 |
2010 CSR MAC Preview: Akron Zips
July 27, 2010 By John Skomra
|
The Cleveland Sports Report will be doing an exclusive look into the upcoming Mid-American Conference football season. This edition kicks off with the squad just south of Cleveland: the Akron Zips.
Following J.D. Brookhart's release after the 2009 season where Akron finished 3-9 and now own four consecutive losing seasons, the Zips are optimistic about their new coach Rob Ianello in turning the football program around. Ianello had been with Notre Dame as their receivers coach and recruiting coordinator during the Charlie Weis era and served as interim head coach until Brian Kelly took over.
Ianello has his first true recruiting class, pooling between Ohio and Pennsylvania to get fifteen of his twenty-three recruits. Ianello used his experience and the year old InfoCision Stadium to bring in a strong class of recruits and resurge the pitiable Zips of '09. InfoCision Stadium replaced the archaic Rubber Bowl for the start of the 2009 season. The almost $62 million facility has and will continue to increase awareness and revenues for the Zips football program.
"We got a lot of 'wows,' which is always what you want to hear," Ianello said of the stadium."It's the marquee aspect of our program; it's the crown jewel."
The Zips are looking to bounce back from a year where they averaged a pathetic 19.2 points per game. They did not have a workhorse tailback to move the chains and take off the pressure quarterbacks Patrick Nicely and Matt Rodgers. Returning tailback Broderick Alexander led the team last year with a mammoth 198 yards. If the Zips are to compete, Alexander and Youngstown native senior Alex Allen must have good seasons. Nicely, who threw for over 1300 yards and six touchdowns as a true freshman last year, looks to add on to his strong start to his college career with a successful sophomore season. Jeremy LaFrance is the only returning wide receiver and will by Nicely and Rodgers' go-to guy. Incoming freshman Keith Sconiers from Illinois hopes to contribute to the Zips offensive attack this season.
Ianello has implemented a 4-3 defense and fully expects this unit to be much improved from last year. The new formation should control the running game and increase pressure on the opponents' quarterback. James Harvey, Almondo Sewell and rest of the front should have solid seasons due to the change. With a minuscule eleven sacks from a year ago, the Zips defense must create turnovers and get to the quarterback to help their offense. New defensive coordinator Curt Mallory expects good results from the new defense.
"'We are going to try to put eight in the box when we can, with either a corner or safety," said Mallory. "It's what my background is. You always start with stopping the run. To do that, we will try to pack the box."
Look for Zips to improve their record from last year and challenge the .500 mark. Tough non-conference games versus Syracuse and at Indiana and Kentucky may inhibit progress in the win column but do not be surprised to the Zips steal a victory in one of those games.
Prediction: Akron beats Syracuse at home to open the season at InfoCision Stadium and finish bowl eligible at 6-6 and third in the MAC East.
