Football

Jason Taylor made it to the final three participants on “Dancing with the Stars.”

The show will crown its winner on Tuesday. The Akron alumnus is joined by Kristi Yamaguchi and Cristian de la Fuente.

Here is an update on other former Zips stars in the NFL…

Nate Robinson earned his way through the first step. The NFL Champion New York Giants signed the defensive tackle to their 80-man roster. The G-Men now have three Zips (Domenik Hixon and Chase Blackburn).

Charlie Frye’s roster spot with Seattle seems secure with the Seahawks declining to go after a quarterback in the draft or otherwise, like many people believed they would. The backup job seems to belong to Seneca Wallace. One blogger mentioned a couple plays in camp that suggest it is more of the same from Frye.

Men’s basketball

Rivals.com released a list of its top 150 players. Zeke Marshall comes in at No. 37.

The Akron recruit also is the eighth-best center. Only 13 teams have received commitments from players ranked higher than Marshall.

Hopefully Zips fans are beginning to recognize the magnitude of this. On defense, Marshall will immediately be a backstop for all slashing guards. He will be a pogo stick for offensive rebounds, put-backs and dunks.

He is the MAC’s most touted recruit in the modern, Internet-crazed recruiting era. The reason he’s coming to Akron: the coaches. Marshall loves the coaches, and he developed a strong trust in them. The staff should get all kinds of credit for this monumental coup.

Football

Washington D.C./Maryland is another region that has received increased interest from the Zips’ coaching staff.

Here’s a new scholarship offeree…

Emmanuel Yeager, dual-threat quarterback, Washington D.C.
Offers: Akron, Pittsburgh, Eastern Michigan and Richmond
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 190
Speed: 4.65
Notes: Yeager is out to prove that D.C. has just as much talent as Texas and Florida. He will attend a lot of camps this summer, and his offer list is sure to grow.

Football

It seems like Akron coaches are developing a recruiting base in Georgia. First was Manley Waller. The next guy goes to high school in Tucker, Ga. — just 15 minutes away from Waller’s DeKalb High School in Decatur.

Tevin Holliman, weakside linebacker, Tucker, Ga.
Offers: Akron
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 235
Speed: Not listed
Notes: Holliman has interest in a lot of the SEC schools. Rivals.com lists him as a defensive end. In the 3-3-5, he would be restricted to linebacker.

Notes…

I’m finally done with school! It was a crazy, drama-filled year, but it was probably the funnest, most challenging experience of my life. I appreciated the encouragement and the understanding that I wasn’t able to blog as often as I would have liked. I will still be pretty busy this summer, though. I’m taking 10 credits and have a job at a law firm.

MACReportOnline.com broke down what the RPI means for MAC teams. It’s a good read. An interesting note: Kent State also missed the NCAA’s mark of 925 APR in both football and men’s basketball. The Flashes, however, received a waiver and no punishment.

Men’s basketball

Akron’s coaching staff notched the biggest recruit in program history with 7-footer Zeke Marshall choosing the Zips over Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Xavier, Duquesne and George Mason.

The Scout.com story says that Marshall — the nation’s No. 11 center — fell in love with Akron’s coaching staff and campus.

Marshall will be the interior defensive presence that Akron lost with the departure of Romeo Travis. Eventually, he could be dominant on offense, as well. Marshall is the kind of talent that can elevate a program into an elite mid-major status.

Women’s basketball

In today’s edition of ZipMail, Jodi Kest sent out a recruitment notice to male students who want to practice against the team.

Maybe this is common, but it seems bizarre to me. I’m sure there is an imminent need for extra players — what with Kest axing a third of the team.

To apply, you must have high school basketball experience and be a full-time student.

Football

In a press release, Mack Rhoades said he anticipated the low APR score and the university already self-imposed part of the penalty.

Football

The Zips lost five scholarships as a result of failing to meet the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate requirements.

Three other MAC football teams also suffered a penalty (Buffalo, Toledo and Temple).

No team can be penalized more than 10 percent of its scholarship base. Akron will get 80 instead of the required 85 for the next recruiting season.

No Zips team earned a Public Recognition Award.

Football

Here are more players to whom J.D. Brookhart and his staff have offered a scholarship…

William Marable, safety, Norfolk, Va.
Offers: Akron
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 197
Speed: 4.4
Notes: Despite Akron being his only offer, it’s not a high likelihood. Virginia Tech is where he really wants to go. Problem is, the Hokies only have 10 scholarships to give out this year. He could go to a military academy if his grades aren’t good enough.

Dale Peterman, cornerback, Youngstown (Ursuline)
Offers: Akron and Bowling Green
Height: 5-11
Weight: 163
Speed: 4.49
Notes: Rivals.com doesn’t list South Carolina, but Peterman says the Gamecocks have offered, too. He was tempted to take the offer right away. Instead, he decided to visit first in mid-April. No word whether he accepted the offer while he was down there. Other schools of interest include West Virginia and Illinois.

Chris Williams, cornerback, Cincinnati
Offers: Akron, Cincinnati, West Virginia and Ohio
Height: 5-11
Weight: 185
Speed: 4.5
Notes: Rivals.com gives him four stars and calls him one of the nation’s best cornerback prospects. Williams mentioned Akron in the Rivals story, but he expects that the Mountaineers will top his list once he visits campus.

Ryan Cheek, inside linebacker, Lancaster, Ohio
Offers: Akron, Kent State, Cincinnati, Maryland and N.C. State
Height: 6-0
Weight: 232
Speed: 4.51
Notes: Cheek holds a 3.8 GPA. His top three schools are his BCS offers.

Michael Buchanan, defensive end, Homewood, Ill.
Offers: Akron, Illinois, Arizona, Minnesota and Purdue
Height: 6-6
Weight: 220
Speed: Not listed
Notes: Buchanan is a pass-rushing threat. Notre Dame has interest, and an Irish offer might lead to a commitment.

Justin Hymes, offensive guard, Cumberland, Md.
Offers: Akron
Height: 6-5
Weight: 250
Speed: Not listed
Notes: He plays tackle in high school but probably needs to be a little quicker to play there in college.

Hugh Thornton, offensive tackle, Meridian, Idaho
Offers: Akron, Illinois, Washington State and Bowling Green
Height: 6-5
Weight: 285
Speed: 5.13
Notes: If anyone can remember Akron recruiting from Idaho, please let me know. An offer from Boise State would probably conclude Thornton’s recruitment, however.

David Stinebaugh, tight end, Baltimore
Offers: Akron
Height: 6-4
Weight: 215
Speed: Not listed
Notes: The good: He has exceptional, big hands. The bad: His favorite song is by Eminem. Ew.

Eric Finklea, running back, Cincinnati
Offers: Akron and New Mexico
Height: 6-1
Weight: 200
Speed: 4.4
Notes: Finklea’s coach calls him a power back with speed. Akron is also considering his teammate, quarterback Orlando Spikes. New Mexico has already offered both a scholarship.

Cody Pettit, defensive tackle, Hamler, Ohio
Offers: Akron and Kent State
Height: 6-3
Weight: 240
Speed: Not listed
Notes: Scout.com says Pettit’s stock is rising.

Austen Bujnoch, offensive tackle, Cincinnati
Offers: Akron, Kentucky, Miami (Ohio), Cincinnati and Indiana
Height: 6-5
Weight: 250
Speed: Not listed
Notes: Scout.com calls him the 59th best tackle in the nation and gives him three stars.

Miscellaneous

I know a lot of you were interested to see how I would vote in the race for chairman of the Republican Party.

I cast my ballot for Alex Arshinkoff, who built the party from scratch. As much as Arshinkoff hated the pressure of competition, I think it was a good check on his power. Arshinkoff won, 260-115.

Still, the party is better off with such a strong leader, even if he rubs some people the wrong way.

Speaking of strong, innovative leaders, Mike Waddell is a candidate for the athletic director position at Northern Iowa. Waddell is an associate athletic director at Cincinnati. He previously held the job at Akron.

Good luck to The Wad, who’s probably ticked that I mentioned him in the same blog entry with Arshinkoff. Deal with it, pal. Also, I second Captain Kangaroo’s suggestion of a home-and-home deal with the men’s basketball programs.

Football

They didn’t hear their names this weekend, but Jabari Arthur (Chiefs), Davanzo Tate (Jets) Nate Robinson (Giants) and Kris Kasparek (Dolphins) will get a shot at the NFL.

Each signed free agent contracts.

Kasparek is excited about his opportunity with Bill Parcels.

Women’s basketball

Tom Gaffney wrote an interesting story about the five Zips whom Jodi Kest dismissed for violating team rules.

Mack Rhoades supports the decision, which led to three starters, including Sarah Tokodi, being dismissed. Tokodi’s dismissal comes as a surprise because she seemed like an ideal, good-character player for a rebuilding program.

Football

Reggie Corner is going to Buffalo as the Bills’ fourth-round pick, No. 114 overall.

The aptly named cornerback is the fourth Akron player in as many years to be selected in the fourth round or better.

The Bills also chose a cornerback with the 11th overall pick in Leodis McKelvin from Troy.

Although Kris Kasparek, Davanzo Tate, Mike Schepp and Jabari Arthur did not get drafted, each will probably get an invitation to camp.