Miscellaneous
I’m driving out to Detroit for a couple nights of gambling and a Paul Rodgers concert.
Since Rodgers is the most debated topic ever on this blog, I’ll toss out this fun fact: He has the best voice of any musician, ever.
Feel free to discuss.
When I get back in town, I should have the $2 million stadium plan for your anxious eyes.
Football
Akron got its quarterback which, despite the roster’s depth, is an annual challenge for every team.
Jordan Miller, a pro-style passer from New Philadelphia, verbally committed Thursday to Akron, his only scholarship offer.
Miller is sort of inexperienced, only having started two games his sophomore year and 10 his junior year. His accuracy (101 of 216 passing) is a concern, but Miller possesses a strong arm.
Iowa, Michigan, Boston College and Kansas had been in contact with Miller, but understandably, they wanted to see if he could improve his accuracy before offering a scholarship. Miller is only 6-foot-2, but can run the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds.
Football
A new offer…
James Harvey, defensive end, Cochranton, Pa.
Offers: Akron, Ohio, Buffalo and New Hampshire
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 262
Speed: 4.95
Notes: Harvey appears to be the perfect size to play end in the 3-3-5 defense. He also plays offensive line in high school, which is where Scout.com projects him in college.
Likelihood: West Virginia and Pitt told Harvey they could offer if they like what they see in the first two weeks of next season. Harvey said he wants to attend an up-and-coming program that has his intended major — sports medicine. To the best of my knowledge, Akron only has Sport and Exercise Science.
Men’s basketball
The NBA Draft is tonight. And for the umpteenth straight June, no Zips player will get a sniff.
The MAC has been a good basketball conference, yet it’s lucky to have one prospect hear his name called.
Why? To my calculation there are three main inhibitors for mid-major talent.
Create your own shot. Quickness and creativity with the ball are essential for any player who wants to be more than a Bruce Bowen on offense. This is exactly what will keep Dru Joyce from the NBA. There are ways to work around this, like the Cavs’ Ira Newble, who found his niche as a strong perimeter defender.
Don’t let anyone question your work ethic. It’s easier for a GM to swallow a busted pick from the ACC than the MAC. Portland’s GM undoubtedly took some heat for Gary Trent – the Shaq of the MAC — being nothing more than a role player after he was drafted 11th overall in 1995.
You might be wondering if any Zips player has a shot next season. I think you seriously need to consider Jeremiah Wood and Cedrick Middleton. Middleton fulfills each of the aforementioned qualifications — he’s a solid defender, can create his shot and is the hardest worker in the MAC. Wood barely fulfills any of them, but I think his strength makes up for his size. He could be a similar player to Ohio U’s Brandon Hunter, who played a couple years after Boston drafted him in 2003’s second round.
Middleton needs to show he can run the point next season. Wood has to absolutely annihilate any MAC post player in his path to get NBA scouts’ attention.
Football
Head coach: Joe Novak
Last season: The Huskies were solid on both sides of the ball. They gained national attention with the strong start of running back Garrett Wolfe, whom some considered an early Heisman candidate. But then Wolfe had some very puzzling performances. He rushed for just 25 yards against Western Michigan after averaging about 225 for the previous six games. Then Temple, who trotted out the worst rushing defense in the nation by a large margin, kept Wolfe to only 45 yards. It truly was one of the oddest, yet least reported, stories in the nation. ESPN didn’t bother to touch it. My presumption is they were embarassed after hyping a mid-major player so much. With a subpar game from Wolfe, TCU blew out NIU in the Poinsettia bowl.
Best returning player: Junior defensive end Larry English
Offense: Dan Nicholson has always been solid when filling in for now-departed quarterback Phil Horvath. The Huskies shouldn’t lose much there, especially since the top wide receivers are coming back. The running game will suffer without Wolfe and stud tackle Doug Free. It will be up to junior Montell Clanton to take over for Wolfe. Clanton has carried 33 times for 204 yards in his career.
Defense: English was a terrific pass rusher in 2006 with 12 sacks and 16 tackles for loss. Novak is confident about the secondary. Overall, the Huskies should be just as good, if not better, than the fourth-rated scoring defense of last season.
Season outlook: In playing Central and Western Michigan — the top two MAC teams in 2006 — Akron got a pretty lousy draw for crossover games. But this is the MAC, where teams can rise and sink each season with ease. (That might be what I love most about the conference.) Anyhow, NIU has a moderate nonconference schedule. They’ll beat Southern Illinois and Idaho and probably lose to Navy, Wisconsin and Iowa, with the latter being played at Soldier Field.
Crucial game: @ Toledo … Both teams want to re-enter the MAC West hunt, but there’s probably only room for one.
Predicted record: 6-6 (including a loss at Toledo)
Eric Herman, defensive tackle, Toledo
Offers: Akron, Bowling Green, Ohio and Western Michigan
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 265
Speed: 4.9
Notes: His sister plays volleyball at Ohio and is actively trying to persuade Eric to follow.
Likelihood: He really likes Michigan and Purdue, but those schools haven’t offered. He appears to be a MAC player.
Baseball
Central Michigan’s Josh Collmenter is an All-American.
That is great news for “Ravishing” Rick Rude fans in the wake of the Chris Benoit tragedy.
Football
Head coach: Butch Jones
Last season: It was quite a season for the Chippewas. They lost their first two games to national powerhouses, but it was OK because they were breaking in a new quarterback, an unheralded recruit from Illinois. Dan LeFevour turned out to be a polished gem. He led the MAC’s best offense with 26 touchdowns, 3,031 yards and only 10 interceptions. He was not only the conference’s best freshman, but its best quarterback. CMU, springboarded perhaps by a 24-21 win over Akron, won 10 of its last 12 games, including the MAC Championship and Motor City Bowl. After the season, head coach Brian Kelly moved on to Cincinnati.
Best returning player: Sophomore quarterback Dan LeFevour
Offense: Quarterback is not a question. Nor is running back, where Ontario Sneed returns after averaging 5.7 yards per carry in 2006. Justin Hoskins, a transfer from Notre Dame should get the ball, too. Two of LeFevour’s favorite targets are gone, but two remain. The biggest question is how the offensive line will perform without NFL first rounder Joe Staley and solid center Drew Mormino. Was it their blocking that propelled CMU to achieve the MAC’s best offensive stats? Probably a little, but this offensive would be adequate even if I suited up at left tackle (5-foot-10, 155 pounds).
Defense: Defensive end Dan Bazuin made an impact on almost every play. CMU’s other end was decent, too. They’re both gone. And those holes are crucial to the Chips’ defense, which tallied the second-most sacks in the MAC last season. The linebackers should be very good, led by Red Keith, who paced the Chips in tackles the past three seasons. Three members of the secondary also return, but the key to their effectiveness will be the line’s ability to hurry the passer.
How the Zips match up: The real problem about LeFevour for Akron is that he can run, too. He looks like the next great MAC quarterback. For Akron to win these late-season games, a defensive lineman or two will need to emerge from these recent recruiting classes. Despite this being a home game for the Zips on Nov. 23 — an 11 a.m. start on Friday — with a bowl berth possibly on the line, CMU has too many offensive weapons.
Way-too-early prediction: Central Michigan 31, Akron 21
Football
The Zips offered scholarships to two more players…
Shawn Walker, tight end, Edinboro, Pa.
Offers: Akron, West Virginia and Temple
Height: 6-4
Weight: 230
Speed: Not listed
Notes: Walker’s high school runs an offense that does not use much production from the tight end. He still was voted all-district. Walker also plays basketball pretty well, averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds. He doesn’t have the height to play D-I basketball as a post player, in my opinion.
Likelihood: Walker said West Virginia is definitely his top school. The Zips coaches really want a tight end in this class. They have made offers to six of them now.
Some Zips targets who committed to other teams…
Running back Erik Smith from Bolingbrook, Ill., chose Wisconsin. His final three were the Badgers, Iowa State and Northern Illinois.
Offensive tackle Ryan Turnley from Aliquippa, Pa, chose Pitt over 11 other scholarship offers.
Linebacker Doug Rippy of Columbus verbally committed to Nebraska, but he still plans to take his scheduled visits. That means he’s probably not 100 percent certain.
Safety Manny Williams of Clairton, Pa., chose Pitt over four MAC offers.
Cornerback Chris Hayden-Martin chose Pitt over some big-time schools, such as Alabama.
Safety Jermaine Robinson of Pittsburgh chose West Virginia over Akron, Iowa and Toledo.
Men’s basketball
Zips target Brian Walsh committed to Xavier recently.
The swingman from Coraopolis, Pa. had several big-time scholarship offers, including from West Virginia and Maryland.
He joins an extraordinary Musketeers recruiting class that includes the nation’s No. 7 center and two top-30 point guards.
Football
Head coach: Shane Montgomery
Last season: In 2006, Miami couldn’t run, couldn’t stop the run and definitely couldn’t protect junior quarterback Mike Kokal. That concoction translated to a 2-10 record, the only wins coming at Bowling Green and Buffalo. Only one of the 119 bowl division teams allowed more sacks than Miami’s 49 (Stanford, 50). Despite constantly fearing for his livelihood, Kokal was an OK quarterback. He threw for 14 touchdowns, averaged the MAC’s second-highest yards per game (behind only Luke Getsy) and minimized turnovers (eight interceptions and no fumbles). Brandon Murphy, a second-team All-MAC runner two seasons ago, missed about half the season with injuries. A bright point was wide receiver Ryne Robinson, perhaps the best in school history. The Carolina Panthers drafted him in the fourth round this spring.
Senior safety Joey Card was the defense’s playmaker. He broke up 11 passes, intercepted two and logged 90 tackles in 2006. The defensive line wasn’t bad at reaching the quarterback, but it also allowed the MAC’s fourth-most rushing yards.
Best returning player: Junior linebacker Joey Hudson
Offense: Kokal probably won’t need witness protection in 2007 as his line should be a little better. Of course, now he has no one to throw the ball to. Robinson and five other receivers from 2006 are gone, and the No. 2 receiver Dustin Woods missed the spring with an injury. Like with Akron, the tight ends will play a more prominent role in the offense. Murphy should be back to his 2005 form. MACReportOnline.com calls him a second-team preseason All-MAC player.
Defense: If you thought the defensive line struggled against the run in 2005, wait until this season. Montgomery will rely on three first-time starters up front. His linebackers, beginning with Hudson, should be pretty good. The secondary won’t be bad either, despite the loss of Card.
How the Zips match up: The RedHawks and Zips will meet on a Wednesday night in November at the Rubber Bowl. Don’t you love mid-major college football? Akron has a glut of teams on its schedule who will excel in the running game. That works against J.D. Brookhart’s 3-3-5 defense and Akron’s lack of defensive line depth. Miami basically is in the same position, however. The RedHawks will be much improved from their 2-10 record a year ago, but the Zips will be a little better for the ESPN2 audience and crowd at Oxford. Edit: The game is on the road, not home. My fault.
Way-too-early prediction: Akron 23, Miami 21
Football
Head coach: Frank Solich
Last season: Despite getting destroyed in the MAC Championship and the GMAC Bowl, the Bobcats won the MAC East and logged some impressive victories, including one at Illinois. They did it with a terrific all-around defense and steady running game. Kalvin McRae remained one of the MAC’s best ball carriers by averaging almost five yards per carry as a junior. Quarterback Austin Everson, meanwhile, was one of the nation’s least effective passers, throwing for only about 100 yards per game with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Linebacker Matt Muncy led the defense as a senior. Linemen Jameson Hartke and Landon Cohen chipped in with seven sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss, respectively. Those totals put them among the MAC leaders. MACReportOnline.com also calls them preseason all-conference players.
Ohio will travel to the Rubber Bowl for a Nov. 7 game on ESPN2. This game easily could decide the MAC East champion.
Best returning player: Senior running back Kalvin McRae
Offense: It’s usually not a cause for celebration when your senior quarterback leaves the team, but I can envision Solich secretly pumping his fist. Everson did his best with limited talent. Now there will be a three-way competition. Two of the candidates saw time in the MAC Championship as Solich ran a quarterback merry-go-round. Brad Bower, an Illinois transfer who was recovering from a bone bruise during the spring, seems to be the frontrunner because he has played in 13 games.
In the end, it shouldn’t matter that much. This is McRae’s team, and Solich will feed him. They will pray he stays healthy because only one other tailback is on the roster. The Bobcats will struggle to find serviceable players at fullback, tight end and wide receiver. Experience is missing at each position. Two players from a pretty good line are gone, but Matt Miller will return as the senior anchor. He led the team with 61 pancake blocks in 2006. Another offensive weapon is Chris Garrett, a Freshman All-American at punt returner last year.
Defense: Three of the starting four defensive linemen will return, including Hartke and Cohen. They should be successful in penetrating the line again this season. Linebacker is much, much more uncertain. Muncy and two others graduated. They have a mediocre junior college transfer, a guy who broke his leg last year and a converted cornerback among the first-string candidates. The Bobcats lost All-MAC cornerback T.J. Wright, but bring back his tag-team partner Mark Parson. Ohio should be deep at safety.
The Bobcats will have a darned good kicker because of the stupid $#$%# rule that allows players to transfer after completing their undergraduate degree without sitting out a year, as long as they have eligibility remaining. Michael Braunstein was honorable mention All-Pac-10 last season after making 10 of 12 field goal attempts for Washington. Now he’s a Bobcat. Solich will, however, have to break in a new punter.
How the Zips match up: Last year’s matchup was difficult to watch. At that point, the Zips still had a good shot at a bowl game. OU’s defense made Akron’s pee-wee quality offense struggle mightily. The Bobcat linebackers had a big night. Akron certainly will have an advantage with two-tight end sets now that those linebackers are gone. Ohio’s advantage comes from McRae, who could run for 200 yards this late in the season, when the Zips’ defensive line depth becomes even more sparce. Expect a low-scoring, ugly game. I can picture the Bobcats’ ill-gotten kicker winning it for them.
Way-too-early prediction: Ohio 10, Akron 7
Football
Dan Kadar broke down the Huskies for NewEraScouting.com. Check it out.
I will preview Akron’s matchup with Ohio sometime tonight hopefully.
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