 Remember the children’s story of ‘The Little Engine That Could?” It tried to get over the mountain from hither to yon. Well, the 2010 Akron Zips played that role on the way to finally getting that elusive first victory for new head coach Rob Ianello.
The Zips had chances late in the season, only to lose to Ball State in overtime, and late in the second half against Miami. They came into the season finale against Buffalo as the only team in the Football Bowl Subdivision without a victory.
Akron avoided that dubious distinction, as well as becoming the first winless UA football team since 1942 as they defeated the Bulls for the first win in the Ianello era.
As fall practice began for the Zips, they knew that 2010 was just a beginning on a long road back to respectability. Here is a look at the Akron Zips as they prepare for the 2011 season.
OFFENSE
Offensive coordinator John Latina definitely has his work cut out for him as his two two leading rushers from a year ago, his two leading receivers, and two offensive linemen all graduated. The losses come from a unit that averaged just 15.6 points and just 268 yards of total offense in 2010
He will have quarterback Patrick Nicely to lead the offense. The junior completed just under 50 percent of his passes a year ago, along with 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The win over UB on the final week of last season was just his third as a starter. Look for junior college transfer Clayton Moore to push Nicely and maybe get his chance along with freshman Matt D’Orazio.
The running game saw leading rusher Alex Allen (877 yards) and Nate Burney graduate. Look for sophomore Broderick Alexander, who was redshirted last season, to be the starter at tailback when the season begins, along with Austin Bailey at fullback. Last season, Latina utilized offensive sets from the one-back, two-back, and wildcat.
The same quandary applies to the receiving corps as the top three pass catchers from a year ago (Jeremy LaFrance, Jalil Carter, and Gary Pride) all graduate. The top receiver is sophomore Keith Sconiers, who caught just nine passes. Look for Sconiers to battle for time at the wide out spot along with junior Anthony Merriweather, and sophomore Antoine Russell.
The offensive line saw the graduation of tackle Corey Woods, and center Mike Ward. But returning to fire out for the running game and for pass protection are veterans tackles Mitch Straight and Jake Anderson along with Zac Kasparek and Patrick McCloskey with Adam Bice getting the start at center
DEFENSE
The Zips defense will see a change in 2011 as Kevin Cosgrove comes in as defensive coordinator, replacing Curt Mallory who joined the coaching staff at Michigan. Cosgrove coached the defense at Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin and hopes to improve on a defense that allowed 428 yards and 35 points a game a season ago
Cosgrove will employ a 4-3 defense on a UA defense that has eight returning starters. The defensive line sees the departure of Shawn Lemon, who led the Zips with 10 ½ sacks last season. But it has some experience in seniors Dan Marcoux and Hasan Hazime, along with sophomore Nico Caponi, who played more and more as the season progressed.
The linebackers begin with Brian Wagner. The junior is definitely the leader of the defense as he posted 130 tackles (65 solo) last season. That led the team, and was fourth in the MAC (12th in the FBS). He now has 262 career tackles in 24 games and is one of the top ‘backers in the MAC. Joining him are senior Matt Little and junior Troy Gilmer who both played well in spots last season.
The secondary is led by junior Manley Waller. The son of Olympic gold medalist Gwen Torrance had 52 tackles a season ago (43 solo), along with two interceptions and five pass breakups. He will be the leader of a young secondary that includes junior Josh Richmond, redshirt freshman L. T. Smith and junior Emmanuel Lartey.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Senior punter Zach Campbell averaged 37.8 yards a kick last season and will be back. However, place kicking and kickoff s will be determined by a competition between junior T. J. Marchese and freshman A. J. Fox, who averaged 47.4 yards per kick last season and had 56 PAT conversions last year in High School
THE SCHEDULE
What a way to start for UA. The Zips begin the season in Columbus against Ohio State on September 3. The next Saturday brings the home opener against MAC East rival Temple, followed by a trip to Cincinnati to battle the Bearcats.
With the VMI game on September 24, the Zips will play four of their next five at InfoCision Stadium before finishing the season with three of four on the road. The lone home tilt is the annual battle for ‘The Wagon Wheel’ against Kent State on Saturday, November 12.
Most prognostications have the Zips finishing last in the MAC East. Various factors could affect the final results, but for Ianello’s Blue and Gold, 2011 is part of the plan on getting the engine to the top.
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