Football

One major goal of spring football was to decide who would take over for Luke Getsy as quarterback.

Mission failed.

If anything, the battle became more misty. Frontrunner Carlton Jackson had a very mediocre spring, which was broken up by an early concussion. Chris Jacquemain, last year's third-stringer, suffered an early shoulder injury and returned to move the offense impressively. Sean Hakes benefitted from his competitors' injuries by getting a lot more snaps than he would have; he showed some terrific ability, yet committed some colossal errors.

This is a crucial decision for J.D. Brookhart because it will determine the team's offensive leader for the next three or four years. In April, I wrote Hakes should be the choice. My reasoning is that he has a higher ceiling than Jacquemain, fewer character issues than Jackson and one year more of eligibility than both.

With three qualified candidates, don't be surprised to see one or both of the losers to change positions or transfer. And that's not to mention touted true freshman Matt Rodgers, who will join the team in July. A friend joked to me: "Wouldn't it be funny if Brookhart said, 'Forget you guys. We're going with Rodgers.' " I suppose the humor would depend on your perspective.

Anyhow, the quarterback decision is very important. I really don't think Akron can go wrong (unless Jackson's character issues are worse than I think). Although I endorsed Hakes, my hunch is that Jacquemain will start Sept. 1 against Army.

Here are some recruiting notes I dug up from Rivals.com, starting with a new offer…

Joe Pachuta, offensive tackle, New Concord, Ohio
Offers: Akron and Maryland
Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 285
Speed: 5.4 (I think I can bear crawl 40 yards in that time.)
Notes: Rivals.com calls him one of the best kept secrets in Ohio, but word is getting out. He said he needs to work on his run blocking.
Likelihood: His top five teams are all ACC and Big 10 schools. That's not good, considering Akron actually offered a scholarship, unlike four of his top five. He's probably not coming here.

More notes…

Rivals upgraded two recruits, Cordale Scott and Devoe Torrence, to four-star status. They are both almost certainly attending Ohio State.

Jacob Charest, quarterback from North Carolina, declined to name a favorite among his offering schools (Akron, California, Illinois, Louisville and Oregon). If Cal is after this guy, he must be a big deal. Charest will decide later in the summer.

Tight end Justin Virbitsky received offers from Duke and Temple. He already had offers from Akron and Buffalo.

Offensive tackle Ryan Turnley from Pennsylvania picked up some BCS offers, and that seems to be where he wants to play.

Will Fleming, the coach's kid, is getting a lot more interest from Hawaii, Illinois, Purdue and Michigan State. He only has one offer to this point, however: Akron.

Cameron Saddler, an athlete from Pennsylvania, recently narrowed his list of teams from 17 to 10. Akron made the cut. However, Saddler would like to play with high school teammate five-star Shayne Hale, whom the Zips have not offered.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 31st, 2007 at 11:38 am and is filed under Football. 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.