The Legacy of Tyler Kozlov

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Akron sets record straight

There has been a lot of turbulence around the Akron campus as teams around the nation seem interested in Tyler Kozlov. After all the first year coach has amassed one of the best Akron recruiting classes, tripled the win output and has secured big recommendations from the likes of LeBron James which has resulted in a significant uptick in program spending following a sizable donation from the Akron native.

The Zips however wanted to put rumors to rest regarding the team's coaching situation, despite it being known that teams such as Missouri, Purdue and Wisconsin all wanted to talk to the coach about becoming an offensive coordinator for their programs.

"We are announcing today that there will be no change to our coaching staff in the head coaching spot. Tyler Kozlov has given me notice that he fully intends on returning next season and wants to bring a winning product to Akron. I have no reason to believe otherwise. We want to discredit these rumors to prevent any negative feelings to permeate the new atmosphere we are building in Akron." Tom Wistrcill AD

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JT Blyden headlines transfers

There will be three faces in red jerseys this season. Two come from MAC foes while another comes from a B1G school. A pair of running backs and an outside linebacker are what the Zips will have in a year to choose from.

JT Blyden is the headliner, Blyden was a highly touted prospect for the Massachusetts Minutemen due to his gamebreaking speed and ability to make plays on cuts. He was seemingly disgruntled with how he was handled at Massachusetts and after just a year he will be making his way West to Ohio to play for the Akron Zips.

Darian Green joins the Zips from Ball State. The Indiana native decided he wanted to play outside of his home state and made that come true by transferring to Akron. This muddles up the class for the two years, neither player will be available next season but it opens a lot of options come 2017, which is never a bad thing.

Dameon Willis transfers from Indiana for the opposite reason that Darian Green wanted to, he decided that Indiana was too far away from his home in Ohio and decided to travel back to play for Akron. Willis will likely be a starter once his redshirt expires and his eligibility returns, and the team would absolutely love to have him contributing for them.

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Re: The Legacy of Tyler Kozlov

JT Blyden headlines transfers

There will be three faces in red jerseys this season. Two come from MAC foes while another comes from a B1G school. A pair of running backs and an outside linebacker are what the Zips will have in a year to choose from.

JT Blyden is the headliner, Blyden was a highly touted prospect for the Massachusetts Minutemen due to his gamebreaking speed and ability to make plays on cuts. He was seemingly disgruntled with how he was handled at Massachusetts and after just a year he will be making his way West to Ohio to play for the Akron Zips.

Darian Green joins the Zips from Ball State. The Indiana native decided he wanted to play outside of his home state and made that come true by transferring to Akron. This muddles up the class for the two years, neither player will be available next season but it opens a lot of options come 2017, which is never a bad thing.

Dameon Willis transfers from Indiana for the opposite reason that Darian Green wanted to, he decided that Indiana was too far away from his home in Ohio and decided to travel back to play for Akron. Willis will likely be a starter once his redshirt expires and his eligibility returns, and the team would absolutely love to have him contributing for them.

Don't you hate getting a good player to transfer to your program but cant use him for a year? Good luck next season!

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Re: The Legacy of Tyler Kozlov

Don't you hate getting a good player to transfer to your program but cant use him for a year? Good luck next season!

He'd probably start off the bat after progression. The outside linebacker is what hurts the most, my linebacker corp got wrecked my graduation and I missed on a few guys that turned out to be gems. At least after this season, Akron will be looking quite dangerous!

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Minimal fanfare for Zips on NSD

The Akron Zips recruiting class was cleaned up and finished largely before the bowl season, a rare place for a team that is satisfied with their recruiting class to be in, yet it is true, the Zips landed one of their best recruiting classes in history. Adding a single four star and several three stars will give this team an infusion of talent that it so desperately needs.

A major question mark moving forward is the linebacker depth, which will be heavily tested early with CJ Mizell and Justin March-Lillard both graduating, leaving a severe void in the middle of the football field for this team to fill. Once spring training rolls around and the upcoming season's schedule is finalized, more answers will be revealed.

The Zips added only one player, fullback, Trevor Hall from Worchester, Massachusetts. Hall was a one star prospect and was likely signed to just fill the vacant spot on the squad. He is a lackluster prospect and really doesn't have any strengths to note. The Zips missed on a few other fullback prospects and this is their consolation prize. It is noted however, Akron didn't have their fullback take a single carry and ran a lot of one back or two halfback sets.




MAC Rankings


National Ranks

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Conference Realignment Part 1

The NCAA has made two rolling announcements, the first of which will take effect immediately. The NCAA has ordered all conferences to obtain 12 members and informed each conference's board that they are not allowed to conspire to prevent a team from moving conferences in order to accommodate the required action.

This has led to a major restructuring of the NCAA as it is known and in doing so, the NCAA will have quite a different outlook from last season to this season, as every conference will pick up a conference championship game as well as new affiliate members. The NCAA board was quick to state that this will only effect football conference allegiance, no other sport will be impacted.

The ACC appears to be largely the same, with the news out the ACC was able to retain Maryland who was expected to defect to the Big Ten this season but ultimately the move didn't fall through. In their wake, Wake Forest was dropped from the ACC after receiving word in their intent to take their football to the American Conference. The ACC swaps Wake Forest for Louisville, the Cardinals were expected to join the ACC and fulfilled their swap, joining the Atlantic Division.

The American Conference is one that saw quite a few movements, as they added members across the board while losing Navy, they brought in Northern Illinois and Massachusetts from the Mid American Conference, and Wake Forest from the ACC. The American Conference will be broken into North and South divisions with the championship game to be played in Philadelphia.

Onto the Big 12, there was some movement to get the conference up to 12 teams, but their additions are largely the weakest amongst the power conferences. The Big 12 announced new members in Colorado State and Utah State to fill out their 12 team obligation. Colorado State is the second program from the state to affiliate with the Big 12, but they finally get to leave behind their mid-major status. The Big 12 will no longer follow the previous North/South division arrangement, in place they will follow an East/West division line with their championship game played at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Finally, looking at the Big Ten, there was a small amount of movement to adjust for the bringing in of Rutgers, the Big Ten announced that Indiana will be playing their football in the Mid American Conference effective immediately, the move gives Indiana an opportunity for instate rivalries and a more competitive season to be had.

The pair of independents that remains will be the Notre Dame Fighting Irish who have an agreement in place to remain independent to support their own interests in pursuit of football and other athletic program prestige. The UAB Blazers join the independents due to uncertainty about their football program and wanting to stabilize without pressures from a conference.

Part 2 will look at more of the conferences and the changes that are impacted by the NCAA's ruling.

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Conference Realignment Part 2

The second part of Conference Realignment spends a lot of time looking at the mid-major programs as they have seen a lot of movement to bring up other conferences back to their 12 team minimum requirement. This piece will look into the Conference USA, Mid American, Mountain West and Pacific 12.

The Conference USA retains it's East / West division alignment, while losing teams such as Marshall to the American Conference, UTEP to the Sunbelt. The Conference USA will pick up Army and Navy and the conference is in discussions to pick up Air Force to unite the three military programs, yet those talks are premature at best. UAB slips from the ranks to the independents.

In the MAC, they lose two teams to pick up one. Retaining the East/West alignment, the West division features largely Ohio programs, while the West picks up new comer, Indiana. The West lost Northern Illinois while the East lost Massachusetts to the American, to bring the conference down to 12 teams from 13.

The Mountain West took the biggest hit, in losing Colorado State to the Big 12, the Rams were a strong team to lose, and in turn they pick up Idaho. Idaho was largely pushed to the Mountain West due to the only other option being the Sunbelt and they cited financial difficulties when they are the only team in the North of the country to play in the conference. It fills a gap that the Mountain West needed at the very least.

Turning to the Pacific 12, the conference retained all of it's members and had no alterations. Colorado is likely considering joining the Big 12 to unite the state schools, but for this season they are still a member of the Pacific 12. Leaving little news to report for the Pacific 12 which remains solid and full.

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Conference Realignment Part 3

Conference Realignment coverage concludes with the SEC and Sunbelt.

The SEC is facing the possibility of defectors next season as the league's midmajor conferences seek to bloat to 14 in lieu of Major conferences being at 14, for the sake of competitive play and ensuring that the best play the best and each year's national champion is an accurate representation of the college football landscape. The common names for a team to leave is Missouri and Kentucky, with both eying the American or B1G. Kentucky is an outside shot to join the ACC to join their rivals in Louisville, yet that is a highly unlikely rumor.

The Sunbelt saw some changes as well. Finally moving into divisions, it features an East/West split, with the East featuring new comers in Old Dominion and Southern Mississippi. Old Dominion was an independent last season and Southern Miss joins the Sunbelt from Conference USA. The Sunbelt doesn't gain a whole lot, yet they are somewhat better for adding two teams.

In the first article, it was stated that the NCAA had made two announcements and naturally we focused on one for this article series. Yet in the second press release, it's been announced that a football playoff was on the horizon. They were working out the details if they wanted to make it a four or eight team proposal and are trying to determine how they will select teams for participation by utilizing data, analytics and surveying, they hope to reach a conclusion so the framework can be in place for next season.

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Zips look sharp in Spring Practices

It may just be Spring, yet these Zips looked primed for the upcoming season. Each player seems to be invigorated to show that last year's record was an aberration for this group and while some areas of the team are weaker, some are significantly stronger. Namely for instance, Kyle Pohl.

Pohl took his benching hard last season, yet he ended up expressing his understanding of the situation following the season ending loss to Toledo where he stated, "I've been out of the league for two weeks and I still have a 3 turnover lead on the next guy, it says a lot." Pohl was having a career year in terms of yardage and he had a decent amount of touchdown passes, none of it would matter as he ultimately would fall into the trap of continual turnovers.

"He hit the film room hard, he worked on his footwork and he is a lot better at evaluating his options now." Spoke Tyler Kozlov to the contingent of Akron media outlets, the few reporters were enthused by his words but even more so by the performance Kyle Pohl put on for spectators as he completed almost every pass in a scrimmage against the second squad defense and had a pair of touchdown passes. He was decisive with his throws and his passes had an extra amount of Zip that he didn't have last year.

"Expect better things out of him. He knows what it's like to be benched, he won't want that again, I truly expect him to turn things around this season. He knows the goal is a MAC Championship, regardless what pundits might suggest and he plans on going out there and getting us one!" Tyler Kozlov was vibrant with the reporters, a much more jovial attitude than what he showed last year in a 3-9 season.

This team though saw a lot of turnover and will have to replace their depth in the wideouts, losing their top two runners and their top tacklers on defense, but Kozlov feels this team is up to it. Even without some freshman who didn't report early, Tyler Kozlov has went ahead to let us know who will be donning the red jerseys this season.

Yes in somewhat shocking news, Hakeem Lawrence has announced that he will no longer participate in football stating he wishes to focus on his studies." Lawrence was the second leading rusher for this team last season, behind Jawon Chisholm.[/i]

Redshirts
Darian Green HB 5'8 179 lbs (RS-FR) =TRANSFER |NOT REDSHIRT ELIGIBLE|=
J.T. Blyden HB 6'0 199 lbs (SO) =TRANSFER=
Tony Guidry WR 6'0 195 lbs (FR)
Justin Bullock WR 5'10 172 lbs (FR)
Melvin Young OT 6'6 297 lbs (FR)
Neal Triplett OG 6'4 329 lbs (FR)
Travis Jones C 6'3 294 lbs (FR)
Lamont Robinson OG 6'4 313 lbs (FR)
Undrea Bullard DE 6'6 256 lbs (SO) - MEDICAL REDSHIRT -
Chris McCormick DT 6'3 278 lbs (SO)
Dennis Everett OLB 6'1 235 lbs (FR)
Bryant Odom OLB 6'0 225 lbs (FR)
Geoffrey Byers ILB 6'1 238 lbs (FR)
Dameon Willis OLB 6'1 220 lbs (RS-FR) =TRANSFER |NOT REDSHIRT ELIGIBLE|=
Jon Hollis CB 6'0 198 lbs (FR)
Peter Wesley CB 6'0 204 lbs (FR)
Cameron Marquardt CB 5'11 171 lbs (FR)
Nick Higgins FS 6'2 217 lbs (FR)
Bubba Clayton SS 6'1 199 lbs (FR)

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Re: The Legacy of Tyler Kozlov

Akron Zips 2015-2016 Media Guide

Table of Contents
- Meet the Team [Depth Chart]
- Schedule
- Look at our rivalries
- Look at the MAC

Meet the Team Part 1
QB's - TE's


Quarterbacks
Kyle Pohl (RS-SR) 6'3 217 lbs 87 OVR
210-352 for 2500 Passing Yards 18 Touchdowns 20 Interceptions
Chandler Kincade (RS-FR) 6'5 234 lbs 78 OVR
Tommy Woodson (RS-SO) 6'1 235 lbs 75 OVR
13-33 178 Yards 1 TD 3 INT

The Quarterback group wasn't very good last season, between Kyle Pohl leading the NCAA in interceptions or the terrible performances put on by Tommy Woodson and Nick Hirschman over the course of the final two games, there wasn't much to look forward to. Kyle Pohl comes back more focused than last year and aims to be the best quarterback in the MAC this time around, his campaign last year would've been talked about substantially differently if turnovers weren't so prevalent. If he struggles, expect Chandler Kincade to rise up to the occasion. Some were calling for him last season but the coaching staff didn't want to burn his redshirt. The talented youth is a very accurate passer and at the very least he will push Pohl to succeed in his final season in Akron. All signs point to Kincade to being the future for this team under center.

Halfbacks
Conor Hundley (RS-JR) 5'10 214 lbs 76 OVR
Tra Ingram (FR) 6'0 206 lbs 66 OVR
Damion Bain (FR) 5'11 213 lbs 64 OVR

The halfback position will see the biggest dip off from last year, Jawon Chisholm was a fringe NFL prospect who is presently in the Cleveland Browns minicamp as an undrafted free agent. Chisholm accounted for a lot of offense last year and the halfbacks position will have absolutely no returning players from last years squad that logged game time with the departure of Hakeem Lawrence. Conor Hundley is built like a fullback or a tight end but has the agility of a halfback, expect a lot more power running from this team rather than outside the tackles. Tra Ingram will change the pace for the Zips, his speed is truly impressive and he will break the edge several times if he can get away from defenders. Damion Bain blends the two running styles together yet would be best comparable to Hundley as he tends to be an inside the tackles runner. This will be an important unit to watch, if this unit falls, this team will have to rely far too heavily on the aerial attack.

Fullbacks
Jerome Lewis (RS-SR) 6'3 240 LBS 77 OVR
Christian Allen (RS-JR) 6'0 252 LBS 63 OVR

The fullback position was essentially vacant last season as the team only used a fullback on a total of 28 plays across the entire season. Tyler Kozlov will be adjusting to a more power running system to accommodate his unit at hand which required him to push two players to new positions. Both players weren't going to see much playing time else where and it gives the team two options at the fullback position.

Wide Receivers
Zach D'Orazio (SR) 6'2 217 LBS 82 OVR
46 Catches for 741 yards and 6 touchdowns
Andrew Pratt (SR) 6'2 201 LBS 79 OVR
33 Catches for 438 yards and 3 touchdowns
Jeff Parker (JR) 6'2 200 LBS 79 OVR
Fransohn Bickley (RS-SO) 5'6 160 LBS 78 OVR
Imani Davis (SR) 5'9 176 LBS 77 OVR
30 Catches for 392 yards and 4 touchdowns
Austin Wolf (RS-SO) 6'3 200 LBS 74 OVR
4 Catches for 59 yards and 1 touchdown
Mykel Traylor (RS-SO) 6'3 207 LBS 73 OVR

Zach D'Orazio headlines the list of Akron Zips returning at the wide out position. D'Orazio started the season out on a tear and stepped up against Akron's top opponents. Yet as the weeks went on, it seemed the wear and tear of being the top target caught up to him and he wasn't as effective. Excluding the final two games where no receiver was overly effective (which could be attributed to poor quarterback play). This unit returns a good amount of game tested talent while also welcoming new comer Jeff Parker into the slot. Parker, a junior college transfer should be a key contributor moving forward for this team as he looks to take over the top spot next season. Between Kyle Pohl spending his offseason sharpening his skill set and this wide out group continuing to improve, the Zips have developed one of the best aerial attacks in the MAC, and there's a lot of opportunities for this team to grow this season.

Tight Ends
Justin Matthews (FR) 6'7 260 LBS 70 OVR
Erik Greene (FR) 6'4 229 lbs 69 OVR

A lot of the excitement for this unit comes from the height and build of both players. Justin Matthews is an absolute tank, coming in at 6'7 and 260 lbs while benching at an insane rate. He has shown a tremendous work ethic in the weight room and the Zips hope for it to pay dividends. The tight end will start form day one and Erik Greene should see his fair share of snaps as well. There's a lot of potential here, and some pundits are even considering Matthews to be a NFL talent if he grows as expected.

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Re: The Legacy of Tyler Kozlov

Akron Zips 2015-2016 Media Guide

Table of Contents
- Meet the Team [Depth Chart]
- Schedule
- Look at our rivalries
- Look at the MAC

Meet the Team Part 2
OL-DL



Offensive Tackles
Left
Quaison Osborne (SR) 6'3 295 lbs 75 OVR
12 Starts - 2 Sacks allowed
Kyle Ritz (RS-FR) 6'5 297 lbs 69 OVR
Right
Tommy Brown (RS-SR) 6'3 298 lbs 80 OVR
12 Starts - 5 Pancakes - 2 Sacks allowed
Scott Boyett (RS-JR) 6'7 310 lbs 74 OVR

Offensive Guards
Left
Dylan Brumbaugh (RS-SR) 6'5 310 LBS 76 OVR
4 Starts - 1 Pancake
Michael Casimos (RS-SO) 6'2 309 LBS 73 OVR
Right
Andrew Bohan (RS-JR) 6'3 270 LBS 73 OVR

Center
Stephen Ericksen (RS-SO) 6'3 311 LBS 74 OVR
3 Starts - 1 Sack Given up

The offensive line will be expected to get more fight off the line of scrimmage this season with Jawon Chisholm in the backfield and the team likely moving to a more pass oriented attack versus the ground game they had last year. A lot of the youth was redshirted and as such won't be making any impact this season.

Right Tackle Tommy Brown is the leader of the offensive line, which is a little odd for the best tackle to not be on the left side, but Tyler Kozlov didn't want to risk upsetting his progression by making a single season move. This unit should hold up decently against their MAC Competition, yet what remains to be seen is how it would hold up on a national level. It's a competent part of this offense, it's solid but not spectacular.




Defensive Line

Defensive Ends
Left
Alfonso Horner (SR) 6'3 219 LBS 75 OVR
23 Tackles - 12 For Loss - 6 Sacks
Richard Dorvilus (RS-SR) 6'1 237 LBS 74 OVR
4 Tackles - 3 Sacks
Anthony Clark (RS-FR)

Right
Nmesoma Okafor (RS-SR) 6'6 242 LBS 74 OVR

Defensive Tackles
Cody Grice (RS-SR) 5'11 286 LBS 82 OVR
14 Tackles - 6 For Loss - 3 Sacks
Se'Von Pittman (RS-JR) 6'3 270 LBS 78 OVR
5 Tackles
Darius Copeland (RS-JR) 6'1 259 LBS 76 OVR
Brock Boxen (RS-FR) 6'3 277 LBS 74 OVR

Cody Grice headlines this defensive line as it's best player and he should be able to cause some havoc up the middle. Grice was a solid player up the middle last year, he came on late picking up his three sacks in the final five games after struggling early in the season. The defense will rely more on him now with the linebacking corp as muddled as it is, they will need Grice to step up.

The Zips would love for Alfonzo Horner to be able to crash the tackles as well as he did last season, if they can get the level of production out of him that they got the previous season when he got six sacks, or even see that number grow, this defensive line will be something to watch for in the MAC, if the end's struggle, it'll put too much pressure on an inexperienced outside linebacking corp.

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Re: The Legacy of Tyler Kozlov

Akron Zips 2015-2016 Media Guide

Table of Contents
- Meet the Team [Depth Chart]
- Schedule
- Look at our rivalries
- Look at the MAC

Meet the Team Part 3
Defense and Special Teams

Linebackers


Outside Linebackers
Left
Jatavis Brown (SR) 5'11 220 LBS 76 OVR
24 Tackles 10 For loss 2 Sacks
Travonte Junius (RS-FR) 6'3 207 LBS 72 OVR

Right
Ahmad Watts (FR) 5'11 238 LBS 73 OVR

The linebacking corp was hit hard from last year into this year with only one player returning with extended game experience, Jatavis Brown returns after an average 2014-2015 campaign, he will be expected to step up this season as he is the most tenured linebacker on the squad. Outside linebacker Dameon Willis [Not listed] would be the likely right side linebacker if he wasn't a transfer, he will bring a huge boost to this team next season once he is available. Ahmad Watts figures to be a four year starter, unless another player has a tremendous work out, it's hard to expect anything but from the freshman. He is speedy and a hard hitter, but he is lacking in terms of identifying plays and adapting, expect him to be utilized heavily in the blitz and man coverage.

Middle Linebackers
John Rachal (RS-JR) 5'11 228 LBS 75 OVR
12 Tackles
Newman Williams (RS-FR) 6'2 242 LBS 72 OVR

Rachal was largely a special teams player last year with CJ Mizell holding down the inside linebacker position, this year his role will be significantly extended as his team will expect him to spearhead this defensive unit from the middle. Rachal is a faster linebacker that can identify where the play is going but his physical skills and coverage skills are lacking. The Florida native will be expected to be a leader and a force in the second tier.


Cornerbacks
Wesley Taylor (SO) 6'0 183 lbs 79 OVR
Bryce Cheek (RS-SR) 6'0 192 lbs 75 OVR
27 Tackles - 4 For loss
DeAndre Scott (RS-JR) 5'11 180 lbs 73 OVR
19 Tackles - 5 For loss - 1 Sack
Kyron Brown (SO) 6'1 172 lbs 72 OVR
3 Tackles
Kris Givens (SR) 5'9 164 lbs 72 OVR

This unit by far was the weakest of the 2014 Akron Zips squad. The Zips secondary had a lot of holes and when the opposition wanted to run outside or throw over the top, it was usually successful. This season led by junior college transfer Wesley Taylor, this secondary suddenly becomes a strength. Odd for a glaring weakness to suddenly become a strength yet it happened for the Zips in the course of one offseason. Between excellent growth from role players and last years starters as well as players coming off their redshirt years, the Zips cornerbacks hope to change the fact that last year their unit responsible for 0 interceptions, the lowest in the NCAA won't repeat as such. Tyler Kozlov has been raving about Wesley Taylor claiming the corner to be a NFL prospect even only as a sophomore.



Free Safeties
Jerome Lane (RS-SO) 6'3 214 lbs 74 OVR
1 Tackle
Jamal Baggett (RS-FR) 5'9 190 lbs 71 OVR
Pat Smith (FR) 6'5 195 lbs 46 OVR

This unit had some turnover from last season as the reigning free safety graduated. Jerome Lane will step in as a third year sophomore and is expected to be a playmaker. Lane had a decent performance against Massachusetts last season where he didn't allow a single reception when he covered a receiver, yet he missed a pair of open field tackles, he's shown a lot of growth however. Baggett will prove to be a solid back up behind hime while Pat Smith is largely just a practice squad talent.



Strong Safeties
Bre' Ford (RS-SR) 5'10 211 lbs 77 OVR
Zach Guiser (RS-SO) 6'1 207 lbs 71 OVR
Dylan Evans (RS-JR) 6'2 211 lbs 69 OVR

Rounding out the secondary is the strong safeties. Bre Ford didn't record a statistic last season and will see the field in full swing this season. Ford is a hard hitting ball hawk who will be the likeliest to make big plays amongst the secondary. Ford will be utilized close to the line of scrimmage in either man to man or off the blitz, as that favors his skill set. He is weak at zone coverage and his man coverage skills do start to fade against elite receivers, he is however one of the best tacklers on the defense.

Kicker
Tom O'Leary (SO) 5'11 176 lbs 84 OVR
11/16 (69%) 44 Long 97% XP%, 18 KO Touchbacks

Punter
Zach Paul (RS-SR) 6'3 219 lbs 82 OVR
37.5 Net yrds/punt, 51 Long, 4 Downed inside the 20

The Kicker and Punter return for a final season together. Tom O'Leary played out as a true freshman from the kicker slot and was decent, converting on 69% of his field goals, his long put him towards the bottom half of the league. O'Leary will look to improve from that, he was hitting fifty yard field goals in Spring Practices and that is a positive sight for the Zips who will definitely benefit from being able to score from farther out.

Punter Zach Paul had a successful season last year, not spectacular by any means but finished towards the middle/top of the MAC last year for punting statistics, all aside from punts downed inside the 20, which he would like to convert more of, part of that lies on the offense/defense which routinely had Paul punting from deep in his own territory.

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Re: The Legacy of Tyler Kozlov

Akron Zips 2015-2016 Media Guide

Table of Contents
- Meet the Team [Depth Chart]
- Schedule
- Look at our rivalries
- Look at the MAC

Schedule Part 1

The Akron Zips have an exciting 2015-2016 campaign ahead of themselves as they gear towards the next season. Featuring the new expanding nine game conference schedule, the Zips are primed for their upcoming season, yet what do experts say about their season and what do the coaching staff feel about their opponents?

@ #7 Ohio State Buckeyes
Akron +27.5
Kozlov's Take: Ohio State didn't quite like how we played them last year. We plan to play them with the same intensity this year and try to pull out the victory. This is the toughest team on our schedule, they were right in the mix for the national championship, it's our time to show what we stand for and pull out a good victory.


vs Connecticut Huskies
Akron +10
Kozlov's Take: Connecticut will be an interesting match up for us but I feel like we compete really well with them. I don't predict it to be as much of a blowout as pundits are claiming it to be, this is a winnable game, we have to go out there and take this one. I'd like to see how our speed matches up with them.


vs Marshall Thundering Herd
Akron +13
Kozlov's Take: A lot of projections are over hyping this squad, I feel this one is a statement victory for us. Marshall is without their top player Rakeem Cato, who graduated and is out playing for the Carolina Panthers. We need to pick this one up. They are in a new conference and they want to make their own statement, it's time for us to make ours.


Western Michigan Broncos
Akron -3.5
Kozlov's Take:Western Michigan comes to Akron in the first MAC game of the season. The Broncos are returning a decent squad and sit right around the middle of the pack in the MAC, they could be a bit of the force out in the West, but that's largely due to Northern being gone. As a rule of thumb, I'd like to take the first game of the MAC schedule annually, and this is as good as any for us to win.


@ Indiana Hoosiers
Akron +7
Kozlov's Take: The Hoosiers dropped down from B1G, they have a roster built for the B1G and while they obviously weren't in good shape in terms of standings. They are some of our biggest competition this season. We have to stop their running back, he was an All-B1G second teamer, he is a serious talent and we need to stop him if we are going to win.

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Re: The Legacy of Tyler Kozlov

Akron Zips 2015-2016 Media Guide

Table of Contents
- Meet the Team [Depth Chart]
- Schedule
- Look at our rivalries
- Look at the MAC

Schedule Part 2


Eastern Michigan Eagles
Akron -5.5
Coach Kozlov's Take: Eastern Michigan put up a good fight last year but fell short of a bowl, I expect them to come out fighting for that bowl birth as are we. This game will be close, they are a good team and excel offensively. We will have to have our defense step up and make their stops to key the victory. Their passing attack will determine who wins, Dustin Creel is a good talent, him and Jones make up a pretty good combo, the question is if their quarterback [Reginald Ball Jr.] can get the ball to them. A scrambling quarterback on a team without a halfback is a fish out of water.

The Zips get two weeks off before they get their next matchup against the Toledo Rockets.


Toledo Rockets
Akron Zips +3
Coach Kozlov's Take This isn't the team from a year ago, the loss stung, but that team was a lot less talented than this one, we're better too and I do expect us to take this one. The game will be decided on if we can shut down Alonzo Russell, he is a huge talent for them and their quarterback isn't a slouch either. This team will live and die by that tandem, outside of them, they have a solid defense and a weak offense surrounding their two stars.


@ Miami [OH] Redhawks
Akron Zips -7
Coach Kozlov's Take The Redhawks managed to make a run in the MAC last season but even after posting a terrific MAC record they weren't bowl eligible. This team doesn't seem to have improved which raises more questions as to how this team can perform to the 5-7 record they had finished wiht a year ago. The Redhawks will likely drop an extra game or two, and without much talent on either end, it wouldn't come as much of a surprise. The main player to watch is Spencer Treadwell. Andrew Johnson is a solid corner and we will have trouble tossing against him, it will be interesting to see how he does against our wide outs.


Ohio Bobcats
Akron +7
Coach Kozlov's Take The Bobcats are probably one of the best teams in the MAC this season with quite a few good talents scattered throughout the top of their ranks. Their ground game will be phenomenal with Daz'mond Patterson in the back, their passing game will be kind of average but their ground game will definitely keep things interesting and when teams focus on the run, it opens up the pass. I could see this being a very big matchup in terms of MAC positioning.


Buffalo Bulls
Akron -10
Coach Kozlov's Take Major case of good quarterback but no one to throw to in Buffalo. Joe Licata is pretty underrated as they came in terms of talent, but he will be held back the Bulls lack of offensive fire power. Buffalo has an odd assortment of talent, and their offensive is stronger on the run. Their defense is poor however and we shouldn't have any trouble taking this one. Our offense will be too good.


Kent State Golden Flash
Akron Zips -3
Coach Kozlov's Take Smart to pick us over our rivals and as we conclude our Ohio heavy part of the schedule, we will give it our all to continue our streak against Kent State, the big thing will be spreading out the defense and elmiinating their strength at the defensive tackles. Connor Reardon is a pretty good quarterback too, but our defense can isolate him and take care of him if we just play smart football.


Bowling Green State Falcons
Akron Zips +10
Coach Kozlov's Take This offense is terrifying. I won't sugar coat it, their defense is on par to above average in the MAC, but this offensive unit is tremendous. Greene in the backfield, Johnson tossing up passes and all of their wideouts being at the level they are.. it won't be easy. This will be our biggest test of the season and it will likely determine if we are playing in Detroit come post season time. We need to bring our A game, our defense needs to step up and our offense cannot be slowed down by their defense if we are to take this one. We can win this game, it just won't be an easy one.

[K0ZZ]

Re: The Legacy of Tyler Kozlov

Akron Zips 2015-2016 Media Guide

Table of Contents
- Meet the Team [Depth Chart]
- Schedule
- Look at our rivalries
- Look at the MAC

Look at our rivalries

Major



Blue and Gold Wagon Wheel
Historic Head to Head: 32-24-2 (Akron)
Last Result: AKR 23-20

This historic rivalry traces it's birth to the 1920's when the college programs located just ten miles apart started playing eachother, the first ever game a 32-0 rout by the Akron Zips started out the series on a positive note for the program. Despite their close distance, the difficulty of scheduling when the teams played in different conferences proved to be quite difficult. The game was played off and on from the 20's through the 90's, with the Wagon Wheel trophy first being introduced for the game in 1946. The Zips claimed the first 11 historic matchups before allowing Kent State to take the next 11, over the span of about thirty years. Following up with a tie between the schools, this series has been a tale of one sided affairs as one school has gone on to dominate the series historically for extended periods of time.

In the modern era, the series has been significantly more back and fourth. Aided by the struggling of both programs which has kept both schools relatively close to eachother in terms of talent. The game last year was just another close game in a series defined by close games and back and forth affairs.

Minor Rivalries

Ohio State Buckeyes
All Time Record: 1-8-0 Ohio State
Last Result: OSU 21-45

This rivalry proves to be more of a minor rivalry and a game that the Zips build up for themselves. The schools agreed to an annual game for this season and next season. Last year, tempers flared as the Zips fought until the final minute and added on a late touchdown against the Buckeyes second stringers that drew boos from the stadium and nearly cleared the benches in Columbus.

Ohio State claims this season series and it's highly unlikely that it will change any time soon as the Buckeyes are simply better funded, in a better position and have history behind them. In fact, you'd have to go back to the 1890's to see the last time Akron has a victory against their program. That's a fact that the Zips would love to change but as it stands, this rivalry is a simple ember until the Zips can prove to compete with the Buckeyes.