Golf Outing Overview

[Captain Kangaroo]

Man, the Nemer stuff was about as good as I can muster? Humor on this board is sometimes a lonely endeavor... So for those of you who would prefer a more straight-forward overview of the outing, here goes --It was pretty damn hot, but the wind and abundance of beverages made things more than bearable. It seems VERY well attended. I don't know if attendance was up or down from previous years, but to me it seemed up a little. I'm guessing next season will be a blockbuster event.Prestwick was in excellent shape. It is really a nice course to hold the event. Challenging, yet the average golfer can still score decently.The day began with a buffet-type lunch in the club house. Brats, burgers, beans and pasta salad. They tapped a keg of Bud Light promptly at 11am.We were short 1 person to make a foursome, and got paired with an excellent golfer/Zips fan from out west who happened to be in town for the weekend. Thanks to him, for the first time in about a decade of playing the event, a team stuck with me actually finished in the upper half, going 10-under. 13-under won it.The raffle prizes this year were OUTSTANDING! A 58" hi def TV, some smaller LCD TV's, Olympus digital cameras, golf for four at several area Country Clubs. A tremendous upgrade over any event I previously attended. Of course, I didn't win squat...but it was cool none-the-less.JD allegedly was out and about on the course. But he never ran into our group. He did stop over and talk to us after the dinner, which was great.Beer, pop and water was on every hole, and coaches Callahan and Chambers spread out on both 9's handing out brats. You never went hungry or thirsty, that's for certain! My partner hit a 300 yard drive...and Dan Basch beat it by 50 yards! And, somehow...Dan didn't win the long drive competition? I'd love to have witnessed the drive that beat him, because I've never witnessed such a golf shot in my life.The staff was all very friendly and accessible. They pretty much answered and questions we could muster. Since the people on this board are so up-to-date, it is tough coming up with much new info. Here are the Zips-related highlights:No one should fret over Bryan Williams moving to DB. He will be a first day NFL draft pick at the position, and we are in great shape at RB.The staff couldn't say enough good things about Dennis Kennedy, who's allegedly healthy and running like he did as a freshman. I believe it because he looked like a different back in the spring game. I don't believe it, because I've seen him play the past 2 seasons. Andrew Johnson won't be given anything. He'll need to work his way up the depth chart. Injury issues that limited his practice time this spring mean no one really knows what he can do on the field.Bowser is on campus, and "he looks really really really good." The combination of him and Jones could be lethal. Since Bowser and Jeremy Bruce were both RB's in high school, look for them to get some carries this season too. Both are excellent runners.We have 17 scholarships available for 2009. To-date, none have been taken. Zack Anderson was really banged up last year. He's supposed to be healthy now, and angry. If he's good-to-go, look for him to have a monster season in 2008. Likewise, Mike Ward took a big leap forward in the off season. In general, the OL, like the DL, is as deep and talented as it has been in several years. If there is a concern, it would be at center, where Shepp was both a great blocker, and a "money" snapper. You take the shotgun snap for granted when the center hits the QB on the numbers every time. Hopefully Bates, and his backup Ronsman, shore up their snaps over the summer.Ryan Bain will dominate the MAC. The havoc he wreaks will really make Grant look good. JD stressed the those two, plus Brian Williams, are big time defensive play makers. Despite the losses in the secondary, our defense is expected to be much improved over last season.QB? The general thought is we'll be better because of:1.) The competition at the position2.) The improvement at WR (it is no longer "Jabari, and Those Other Guys")3.) CJ11's experience and increased understanding of the playbookDon't expect Harvey or Lindsay to magically appear.The dinner was the best Outing dinner to-date. The steak was great. In the past, the steak was tougher than Dan Hipsher on Bruce Weinkein.Mack gave a solid speech at the dinner. But there were no real revelations. If you were looking for any conference-moving innuendos, there weren't any. No "we want to grow bigger than the MAC" commentary this time. Mack did mention future OOC schedules would be based on this formula: 1 "money game," 2 "winnable" games and 1 "that we should be favored." That's a good format. If I were to be picky -- I hate the term "money game," however accurate it may be. When we go up to Wisconsin this year, as Andy Wills mentioned at the dinner, "I want to go to Madison to beat the Badgers!" Not to pick up a check. I'd like to see a little more outward confidence regarding our shot at the "money game" in the future.I spoke to Mark Groza for a while. GREAT guy. He's finishing up at Cincinnati this week, and moving on to UMass very soon.I would really have to scrape to find something wrong with this years Outing. Coach Bleil did an OUTSTANDING job putting together what was certainly the best event to-date. If you missed it, you really missed out. Do yourself a favor and keep your June 2009 calendar open. If you're a Zips fan, it's about as good a Monday away from work as you physically could have.

[RootforRoo44]

sounds like it was a party...and are you saying that harvey isn't going to be starting this year?

[Zip Watcher]

I just want to know where Da'Von Moore ended up?

[gozips19]

10th 40-yard Dash Seconds 1. Bryan Williams (DB) 4.36 Andrew Johnson (RB) 4.36 3. Dante Barnes (DB) 4.39 4. Stephon Fuqua (WR) 4.41 5. Jalil Carter (DB) 4.44 6. Brandon Anderson (DB) 4.45 7. Dennis Kennedy (RB) 4.50 8. Wayne Cobham (DB) 4.52 9. Alex Allen (RB) 4.53 10. Da-Von Moore (DB) 4.54

[gozips19]

cap one question.....when talking about jac; were you getting the feeling that the people you spoke with were just giving lip service and allowing him every chance to win the job? Or, did you think that they truly believe that he has made that big a stride?

[Captain Kangaroo]

cap one question.....when talking about jac; were you getting the feeling that the people you spoke with were just giving lip service and allowing him every chance to win the job? Or, did you think that they truly believe that he has made that big a stride?

My feeling is -- He's simply the best we've got. He started a bunch of games last season, so he gets the nod to begin 2008 as the favorite. Rogers is unproven, and really didn't stand out in the spring. I hope Rogers pushes CJ11 hard in the summer. If he's any good, he'll get his chance. Anyone else on the radar? I think it would take an injury to get any of our other QB's (Patterson or the New Philly kid) in the mix.CJ11 is "ok." He throws a decent ball and I'm sure he'll be better in '08 than he was in '07. But does he have that "special something"...that "fight" to be the team's ultimate leader and win a championship? Can he accept a sack rather than make the shovel pass to an LB when pressured? I haven't seen it yet.I'm really hopeful that the new WR's inject some life into the offense, and that helps the QB. Bruce and Bowser can turn 5 yarders into 80 yarders, and Jones looks to be a great deep threat. CL11 didn't have that in 2007.

[GP1]

The staff couldn't say enough good things about Dennis Kennedy, who's allegedly healthy and running like he did as a freshman. I believe it because he looked like a different back in the spring game. I don't believe it, because I've seen him play the past 2 seasons.

The crossroads between faith and physical evidence is difficult to navigate. Sort of reminds me of a good story......A reporter ventures out to interview a Baptist Minister. One of the questions was, "Rev., do you believe in full body emersion baptism?"The minister instantly responds, "Of course I do, I've seen it done before.".........We have faith because we have seen DK do it before and we believe he has the ability. Our faith is shaken because we have not seen him do it in so long.He is still too much of an east/west runner for my liking.