And so it begins ... Life of the NIL ERA

[ZippyDoo]

First of many. i Know Cat will do a great job of this, my guess is at least 13 hit the portal. thoughts?

[kreed5120]

2 minutes ago, ZippyDoo said:

First of many. i Know Cat will do a great job of this, my guess is at least 13 hit the portal. thoughts?

 

I would guess 15-20 if Joe returns. I will guess ~30 if Joe leaves and a new coach comes in.

[blueandgold]

I really hope there is some way that Gant, Bosworth, Spriggs, McManus and Laventure stay with us, but I'm not holding my breath.

[ZippyDoo]

i heard spriggs is already meeting with an agent, Dall has his pick of schools, and Laventure is not coming back unless he is getting paid, we all know what that means. Laventure and Dall deserve it. I doubted them both at the start of the season but they absolutely proved me 100%..  I would love to see Riggs come back for one more season, but I think he is gone  I was at the game last night better prepared for the cold weather, but it was the first time I realized how small gant really is in person. I thought he had a really good year and I think he is gonna get paid but he gets a portal as well. I think he will be gone.  

 

I don't think Bosworth has the numbers or the stats to really go anywhere I think according to PFF there's only like two linebackers rated lower than him in all of division one football. I think he needs one more year at least to play. He hardly played at all the last six or seven games I think.

[AkronAlumnus]

Keep Dall by any means necessary.  Pay that man!!

 

EDIT: and Williams 

Edited 21 hours ago by AkronAlumnus

[MangoZip]

This offense has a really good, young core of skill players. Polk (So), Williams (Fr), Mason (Fr), Cravaack (So), Patrick (Fr) and potentially a good young QB. I assume they will all have opportunities elsewhere so keeping them here probably won’t happen. It’s just a shame that the resources aren’t here to keep a team together. 

[Blue & Gold]

This is another reason I'm very hesitant to knock JoeMo. 

This year was Year 4 but... it was really more like Year 1 than Year 4.

Next year will be Year 1 all over again.

Every year is Year 1.

I hate it.

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

34 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

This is another reason I'm very hesitant to knock JoeMo. 

This year was Year 4 but... it was really more like Year 1 than Year 4.

Next year will be Year 1 all over again.

Every year is Year 1.

I hate it.

 

 

Except we've had the same QB 2 years in a row, who is not very good, which is on Joe. 

[exit322]

22 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Except we've had the same QB 2 years in a row, who is not very good, which is on Joe. 

 

The issue here is more Joe's recruiting than Joe's coaching.  I think he did maximize Finley...but yeah Finley wasn't it.  Still think he'd be fun in a "4300 yard 44 TD 33 INT" way in a Mumme air raid.  Frustrating with all the picks, but fun.

 

Why did I not put two and two together that Ben Finley's brother was the short-time NFL backup Ryan?

[Captain Kangaroo]

40 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Except we've had the same QB 2 years in a row, who is not very good, which is on Joe. 

Horrible QB. Leads the MAC in TDs. Second in the MAC in total yardage. Scholar athlete of the week in the MAC this week. 
 

Joe found a guy like this with essentially no NIL money and convinced him to stay for 2 seasons. 
 

Good luck finding better in 2026. 
 

I like Broughton a lot. I hope Zips fans get to see him at Infocision one day. 

[GP1]

5 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Horrible QB. Leads the MAC in TDs. Second in the MAC in total yardage. Scholar athlete of the week in the MAC this week. 
 

Joe found a guy like this with essentially no NIL money and convinced him to stay for 2 seasons. 
 

Good luck finding better in 2026. 
 

I like Broughton a lot. I hope Zips fans get to see him at Infocision one day. 

I'm personally glad he is gone. Low completion percentage. Fumbled 8 times in 42 carries.and we all know turnovers are how you lose. If Akron cannot find someone to complete more than 53% of his passes and not kill them with fumbles, we have bigger problems than I thought. 

[ZippyDoo]

2 minutes ago, GP1 said:

I'm personally glad he is gone. Low completion percentage. Fumbled 8 times in 42 carries.and we all know turnovers are how you lose. If Akron cannot find someone to complete more than 53% of his passes and not kill them with fumbles, we have bigger problems than I thought. 

finally something that Gp1 and I agree on !  I know the grass is not always greener on the other side but for one am ready to move on from the finley era. 

 

you could foresee every run/fumble him getting up acting like he had been hit harder than any player was ever hit in the game of football...

 

I don't know if they will go with roggow, broughton, the new guy coming in or a transfer but i am ready to move on for sure...

[kreed5120]

12 minutes ago, ZippyDoo said:

finally something that Gp1 and I agree on !  I know the grass is not always greener on the other side but for one am ready to move on from the finley era. 

 

you could foresee every run/fumble him getting up acting like he had been hit harder than any player was ever hit in the game of football...

 

I don't know if they will go with roggow, broughton, the new guy coming in or a transfer but i am ready to move on for sure...

 

The problem isn't that we're losing Finley next year. The issue is we'll likely have to replace our entire offensive line, which was probably the best its been in at least a decade. For that reason alone I would be shocked if the QB play improves next year compared to this one. After all, a QB is only as good as the players around him enable him to be.

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Horrible QB. Leads the MAC in TDs. Second in the MAC in total yardage. Scholar athlete of the week in the MAC this week. 
 

Joe found a guy like this with essentially no NIL money and convinced him to stay for 2 seasons. 
 

Good luck finding better in 2026. 
 

I like Broughton a lot. I hope Zips fans get to see him at Infocision one day. 

 

Half the MAC has 2 more games left. He'll likely be middle of the road statistically and towards the bottom in eligible QBR in what is an atrocious year for MAC QBs. He put up 0 points vs. Wyoming, 0 pts vs. Nebraska, 3 vs. Toledo, and 7 vs. Miami OH. There is definitely better out there, and both Broughton and Beals might prove that next year if we get to see them. 

 

To @kreed5120's point, the OLine will need to be rebuilt most likely, which may hinder Zips fans from seeing better QB play. 

Edited 19 hours ago by Let'sGoZips94

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, exit322 said:

 

The issue here is more Joe's recruiting than Joe's coaching.  I think he did maximize Finley...but yeah Finley wasn't it.  Still think he'd be fun in a "4300 yard 44 TD 33 INT" way in a Mumme air raid.  Frustrating with all the picks, but fun.

 

Why did I not put two and two together that Ben Finley's brother was the short-time NFL backup Ryan?

 

Wouldn't that be a Joe's coaching issue? Not adapting his offense to the talent he has? I agree - Finley chucking it 60x a game would've been a blast. We have the receivers for it and he has the arm for it. Unfortunately, Joe was stubborn and stuck with his RPO crap. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

48 minutes ago, GP1 said:

I'm personally glad he is gone. Low completion percentage. Fumbled 8 times in 42 carries.and we all know turnovers are how you lose. If Akron cannot find someone to complete more than 53% of his passes and not kill them with fumbles, we have bigger problems than I thought. 

I’m not saying I wish he had a 6th season. I just think a Finley-like QB is what we’re going to need to get used to in the NIL era. In many seasons we’ll get worse. If he weren’t flawed, he wouldn’t be at Akron. 
 

The days of Charlie Frye’s, Luke Getsy’s and Mike Johnson Sr.’s quarterbacking the Zips are over unless UA’s priorities dramatically change. 
 

The Buffalo QB is very similar. Athletically gifted enough to be recruited to Penn State and Kansas State, but flawed enough to be a mediocre QB at Buffalo.

[GP1]

3 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Half the MAC has 2 more games left. He'll likely be middle of the road statistically and towards the bottom in eligible QBR in what is an atrocious year for MAC QBs. He put up 0 points vs. Wyoming, 0 pts vs. Nebraska, 3 vs. Toledo, and 7 vs. Miami OH. o @kreed5120

This was always my complaint against Sam Hartman at Wake Forest. He padded the stat sheet but never won a big game. 

[exit322]

9 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Wouldn't that be a Joe's coaching issue? Not adapting his offense to the talent he has? I agree - Finley chucking it 60x a game would've been a blast. We have the receivers for it and he has the arm for it. Unfortunately, Joe was stubborn and stuck with his RPO crap. 

With the backs and TEs we had, I don't think the 4-5 WR spreads made the most sense.

 

Just, Ben would have been good enough in that role.

 

Alas, here we are.

[GP1]

4 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

I’m not saying I wish he had a 6th season. I just think a Finley-like QB is what we’re going to need to get used to in the NIL era. In many seasons we’ll get worse. If he weren’t flawed, he wouldn’t be at Akron. 
 

The days of Charlie Frye’s, Luke Getsy’s and Mike Johnson Sr.’s quarterbacking the Zips are over unless UA’s priorities dramatically change. 
 

The Buffalo QB is very similar. Athletically gifted enough to be recruited to Penn State and Kansas State, but flawed enough to be a mediocre QB at Buffalo.

I want Finley with fewer fumbles and less shell shock in the pocket. The word "game manager" is used as a slur these days. I'd take a really good game manager who makes the right decisions and knows when to live to fight another day. The key to success in MAC, more than any other conference, is to limit mistakes and wait for the other team to blow the game. 

[kreed5120]

6 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

I’m not saying I wish he had a 6th season. I just think a Finley-like QB is what we’re going to need to get used to in the NIL era. In many seasons we’ll get worse. If he weren’t flawed, he wouldn’t be at Akron. 
 

The days of Charlie Frye’s, Luke Getsy’s and Mike Johnson Sr.’s quarterbacking the Zips are over unless UA’s priorities dramatically change. 
 

The Buffalo QB is very similar. Athletically gifted enough to be recruited to Penn State and Kansas State, but flawed enough to be a mediocre QB at Buffalo.

 

Out of likes, but +1.

 

QB is the number one position that teams prioritize spending on. Heck, we lost Zach Gibson to a team that was willing to pay more for him to be their 2nd string emergency policy. Anyone with any promise someone will get paid even if they aren't expected to start.

[Captain Kangaroo]

12 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

Out of likes, but +1.

 

QB is the number one position that teams prioritize spending on. Heck, we lost Zach Gibson to a team that was willing to pay more for him to be their 2nd string emergency policy. Anyone with any promise someone will get paid even if they aren't expected to start.

I mentioned this a while back, but Louisville contacted an Akron coach regarding a Zips WR that was in the portal last year. They were looking to build "the best scout team possible" and if the kid was deemed a decent MAC-level player they were going to offer him a little cash and a position on it.

 

The Zips can't pay as much for a starting QB as Louisville...not Alabama, but Louisville... can pay for a scout team guy.

[MangoZip]

[Captain Kangaroo]

We pick him off the scrap heap after Pitt ditched him and this is the thanks we get...

 

If I want to say something nice about him - he played hard against BG. Guys like Mumpfield and Norton completely tanked their last games before hitting the portal.