2023 Spring Ball

[94zipgrad]

1 hour ago, MarkWiley said:

We've never been to the stadium for a game.  We are arriving early to the spring game and wanted to set up a bit of a tailgate.  Is there a parking lot or area where people do this?

Lot 9 is definitely the best tailgating 

 

[Blue & Gold]

Won’t be able to make the game today 😕 

So everyone in attendance please take notes! 

[Spin]

Not many people braving the upper deck today.

 

Defense looks good, the O is starting to connect. About what you see in an early scrimmage.

 

Special teams? I’m not going there.

[Spin]

24 minutes ago, Spin said:

Special teams? I’m not going there.

I’ll gladly take that one back. One of the punters laid a punt down on the 2 yard line like putting a baby to bed. 

[LZIp]

Castle probably will be the PK unless they bring someone in. Wasn’t impressed by eithers leg strength. A lot of guys not dressed and a few I didn’t even see on the sideline (Darnell and Landers were two I didn’t see). 
 

Wasel looked like a true freshman in school a semester early. Jennings was kind of intriguing.

 

Myles Walker probably had the best game. He’s small but loved his HS tape. Good to see him coming along. 
 

off the top of my head, players not dressed on the sideline included: Adams, Irons, Jankowski, Robarge, Richardson, Ant Williams, Nate Thompson, Clyde Price, Joey Hunter.

Edited April 29, 2023 by LZIp

[GoZips86]

4 hours ago, Spin said:

Not many people braving the upper deck today.

 

Defense looks good, the O is starting to connect. About what you see in an early scrimmage.

 

Special teams? I’m not going there.

 

Was this it for attendance or was this shot before 2? Just wondering. I wasnt able to make it but I was hoping fans would show up

[LoyalZIP]

Thanks for the notes. I wish I could’ve gone, I don’t miss events like this often. 
 

Someone in the department told me they were very impressed with the turnout up on Club Level. Hopefully they were able to make some sales. 

[LZIp]

20 minutes ago, GoZips86 said:

 

Was this it for attendance or was this shot before 2? Just wondering. I wasnt able to make it but I was hoping fans would show up

Straight spitballing here, but I'd guess about maybe 2k in the lower bowl (maybe like 1/4 full). No idea what upper section/club looked like.

Edited April 30, 2023 by LZIp

[Spin]

55 minutes ago, GoZips86 said:

 

Was this it for attendance or was this shot before 2? Just wondering. I wasnt able to make it but I was hoping fans would show up

 

Most of the fans were in the lower stands, a few of us were in the upper. And the Kaulig Companies Lounge was open for fans to check out and join. I didn't go in there, but I'd bet it was full.

[catdaddyp]

Enjoyed the spring game today. I thought it was a great idea to open up the lounge/box seats. There were not many people in that area until halftime, when it became flooded with fans and recruits that were guided to free food. Well done and way to show off the amenities of the stadium, which otherwise may not often be seen.

 

The game itself flew by. A few things really stood out to me.

1) This team is way ahead of where they were last spring. They look disciplined (minus a few penalties), physical, and know their assignments.

2) The athleticism and maturity was noticeable.

3) The secondary is much improved. It seemed like last spring game WRs and RBs were running free in the passing game nearly every pass. Not the case this year. 
4) Tackling was outstanding. I think there were only two missed tackles the whole game. Last SG I remember coming away thinking Wiley had more lower body strength than what he showed on film due to his ability to break tackles. Turned out our defense was just terrible (as a whole) tackling at that point. 
 

Position Takeaways:

QB - Undercuffler looked confident and in command. He also had the benefit of playing behind what looked like the first string OL. There are still some passes Undercuffler struggles to complete. That being said, he can get the job done. The offense should be in good shape if Undercuffler has to play meaningful snaps this year. Jennings and Wasel received the rest of the snaps. Both did some good things and also looked like young QBs at times. Jennings throws a nice ball and is clearly a solid athlete, but listing him as 5’11” might be generous. Wasel has a big arm and forced a few throws today. He also made a few that gave reason for excitement. His mechanics need work and he seems to realize that as he was focused on the sideline going through step by step motions before the 3rd quarter began. (Irons and Jankowski were sidelined).

 

RB - Lingard is good. He didn’t break any big runs today, even though it felt like he might a couple of times. Not sure what happened at Florida, but the guy has “it.” He did have a nice touchdown run and is the number one back. Lingard will be a weapon for this offense barring injury. Kellom looks ready to contribute when his number is called and Hester also had a nice run. It’s unfortunate Price is out for an extended period, but I have no doubt this group will provide more production than last year.

WR - Might as well mark down George for All-MAC. The guy looks the part in every way. It was good to see some of the other guys get substantial playing time today with Adams out and SJL gone. Like @LZIp mentioned, Walker had the best day catching the ball. Thomas, Golden, Anderson, and Gathings were all noticeable.

 

TE - Banks and Ognenovic took most of the snaps. Nothing substantial to report here.

 

OL - My biggest takeaway is that T. Williams and K. Davis look ready. I can’t place who the other guard was, but the lineup blocking for Undercuffler was LT Chambers, C T.Williams, G K Davis, RT N. Williams. Takeaway from the opposite OL was freshman OT Jayvin James. James is huge, has long arms, and moves well. He’s going to be a good one. I locked in on him for a number of plays and came away excited about what he could become. (Landers and Robarge were on the sideline).

 

DT - Terray Jones is a force. It’s unfortunate Holt left because those two could have been dynamic. Robinson seems to have come a long way and will challenge for a starting spot. Nothing stood out about the other DTs, but they did not make it easy on the OL. (Murphy was on the sideline).

 

DE - Pass rush from this position is still a concern. Rabah and Johnson look like the starters for now. We need the incoming players to step up and provide more. (Richardson was on the sideline).

 

LB - This position looked great. Bubba was Bubba. McCoy is physically impressive even though he surprisingly missed a tackle. Fish looks like he knows what he’s doing this year. I noticed him around the ball often. Griffin and Behm also had their moments.

CB - The coverage was solid today despite often not having much of a pass rush. Golden-Nelson and Terence Thomas look ready to cause other teams some serious issues. Those two kept popping up over and over. I believe it was Judson Tallandier who also looked good here. All the DBs seem to have added muscle mass. (Joey Hunter was sidelined and I don’t recall seeing Cam Threatt).

 

S - So many of these guys are built and move so similarly now it was hard to tell them apart at times (that’s a good thing). Martin saw plenty of time and Johnson chased down a miscued pass for an interception. This group was solid against the pass and came up well in run support. (Nate Thompson was sidelined).

 

ST - Some good and some not so good. As a group they struggled at the start, but found their groove as the game progressed. 
 

Im sure there is more that I missed or forgot to say. It’s late and I wanted to report as much as I could while I had it on my mind.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by catdaddyp

[LoyalZIP]

Love it @catdaddyp!!!! Thanks for all of the hard work and observations this spring. That’s better than anything I’ve read in the local paper in years, as are most of your posts on here. I’m pumped to see how this team competes in the fall. 

[catdaddyp]

7 hours ago, LoyalZIP said:

Love it @catdaddyp!!!! Thanks for all of the hard work and observations this spring. That’s better than anything I’ve read in the local paper in years, as are most of your posts on here. I’m pumped to see how this team competes in the fall. 

Thanks! There is a lot to be excited about and we still have some incoming players that will turn out to be difference makers. The spring is a mixed bag especially when one group does something good, it can make the other group look poor. That wasn’t the case this year. I came away feeling better about the OL, Secondary, LBs, and QB situation than expected. Last year, I didn’t feel like we had a QB on the roster that could keep us competitive if Irons went down. Undercuffler carries himself like he’s the man now and very well could be depending on Irons’ situation.

 

The offense and defense kept it all very bland, but like I mentioned before, the athleticism and physicality was noticeable. 
 

I didn’t mention much about recruiting but there was a large turnout of prospects. I also noticed coach Wart with a mammoth individual after the game that I’m guessing is potential transfer DT. Might see some news on that front soon. 
 

The shape that these kids are in is also impressive. A lot of credit needs to go to the old and new S&C staffs. This looks like a legit FBS team now.

 

[LZIp]

Awesome breakdown @catdaddyp. Regarding OL, I thought James passed the eye test as well! A good sign for a true freshman. I believe Kilbane was the other guard playing with the first team.

[MangoZip]

Look…some press!

 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2023/04/30/5-takeaways-akron-zips-football-spring-game-coach-joe-moorhead-jeff-undercuffler-darrien-lewis/70163919007/

[Blue & Gold]

But wait, there's more!

 

[Blue & Gold]

 

[94zipgrad]

 

[Spin]

16 hours ago, GoZips86 said:

 

Was this it for attendance or was this shot before 2? Just wondering. I wasnt able to make it but I was hoping fans would show up

That was from my seat in the upper deck. It doesn’t show all the people in the lower deck. I should have shot a couple in the lower section. It was not a bad crowd at all…

[Zipmeister]

3 hours ago, Spin said:

That was from my seat in the upper deck. It doesn’t show all the people in the lower deck. I should have shot a couple in the lower section. It was not a bad crowd at all…

 

When I saw the photo you posted, I thought maybe the Zips were holding a special "let's fill the stadium with almost one fan per player" event.

[Blue & Gold]

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

@catdaddyp Thank you, as always, for the in-depth & insightful breakdown of the spring game. We are doing a live-in 1st floor house remodel with 2 kids under 4, so I completely forgot the game was on Saturday (I also can't believe that was the last weekend of April already). Would much rather have been at the Spring Game.

 

- I'm glad to hear Linguard looks the part. As long as it took for our OLine to gel last year, our RBs didn't do their part in making things happen on their own. We need Linguard & this RB group to make things happen while our OL continues to develop.

 

- Also glad to hear that our secondary seems to be much improved. That was our biggest weakness on defense last year. WAY too many big plays given up in that level of the D. 

 

- Do we have any impending pass-rush/DL help incoming?

Edited May 2, 2023 by Let'sGoZips94

[catdaddyp]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

@catdaddyp Thank you, as always, for the in-depth & insightful breakdown of the spring game. We are doing a live-in 1st floor house remodel with 2 kids under 4, so I completely forgot the game was on Saturday (I also can't believe that was the last weekend of April already). Would much rather have been at the Spring Game.

 

- I'm glad to hear Linguard looks the part. As long as it took for our OLine to gel last year, our RBs didn't do their part in making things happen on their own. We need Linguard & this RB group to make things happen while our OL continues to develop.

 

- Also glad to hear that our secondary seems to be much improved. That was our biggest weakness on defense last year. WAY too many big plays given up in that level of the D. 

 

- Do we have any impending pass-rush/DL help incoming?

Wow, I can imagine how things are around your house right now. Hope all goes as smoothly as possibly! 
 

We didn’t get to see a ton from Lingard, but I liked what I saw. What impressed me the most was his vision and determination to push the run vertically at every opportunity. Lingard almost created an explosive play until a LB made an excellent open field tackle (don’t recall which LB it was though). He also had a nice touchdown run. I imagine Lingard will receive most of the load, but I feel good about Kellom too. Hester looked as shifty as ever. Looking forward to what Anderson brings when he arrives.

I can’t wait for the fanbase to see this secondary in action. I didn’t mention Darrian Lewis earlier when I should have. He’s another one that has noticeably added on mass. He was already physical before and clearly isn’t going to relinquish his role without a fight. Golden-Nelson is healthy and looked like the player we thought he would be. I’m not sure how the staff will keep Terence Thomas off the field. Kid has All-MAC potential written all over him. Maybe not this year, but soon.
 

At the moment, we have 3 JUCO DEs coming in. Chances are not all of them will pan out. Even so, still have to count on at least one of them being productive. They all seem to have the physical measurables in terms of frame, length, and ability to run and bend. Unfortunately, we don’t know what their development will look like or how quickly they will help. 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by catdaddyp

[akzipper]

What's going on at the stadium? I'm assuming they aren't putting down a new turf field already.

 

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

9 minutes ago, akzipper said:

What's going on at the stadium? I'm assuming they aren't putting down a new turf field already.

 

 

 

I'm assuming JoeMo is holding the program to a higher standard where they actually maintain the turf properly. 

 

Are we getting new endzones?

[LoyalZIP]

When Astroturf installed the new stuff last year, they made a mistake and put twice as much crumb rubber in as they were supposed to. Water could not drain properly. You are supposed to be able to spill a bottle of water and see it disappear into the drainage system. With too much of the crumb rubber, water (in the form of rain) was pooling on top, potentially causing a safety hazard/unsafe playing surface in inclement weather. 

The company who installed the turf is at fault and is on the hook for the $1 Million+ mistake. Totally new surface coming in. After 13 seasons with the same turf, we get a new surface two years in a row.