After a disappointing season, on Wednesday the University of Akron football team once again looks to the future.
It’s National Signing Day.
After a 2015 season that culminated with the Zips winning their first bowl game, 2016 was about sustainability. Unfortunately, the fickle football gods had other things in mind and the Zips failed to earn a bowl bid. How did things go wrong?
Zips fans can count the ways.
Injuries played an important role on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, starting quarterback Thomas Woodson missed multiple games. Starting running back Warren Ball, a senior transfer from Ohio State, missed most of the season after suffering an ankle injury in a loss against Wisconsin.
Although defensive end Jamal Marcus made spotty appearances as he attempted to play with a bad shoulder, he wasn’t even close to 100 percent and eventually shut it down. Defensive line teammate Brock Boxen suffered a similar fate, missing most of the season.
In all, the Zips had eight starters miss multiple games. When that happens to a team attempting to fill huge holes created by attrition with players who may lack the requisite experience, the results are predictable. It proved to be a hit-and-miss proposition for UA as an offensive line that hadn’t played together showed some degree of consistency.
On the flip side, a linebacking corps, replaced in its entirety, could never quite put things together. Ulysees Gilbert stood out on a defense that allowed 33.6 points and 224.7 yards per game.
Some might argue that injuries should never be an excuse for losing. In football, backups should be ready to go. To put it bluntly, the Zips, for the most part, were not up to that challenge.
The process of righting the ship will continue Wednesday when the Zips announce a signing class that could be as large as 17 members or as few as 13.
For coach Terry Bowden and his staff, the primary goal is continuing to look to local talent to bolster the team. Because of the nature of these signings being in flux, no names are included because NCAA rules prohibit schools from disclosing who their commits may be.
Seven players from the Akron area will apparently sign letters of intent Wednesday. Four of them play defense, two play offense and one was recruited as an athlete.
Unlike prior Bowden classes that had more than a few transfers, this class features just one. Nick Johns, a 6-foot-4 quarterback from Washington, D.C., and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, who will have three years of eligibility remaining. Johns, according to a source, is already enrolled in classes.
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Zips blog at www.ohio.com/zips.