Football

I can't remember the last time Akron went after a player in Michigan.

First, the talent isn't all that great up there, compared to Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. Second, there's about a bajillion colleges that will fight the Zips on each one.

Anyhow, here are three new scholarship offers, including one from Michigan.

Caulton Ray, running back, Birmingham, Mich.
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 195
Speed: 4.49
Offers: Akron, Cincinnati, Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan
Notes: Ray tested very well at a combine in Columbus. There are several decent running backs in Michigan this year, so he's not getting a ton of attention. Ray has designs on playing under the spotlight as a Miami Hurricane. The 'Canes are talking to him, but it will take a few rejections from better running backs for Miami to have a scholarship open up. He also likes Michigan State and Nebraska.
Likelihood: Of course, Ray has offers from none of these schools. It may come down to a battle of the mid-majors.

Dalonte Wallace, defensive end, Greenbelt, Md.
Height: 6-0
Weight: 206
Speed: 4.8
Offers: Akron, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan and James Madison
Notes: Wallace is looking for a school that has a good academic support system, a decent business school and outstanding football facilities. Sounds like Akron to me.
Likelihood: Despite that, Wallace did not mention Akron when Rivals.com interviewed him, except saying the Zips offered a scholie. It's possible Akron's coaching staff is arriving late in Wallace's recruitment, so that could improve. Wallace said he thinks Syracuse and N.C. State could offer soon.

Ausar Walcott, safety, Hackensack, N.J.
Height: 6-5
Weight: 200
Speed: 4.5
Offers: Akron, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Notes: A 6-5, 200-pound safety who runs a 4.5??? Yeah. Pretty bizarre. Scout.com gives conflicting stats (6-1, 175), but Rivals.com is a much better and more complete information source, so I'm not sure what's right.
Likelihood: Walcott grew up watching Rutgers and Maryland, so those schools have an advantage. Virginia is his leader, however. That puts Akron way down on the list. (No matter where Walcott winds up, I'd love to watch him play. A safety who is that tall and skinny is the equivalent to me of having a 7-foot point guard.)

Golf

It looks like Tom Porten reeled in a superb recruiting class this year.

That class includes Doug Underwood, who took Stow golf by storm the year after I graduated from the team. The Bulldogs reached the state tournament last fall.

I really don't think the Zips' success this year will be an anomaly. Akron's roster is deeply stacked with talent and a competitve rivalry with Kent State has formed.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 28th, 2007 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Football, Golf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.