunn on Zips Weekly  a couple of times now.

I really like Kyle Thomas. He seems to fire out of his stance quicker than any other DT we have. He also may be our best interior pass rusher, but is not as strong against the run as Holt and Harper. I’m excited to see how he develops with a full offseason in the program.

 

I haven’t heard anything about Holt receiving a medical redshirt. I hope it happens, but not counting on it. 
 

I’m excited about Murphy too. He has unusually quick feet for a defensive lineman and certainly has the size and strength to contribute. I think he’s played in one game on special teams, so it’ll be interesting to see if he gets any playing time at DT in these last few games. We may take a few lumps early next year, but I think the combo of Thomas and Murphy have a much higher upside than our current DTs. And that’s not a knock on Harper or Holt.

Edited November 4, 2022 by catdaddyp

[Captain Kangaroo]

14 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

I haven’t heard anything about Holt receiving a medical redshirt. I hope it happens, but not counting on it. 

From the guy that broke the news that Holt would play in Game #5, I can say - if he wants to play for the Zips in 2023, he can. 

[catdaddyp]

10 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

From the guy that broke the news that Holt would play in Game #5, I can say - if he wants to play for the Zips in 2023, he can. 

Hope he decides to come back. Would be nice to see what he can do when fully healthy and an off-season with this staff.