August 17th scrimmage notes and photos

[Captain Kangaroo]

#10 Ben Finley is the hands down #1 QB. He began the scrimmage with a 20 yard pass to Adrian Norton, then a 30 yard TD to Norton.

 

A severely blown coverage nets #88 TE Jake Newell an easy TD

 

Ben sprinted to the endzone to celebrate

 

The OL acquitted itself well today. The starters were #55 Blanchard, #58 Burrell, #56 Davis, #54 Williams and freshman Jayvin James at RT

 

#15 Terrance Thomas broke up this pass intended for Adrian Norton. It was one of the few times Norton was stopped on Saturday morning.

 

Isiah Jones made a nice over the shoulder TD catch in the back of the endzone. Boding well for the future, it came courtesy of a nice Brayden Ruggow toss.

 

Jordon Simmons got a lot of PT today. He looks to be the #1A RB. Kellom looks to be #1B. 

 

Simmons breaks the goal line for a 10 yard TD.

 

Tahj looked better today than in the spring, but there is no QB competition. He'll likely get some early season opportunities as we try to keep Finley as healthy as possible for MAC play. But he's entrenched at #2. 

 

Tahj moved the team down the field, but an ill-advised pass was snatched by Syracuse transfer Aman Greenwood and taken the distance for a pick 6!

Like the Zips, the scoreboard remains a work in progress. Oddly enough, it's probably as effective right now as it was the past 2 seasons?

 

Joe addresses the team after the scrimmage. Overall he was happy. He liked the physicality. I agree, as there were some hard hits, and tough running. It was a noticeable ramp up from the spring. He like that the defense generated 3 turnovers, and made several stops on 3rd and short.

A few final words from the Coach before the players hit the shower.

 

Owen Wiley hits a FG. We seem in MUCH better shape with special teams this year. The FG/XP holds were flawless. #47 and #99 hit some solid FG's. #99 and #36 both nailed KO's into the endzone. #95 Castle had some great punts. #37 Garrison Smith (McNees State transfer) kicked two second half FG's (both < 30 yards).

 

Hoban's Grant Gainer pulls in a swing pass from Brayden Ruggow and waltzes into the endzone.

 

#3 Jarvis Rush (Jr. JUCO from Mississippi) eyes a deep ball from Ben Finley...

 

... and pulls it in for the TD!

 

A guy I am very high on is #9 Paul Lewis III (Safety). He's all over the place on coverage, physical against the run, fun personality...you will LOVE him. Shown here dapping up #13 Rodrick Hunter.

 

Adrian Norton, celebrating after a Finley TD pass, can't be stopped in 2024. He seems to be Finley's go-to guy. He has great hands, and uses his body to shield-off defenders really well. 

 

 

#7 Alex Adams showed so much promise 2 seasons ago. If he could regain his 2022 form, the Zips could have a hell of an aerial attack. 

 

Other notes: 

Marquese Williams, the Minnesota transfer, seems to be the #3 RB. #29 Jordan Castleberry got some carries, and also scored a TD.

 

Starting DL was #95 Andre Proffit, #90 Demitri Madden (UTEP), #16 Fr. Dahvon Frazier and #94 Kabbash Richards

 

Bennett Adler is wearing #1 this year!?

[MarkWiley]

Great write up, thank you! Bennett was awarded the number 1 jersey earlier this year, it’s a cool tradition they have with the two number 1 jerseys. 

[zipsrule]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

#10 Ben Finley is the hands down #1 QB. He began the scrimmage with a 20 yard pass to Adrian Norton, then a 30 yard TD to Norton.

 

A severely blown coverage nets #88 TE Jake Newell an easy TD

 

Ben sprinted to the endzone to celebrate

 

The OL acquitted itself well today. The starters were #55 Blanchard, #58 Burrell, #56 Davis, #54 Williams and freshman Jayvin James at RT

 

#15 Terrance Thomas broke up this pass intended for Adrian Norton. It was one of the few times Norton was stopped on Saturday morning.

 

Isiah Jones made a nice over the shoulder TD catch in the back of the endzone. Boding well for the future, it came courtesy of a nice Brayden Ruggow toss.

 

Jordon Simmons got a lot of PT today. He looks to be the #1A RB. Kellom looks to be #1B. 

 

Simmons breaks the goal line for a 10 yard TD.

 

Tahj looked better today than in the spring, but there is no QB competition. He'll likely get some early season opportunities as we try to keep Finley as healthy as possible for MAC play. But he's entrenched at #2. 

 

Tahj moved the team down the field, but an ill-advised pass was snatched by Syracuse transfer Aman Greenwood and taken the distance for a pick 6!

Like the Zips, the scoreboard remains a work in progress. Oddly enough, it's probably as effective right now as it was the past 2 seasons?

 

Joe addresses the team after the scrimmage. Overall he was happy. He liked the physicality. I agree, as there were some hard hits, and tough running. It was a noticeable ramp up from the spring. He like that the defense generated 3 turnovers, and made several stops on 3rd and short.

A few final words from the Coach before the players hit the shower.

 

Owen Wiley hits a FG. We seem in MUCH better shape with special teams this year. The FG/XP holds were flawless. #47 and #99 hit some solid FG's. #99 and #36 both nailed KO's into the endzone. #95 Castle had some great punts. #37 Garrison Smith (McNees State transfer) kicked two second half FG's (both < 30 yards).

 

Hoban's Grant Gainer pulls in a swing pass from Brayden Ruggow and waltzes into the endzone.

 

#3 Jarvis Rush (Jr. JUCO from Mississippi) eyes a deep ball from Ben Finley...

 

... and pulls it in for the TD!

 

A guy I am very high on is #9 Paul Lewis III (Safety). He's all over the place on coverage, physical against the run, fun personality...you will LOVE him. Shown here dapping up #13 Rodrick Hunter.

 

Adrian Norton, celebrating after a Finley TD pass, can't be stopped in 2024. He seems to be Finley's go-to guy. He has great hands, and uses his body to shield-off defenders really well. 

 

 

#7 Alex Adams showed so much promise 2 seasons ago. If he could regain his 2022 form, the Zips could have a hell of an aerial attack. 

 

Other notes: 

Marquese Williams, the Minnesota transfer, seems to be the #3 RB. #29 Jordan Castleberry got some carries, and also scored a TD.

 

Starting DL was #95 Andre Proffit, #90 Demitri Madden (UTEP), #16 Fr. Dahvon Frazier and #94 Kabbash Richards

 

Bennett Adler is wearing #1 this year!?

Thanks for sharing.  This is good stuff.

[catdaddyp]

Great stuff @Captain Kangaroo! 
 

A few questions:

- Did you notice Seymore and Thomas along the OL? It’s great to hear Burrell and James working with the 1st string, but I thought Seymore and Thomas would be locks.

- The starting DL sounds like backups. I’m assuming the staff wanted to give some others more work in the second scrimmage? If I’m not mistaken, teams can only have two full scrimmages in the preseason. Did Nunnally, Lavea, Moore, and Kapongo participate?

- Notice Cheatom at all? Hopefully, Richards is healthy and will contribute this year.

 

Edited August 17, 2024 by catdaddyp

[Zipmeister]

Really interesting update. One question. I noticed the complete tarping off of the lower level has yet to be completed. Do you know the expected completion date?

Edited August 17, 2024 by Zipmeister
.

[zippy5]

Hell yeah Captain. Good stuff. Thank you 

[LZIp]

thanks for sharing. I am assuming Lewis III is a starter at S. Any insight on who the other S, as well as the two starting corners will be? Would imagine David, Greenwood, and possibly Dimarco Johnson in play. At outside CB - not sure if I think anyone is set in stone, but Hunter, Golden-Nelson, Reed, DeWalt, Anderson and Jarmon are all in play.

[Let'sGoZips94]

Music to my ears to hear two things...

 

- Even with Tahj potentially being improved, Finley is a clear cut upgrade. That bodes well for the success of this offense. 

 

- Having legitimate kickers on FGs is something we haven't had in years. Would've beaten Indiana last year had that been the case. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

12 hours ago, LZIp said:

thanks for sharing. I am assuming Lewis III is a starter at S. Any insight on who the other S, as well as the two starting corners will be? Would imagine David, Greenwood, and possibly Dimarco Johnson in play. At outside CB - not sure if I think anyone is set in stone, but Hunter, Golden-Nelson, Reed, DeWalt, Anderson and Jarmon are all in play.

I forgot to mention - Finley did throw an INT in the 2nd half that was returned about 40 yards. Pretty sure it was Rodrick Hunter (Fr from Georgia). 

 

See bottom left of the A logo, #13 breaking on the ball. 

 

I though out secondary looked very good. 3 INT's. But I guess you never know until you go up against someone other than your own offense.

[Captain Kangaroo]

20 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Great stuff @Captain Kangaroo! 
 

A few questions:

- Did you notice Seymore and Thomas along the OL? It’s great to hear Burrell and James working with the 1st string, but I thought Seymore and Thomas would be locks.

- The starting DL sounds like backups. I’m assuming the staff wanted to give some others more work in the second scrimmage? If I’m not mistaken, teams can only have two full scrimmages in the preseason. Did Nunnally, Lavea, Moore, and Kapongo participate?

- Notice Cheatom at all? Hopefully, Richards is healthy and will contribute this year.

 

It is really tough to keep track of the OL and DL sets in my situation.

 

I really don't know the players numbers yet (there's maybe 40 new faces, plus some guys have changed numbers). The big guys roll up their shirts so you can barely read their numbers. And I'm running up/down the field trying to get some pics. No replays or announcers. No buddy next to you to ask "what happened?". Whatcha see is whacha get with my solo, amatuer reporting. 😀

 

Zips football is like a Yeti sighting. You've hear rumors it exists, but all you have to prove it is my grainy black and white footage of Joe Moorhead looking over his shoulder as he walks past that log. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

3 hours ago, Let&#x27;sGoZips94 said:

Music to my ears to hear two things...

 

- Even with Tahj potentially being improved, Finley is a clear cut upgrade. That bodes well for the success of this offense. 

Tahj got one series with the 1st string. The rest was predominately with the second unit. He's throwing the ball downfield more than before. 

 

I like that Ruggow looked comfortable. Threw two TDs and moved the ball "well enough". I'm sure they want to redshirt him. But if Tahj struggles, I think #6 is constantly improving and could could hold down the fort if needed. 

 

Bubble wrap Finley. 

[zipsrule]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Whatcha see is whacha get with my solo, amatuer reporting. 😀

 

We do appreciate it.  Thanks.

[72 Roo]

Thanks to Captain for giving us a shot of hope that we are getting better. This week I was on campus visiting athletics. The word I got was Seymore has not healed and is not ready to start. Additionally football is running a bare bones operation. Athletics took a $3M cut and football has suffered. No GA's, no publicity, cuts in support staff. The money games are saving the budget this year. The attitude seemed to be 4-8 is reasonable and it will be the foundation for a better year next season. 

 

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

To accompany Captain's photos & recap, here are some videos highlights.

 

 

[akzipper]

On 8/17/2024 at 12:22 PM, Captain Kangaroo said:

Like the Zips, the scoreboard remains a work in progress. Oddly enough, it's probably as effective right now as it was the past 2 seasons?

 

It's crazy how the scoreboard never seemed very big. But seeing those workers in the cherrypicker really put's it into perspective. 

 

That new board is going to look really nice. I just wish they would have gone all-out and filled over the analog scoreboard space with video board too. That's still going to look outdated. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

16 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

...football is running a bare bones operation. Athletics took a $3M cut and football has suffered. No GA's, no publicity, cuts in support staff. The money games are saving the budget this year.

I have heard the same thing.

 

By comparison - The NIL cost of an Ohio State starting DB (not even a QB) is identical to the Zips entire football budget. 

 

[monrowe]

7 hours ago, akzipper said:

 

It's crazy how the scoreboard never seemed very big. But seeing those workers in the cherrypicker really put's it into perspective. 

 

That new board is going to look really nice. I just wish they would have gone all-out and filled over the analog scoreboard space with video board too. That's still going to look outdated. 

In comparison ohio stadium has a analog scoreboard with video board also.I think once they finish it should look great.

[Hilltopper]

1 hour ago, monrowe said:

In comparison ohio stadium has a analog scoreboard with video board also.I think once they finish it should look great.

By rule, scoreboards have to use analog for timing and scoring.

 

8 hours ago, akzipper said:

 

It's crazy how the scoreboard never seemed very big. But seeing those workers in the cherrypicker really put's it into perspective. 

 

That new board is going to look really nice. I just wish they would have gone all-out and filled over the analog scoreboard space with video board too. That's still going to look outdated.