Class of '27 Verbal Commits and Offers/Discussion

[Blue & Gold]

Class of 2027 Verbal Commits

Juleone Carney, DL, 6-2, 285, Trinity HS, Louisville, KY

Luke Fleischman, LB, 6-1, 215, St. Francis HS, Chaffee, NY

Kobe Lewis, DE, 6-3, 200, Fairfield HS, Fairfield, OH

Samuel McGrath, OL, 6-6, 290, Roseville HS, Roseville, MI

Owen Pelkowski, OL, 6-5, 280, Walsh Jesuit HS, Cuyahoga Falls, OH

Jayden Remplet, OL, 6-7, 310, Wyoming Seminary HS, Kingston, PA

Wilzard Sterling, DE, 6-3, 210, Somerset Canyons HS, Boyton Beach, FL

Ronnie Taylor Jr., RB, 6-1, 205, Villa Angela-St. Joe's HS, Cleveland, OH

Jason Thomas, WR, 6-0, 185, Piper HS, Sunrise, FL

 

Class Summary

Total Commits: 9

 

Offense: 5

QB: 0

RB: 1 (Taylor)

WR: 1 (Thomas)

TE: 0

OL: 3 (McGrath, Pelkowski, Remplet)

 

Defense: 4

DL: 3 (Carney, Lewis, Sterling)

LB: 1 (Fleischman)

DB: 0

Edited Monday at 11:10 AM by Blue & Gold

[Blue & Gold]

As far as I'm aware Walsh Jesuit OL Owen Pelkowski is our first commit of '27

Owen also had offers from KSUcks, Miami(O), Illinois State, and Cornell

Edited June 23 by Blue & Gold

[catdaddyp]

 

[ZippyDoo]

Tibs loves that size linebacker....  Seems like if he could mold one thats what he would make

[catdaddyp]

1 hour ago, ZippyDoo said:

Tibs loves that size linebacker....  Seems like if he could mold one thats what he would make

I think Zips fans are going to love this LB in a few years. While he has good size, he may not be quite as athletic as some of the other linebackers we’ve recruited, but he’s incredibly physical and has a good nose for the ball. Reminds me of Bubba in that sense.

[Blue & Gold]

 

[Thomas Lower]

I see we have three more 2027 football recruits! Owen and Luke and Samuel McGrath an OL from Roseville, Michigan 6-6 290; Ronnie Taylor an athlete running back from Cleveland Villa Angela -St. Joseph 6-0  200; Jaleone Carney a DL from Louisville Trinity High School 6-2 285!

All three look to have good size and should help down the road!

[Blue & Gold]

8 hours ago, Thomas Lower said:

I see we have three more 2027 football recruits! Owen and Luke and Samuel McGrath an OL from Roseville, Michigan 6-6 290; Ronnie Taylor an athlete running back from Cleveland Villa Angela -St. Joseph 6-0  200; Jaleone Carney a DL from Louisville Trinity High School 6-2 285!

All three look to have good size and should help down the road!

Sweet! Thanks for the heads up & welcome to ZipsNation! Tomorrow morning I'll search for more information on the mentioned players,

[Blue & Gold]

Thanks to @Thomas Lower for finding these commits.

Samuel McGrath is a 6-6, 290 OL for whom we beat out BUGS, Miami, Toledo, and UMass.

Ronnie Taylor is a 6-0, 200 running back/DB/ATH for whom we beat out BUGS, Buffalo, James Madison, Kentucky, Marshall, Toledo, and UConn.

Edited July 24 by Blue & Gold

[exit322]

2 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Thanks to @Thomas Lower for finding these commits.

Samuel McGrath is a 6-6, 290 OL for whom we beat out BUGS, Miami, Toledo, and UMass.

 

That's a step forward, beating out multiple other FBS schools for a recruit.

[Blue & Gold]

3 minutes ago, exit322 said:

 

That's a step forward, beating out multiple other FBS schools for a recruit.

💯💯 

You saw my post before I was finished editing it. For RB Ronnie Taylor we beat out fellow G-5's & one P-4 (Kentucky).

[exit322]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

💯💯 

You saw my post before I was finished editing it. For RB Ronnie Taylor we beat out fellow G-5's & one P-4 (Kentucky).

 

In today's NIL world - and it seems they're trying to do this - Akron can't outbid anyone, yeah.  We can't pay a whole lot even at the MAC level.  That's fine.  But, we can show guys how much money they're going to make once they have a good year or two here.  It seems there might be a bit of that happening with guys coming to Akron.  Feels like a way you can win a lot of games.

[MangoZip]

6 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

💯💯 

You saw my post before I was finished editing it. For RB Ronnie Taylor we beat out fellow G-5's & one P-4 (Kentucky).

You’re kidding yourself if you think a kid actually chose Akron over Kentucky. 99% that offer was gone or not committable. 

Edited July 24 by MangoZip

[exit322]

5 minutes ago, MangoZip said:

You’re kidding yourself if a kid actually chose Akron over Kentucky. 99% that offer was gone or not committable. 

 

Or a PWO type offer.  If there was no actual NIL offered from Kentucky with the offer, it's not completely ridiculous.  Also, smart for Akron to promote it even if it's bunk.

[kreed5120]

You have to remember with players having the opportunity to play 5 years now it's often times best for them to go somewhere year 1 that they have an opportunity to play, even if it's just special teams.

 

It doesn't really help their market value being burried as the 4th or 5th RB on a team like Kentucky's roster where you will have little to no film to market yourself year 2. Now if you're a 5* recruit that commands immediate play time or large upfront money that's a different story. That wasn't the case here.

[Thomas Lower]

Looks like another football recruit:

Jayden Remplet 6-7 310 tackle from Kingston. PA!

[Blue & Gold]

4 hours ago, Thomas Lower said:

Looks like another football recruit:

Jayden Remplet 6-7 310 tackle from Kingston. PA!

Awesome, @Thomas Lower!! Thanks for the initial scoops on these guys!! 🙏💪🫡

[Blue & Gold]

Got a big DL!

Juleone Carney, 6-2, 285, from Trinity HS in Louisville, KY.

For Carney's verbal we beat out Southern Miss, Ball State, Buffalo, and KSUcks.

[AkronAlumnus]

Zips got three recruits today:

 

Kobe Lewis - Fairfield, OH

Jason Thomas - Sunrise, FL 

Wilzard Sterling - Lake Worth, FL

 

Haven't looked into them but all seem like pretty good gets

[LZIp]

45 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

Zips got three recruits today:

 

Kobe Lewis - Fairfield, OH

Jason Thomas - Sunrise, FL 

Wilzard Sterling - Lake Worth, FL

 

Haven't looked into them but all seem like pretty good gets

Those do look like pretty solid gets, especially since aren’t getting them at the last second. Seems like a strong recruiting class so far.

[kreed5120]

If there is one positive of the portal it's that we can land a higher caliber freshman than we could 5-10 years ago.

 

Akron's best selling point to these kids is they will have an opportunity to earn playing time by year 2 and can use that to cash in elsewhere (if successful). The alternative for many is to go to a lowly P4 program, ride the bench for 2-3 years, and then transfer down to a G6 program.

[Captain Kangaroo]

32 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

If there is one positive of the portal it's that we can land a higher caliber freshman than we could 5-10 years ago.

 

Akron's best selling point to these kids is they will have an opportunity to earn playing time by year 2 and can use that to cash in elsewhere (if successful). The alternative for many is to go to a lowly P4 program, ride the bench for 2-3 years, and then transfer down to a G6 program.

Getting a talented 18 year old isn’t such a great deal.

 

We get the kids for their poopy diaper and colic years, and then hand a walking, talking, potty trained product off to the highest bidder. 

 

All that work for nuthin’.

[kreed5120]

13 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Getting a talented 18 year old isn’t such a great deal.

 

We get the kids for their poopy diaper and colic years, and then hand a walking, talking, potty trained product off to the highest bidder. 

 

All that work for nuthin’.

 

I never claimed it to be an equal trade-off. There is no mistaking that this NIL and freedom of transfer era has further widened the gap between P4 and the G6.

[exit322]

1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

If there is one positive of the portal it's that we can land a higher caliber freshman than we could 5-10 years ago.

 

Akron's best selling point to these kids is they will have an opportunity to earn playing time by year 2 and can use that to cash in elsewhere (if successful). The alternative for many is to go to a lowly P4 program, ride the bench for 2-3 years, and then transfer down to a G6 program.

 

And the most successful MAC schools are going to effectively do this AND get that higher-caliber freshman.