BACKGROUND
Location: Akron, OH
Enrollment: 22,000
Nickname: Zips
School Colors: Blue & Gold
Stadium: Rubber Bowl (31,000)
Conference: MAC
2006 TEAM
Head Coach: J.D. Brookhart
Record at Akron: 13-12 (3rd year)
2005 Record: 7-6
2005 Bowl: Motor City (L, 38-31)
Starters Returning: 16 (8 offense, 8 defense)
2006 Preseason Ranking: None
Akron Scouting Report
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Luky Getsy, QB – Getsy, a consensus preseason first-team All-MAC selection, ranked 22nd nationally (fourth in the MAC) in total offense (263.5 ypg) in 2005. Getsy, named to the Davey O'Brien Award watch list, was also 15th nationally in completions (21.38 pg) and had some solid outings down the stretch.
One of his best games of 2005 came in the Motor City Bowl (Dec. 26), when he threw for career-highs in completions (34), attempts (59) and yards (455). The attempts and yards rank No. 1 in UA history. His passing efficiency of 144.78 was the second-highest of his career. In Akron’s first-ever MAC title game (Dec. 1 against NIU), Getsy went 30 for 50 with 413 yards (No. 3 in school history).
He entered 2006 ranked fifth nationally among returning QBs in passing yards, sixth in completions (21.4 pg) and tied for sixth in TD passes. Getsy completed 22-of-42 passes for 160 yards in the opener against Penn State, tossing one touchdown and two interceptions.
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Jabari Arthur
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Jabari Arthur, WR – The junior is Akron's No. 1 wide receiver, but he will have some big shoes to fill as last year's starting wideouts - Domenik Hixon and Jason Montgomery - accounted for nearly 75 percent of the receptions by the receiving corps last season. Hixon and Montgomery ended their playing days among the top 10 in school history in career receptions (Hixon - 2nd; Montgomery - 6th).
Arthur, who has 53 career catches, did haul in eight receptions for 180 yards in the 2005 Motor City Bowl. The 180 receiving yards was a Motor City bowl record.
He recorded four catches for 57 yards in the season opener.
Dennis Kennedy, RB – The sophomore made his first career start vs. Penn State, and he tallied 59 yards rushing and a careerh-high eight catches.
Kennedy replaces two-year starter Brett Biggs, who racked up 2,101 career rushing yards (No. 9 in school history). Kennedy played in 12 games last season, rolling up 150 yards on the ground. Much like Biggs, who had 65 receptions last season, Kennedy catches the ball well out of the backfield. He posted 14 catches a year ago.
John Mackey, ROV – The Zips welcome back nine of their top-11 tacklers from a year ago, and Mackey is the leading-returning tackler, with 95 stops. Mackey posted a team-best eight stops vs. Penn State and forced a fumble which led to the Zips' first touchdown.
He is a physical run-stuffer who likes to play close to the line of scrimmage in Akron's unique defensive scheme.
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John Mackey
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Jermaine Reid, DE – One of the MAC's top defensive linemen, Reid tallied seven sacks in 2005, and is fifth among returning MAC players in sacks. He didn't record a sack against Penn State, but will looking to pick up his first of the season against the Wolfpack.
Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Reid is a rangy lineman, and he might be Akron's best athlete on the defensive side of the ball.
Kiki Gonzalez, DT - A consensus first-team preseason all-conference selection, Gonzalez has tallied 25 straight starts. Tabbed the No. 18 defensive tackle in the county by The Sporting News, Gonzalez is a run-stuffing defensive tackle who takes up space and occupies blockers.
Akron Game Notes
AKRON VS. THE ACC
Saturday’s matchup with North Carolina State will
be the Zips fourth-ever meeting with a member
of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Akron faced
Maryland and Virginia during the 2002 season,
losing to the Terrapins, 44-14, and to the Cavaliers,
48-29. They also lost to No. 12 UVa, 51-0 in 2004.
STOPPING THE RUN
The Zips ended 2005 ranked 32nd nationally in total
defense (339.8 ypg) and 71st in rushing defense
(159.0 ypg). With a veteran line back, the Zips are
attempting to make a point of doing a better job
stopping the run this season and they started out on
the right foot. Akron held Penn State to 76 rushing
yards (on 27 carries) last Saturday, the first time
the Zips have held a Big Ten opponent under 100
yards rushing since moving to the I-A ranks in 1987
(nine games). They also held 1,000-yard rusher
Tony Hunt to 36 yards on 14 carries (2.6 ypc). NC
State comes into this weekend 28th nationally in
rushing after posting 208 yards on the ground vs.
Appalachian State.
MAKING THEIR DEBUT
Eleven players made their first-ever appearance
in a blue and gold uniform in the season opener
at Penn State, including three true freshmen. WR
David Harvey was impressive with three receptions
for 41 yards, with a TD catch in the fourth quarter. P John Stec had to contend with a wet ball and was
backed up on his own goal line several times, but
did an admirable job with a 33.3 punting average.
DB Wayne Cobham got in on the action as a member
of the special teams unit. After sitting out last
year, sophomore DB Andre Jones has earned the
starting spot a free safety and finished with six solo
stops in the game. He also returned three kickoffs
for 67 yards, including a long of 26. Junior Matt
Domonkos has taken over the place-kicking duties
for the Zips and got his career off to a fast start with
a 46-yard field goal on his first-ever collegiate kick.
Although he did see limited action as a backup last
season, sophomore Dennis Kennedy made his
starting debut at tailback, finishing with 59 yards on
25 carries, including a punishing 4-yard TD run to
bring Akron back to within eight in the third quarter.
BROOKHART IN THIRD SEASON
Head coach J.D. Brookhart is in his third season
at the helm of the UA football program, after leading
the team to a 7-6 record last year, which included a
MAC East title, MAC Championship game victory
and first-ever berth in a Division I-A bowl game, the
Motor City Bowl. That earned him the MAC Coach
of the Year Award by College Football News. A year
earlier, the Zips posted a school-record six MAC
wins and came within one game of their first-ever
MAC East Division title. Brookhart, the 2004 MAC
Coach of the Year, spent the previous seven years
with the Pittsburgh Panthers, including the final four
as offensive coordinator. This is his first head coaching
job at any level and he is just the fifth Zips head
coach since the 1960 season. Brookhart’s record
in 2004 ranked third among the 14 new Division I-A
head coaches.
A YEAR OF FIRSTS FOR THE ZIPS
A little over nine months ago, Akron won its first Mid-
American Conference title and first league crown in
school history with a 31-30 win over Northern Illinois
in the MAC Championship game (Dec. 1, 2005). A
week earlier UA picked up its first MAC East crown
with a 35-3 win over Kent State. The Zips entered
the league for the 1992 campaign and they finished
tied for first in the division in 2000 (in 1997 the
league split into East and West Divisions), but lost
to Marshall early that season to lose the tie-breaker.
They also lost both West Division games that year
when the cross-over games did not count in the
league standings. In fact, Akron, which started
playing football in 1891, had never won a conference
title at any level. As a member of the college
division (through 1973 season), the Zips played in
the Ohio Athletic Conference from 1915-1935 and
1948-1965, and while in Division II they played in
the Mid-Continent Conference from 1978-79. They
moved on to the Ohio Valley Conference from
1980-86 when Akron was in Division I-AA. The Zips
moved up to Division I-A in 1987 and played as an
independent until 1991. They have been close to
a title, however. UA finished second in the OAC
in 1930, 1961 and 1962 before tying for second in
1965, Akron’s final season in the league. They also
ended the 1978 campaign second in the MCC and
finished second in the OVC in 1982 before tying for
second in 1983 and 1985.
GONZALEZ ON THE LOMBARDI WATCH LIST
Senior defensive lineman Kiki Gonzalez was one
of 101 players named last month to the Rotary
Lombardi Award watch list, which honors the top
lineman in college football. This year's list is almost
evenly divided between offensive and defensive
players, with 54 defenders and 47 offensive players
currently listed. Gonzalez joined five other
Mid-American Conference players on the list,
including Central Michigan's Dan Bauzin, Northern
Illinois' Doug Free, Toledo's John Greco, Western
Michigan's Ameer Ismail and Ohio's Matt Muncy.
Gonzalez, one of the top run-stoppers in the league,
was a second-team All-MAC choice in
2005. He is a consensus 2006 preseason
first-team All-MAC selection.
GETSY NAMED TO O'BRIEN WATCH
LIST
Senior quarterback Luke Getsy was
one of 34 student-athletes named to
the preseason watch list on Tuesday,
Aug. 28 for the Davey O'Brien National
Quarterback Award, presented annually
to the nation's top college quarterback.
Getsy, the holder of 22 school
records, is just one of two Mid-American
Conference players on the list (Phil
Horvath- Northern Illinois), and it is just
the second time in school history that
an Akron player has been named to the
watch list, joining Charlie Frye in 2004.
Semifinalists will be announced in early
November as voted upon by a selection
committee, with the field narrowed
to three finalists before announcing a
winner on ESPN's Home Depot College
Football Awards Show on Dec. 7. The
O'Brien Award is the oldest and most
prestigious award in the country for
college quarterbacks and is named in
honor of the late Davey O'Brien. Last
year's winner was Vince Young from
The University of Texas who led the
Longhorns to the national championship.
NORTH CAROLINA TIES
Senior OL Tim Crouch and junior LB
Brion Stokes will see some familiar
faces on Saturday as both have ties to
the state of North Carolina. Stokes hails
from David Butler HS in Charlotte, N.C.
and will have family and friends on hand
for the day. Meanwhile, Crouch will see
a familiar face on the opposite sideline
as his cousin, Curtis Crouch, is a sophomore
offensive lineman at N.C. State.
VETERAN O-LINE
Last season the Zips had just one returning
starter on the offensive line - left
tackle Tim Crouch. Crouch is back
again and this time joined by four more starters in
seniors (LG) Mike Donaldson, (C) Andy Wills and
(RG) Andy Alleman, as well as sophomore (RT)
Chris Kemme. All four of last year's new starters
received valuable experience, including Kemme
who was a true freshman. This unit has made 79
career starts, led by Crouch who has started 34 of
the last 35 games. The o-line should be a strength
of the offense this season. They helped the Zips
become just the 31st team in NCAA history boast
a 3,000-yard passer (Luke Getsy), a 1,000-yard
receiver (Domenik Hixon) and a 1,000-yard rusher
(Brett Biggs) in the same season. They also allowed
just 1.6 sacks per game (third lowest total in
the MAC). Wills was the lone lineman to start all
13 games in 2005, though Donaldson was the only
one of the five to miss time due to an injury. He
missed the 2005 opener courtesy of a broken bone
in his foot during preseason. Junior Mike Schepp
could be considered a starter as well as in the opening
lineup seven times in 2005, and played at both
guard and tackle throughout the season. The Zips
hope to develop depth behind those players.
TRENDS SINCE 2005
UA is 4-0 when winning the turnover battle.
Akron defeated Ohio on Nov. 15 despite turning the
ball over twice and forcing one turnover. The Zips
entered the regular-season finale 104th nationally
in turnover margin (-0.80), but collected a pair in
the win over Kent State to move to 88th (-0.50).
They did not turn the ball over vs. Kent State
despite horrible field conditions, but did commit two
vs. NIU (Dec. 1) and none vs. Memphis (Dec. 26).
They ended the year 90th in the country in turnover
margin (-0.54).
Akron is 7-0 when rushing for over 100 yards.
The Zips had a season-high 228 yards on the
ground in the win over Ohio (Nov. 15), rolled up 161
in the victory over KSU (Nov. 24) and had 105 vs.
Northern Illinois (Dec. 1)
The Zips are 6-1 when posting three or more
sacks. Akron posted a season-high five sacks
three times (vs. NIU, Sept. 24; at Buffalo, Oct. 8; at
Ball State, Nov. 5).
UA is 3-5 when the opposition rushes for over 100
yards. The Zips came out victorious over Bowling
Green (Oct. 29) when the Falcons rolled up 193
yards on the ground. The Golden Flashes had
102 rushing yards in the loss to Akron. The Zips
surrendered an opponent-high 250 rushing yards to
NIU (Dec. 1), but came out victorious.
Akron Depth Chart
OFFENSE
WR 12 Jabari Arthur (Jr.,
6-4, 224)
14 Johnny Long (Jr., 6-1, 180)
LT 72 Tim
Crouch (Sr., 6-3, 300)
68 Mike Schepp (Jr., 6-4, 303)
LG 73 Mike
Donaldson (Sr., 6-5, 295)
70 Garrett Brewster (So., 6-3, 315)
C 63 Andy Wills
(Sr., 6-3, 290)
64 Jim Holley (Jr., 6-3, 301)
RG 57 Andy
Alleman (Sr., 6-4, 295)
78 Zack Anderson (Fr.-RS, 6-5, 290)
RT 74 Chris
Kemme (So., 6-6, 290)
77 Keith Huebner (Fr.-RS, 6-7, 295)
TE 84 Kris
Kasparek (Jr., 6-6, 260)
83 Merce Poindexter (So., 6-4, 243)
WR 18 Jermaine
Lindsay (Fr.-RS, 6-1, 165)
or 2 David
Harvey (Fr., 5-11, 160)
17 Brandon
Williams (So., 6-1, 180)
QB 16 Luke
Getsy (Sr., 6-2, 220)
7 Carlton
Jackson (Fr.-RS, 6-2, 195)
or 11 Chris
Jacquemain (Fr.-RS, 6-2, 211)
RB 3 Dennis
Kennedy (So., 5-11, 209)
35 Bryant McMillon (Fr.-RS, 5-10, 195)
FB 33 Joe
McDaniel (So., 5-11, 220)
32 Joe Tuzze (Fr.-RS, 5-11, 225)
DEFENSE
DT 55
Jared Cecchetti (Jr., 6-2, 264)
95 Nate Robinson (Jr., 6-5, 315)
NG 97 Kiki
Gonzalez (Sr., 6-2, 300)
93 Eric Lively (So., 6-2, 270)
DE 99 Jermaine
Reid (Sr., 6-4, 275)
56 Clarence McPherson (So., 6-3, 255)
Bandit 54 Doug
Williams (So., 6-2, 234)
96 Mark Groza (Sr., 6-3, 227)
Sam 43 Brion
Stokes (Jr., 5-11, 220)
7 Parris McNeal (Sr., 6-0, 200)
Mike 30 Kevin
Grant (So., 6-2, 245)
47 Al-Teric Balaam (Fr.-RS, 6-1, 228)
Rover 19 John
Mackey (Jr., 5-10, 213)
27 Wayne Cobham (Fr.-HS, 6-2, 190)
CB 20 Reggie
Corner (Sr., 5-9, 175)
or 28 Brandon Anderson (So., 5-11, 170)
FS 21 Andre
Jones (So., 5-11, 183)
8 Yamari Dixon
(Jr., 5-8, 200)
or 23 Rodney
Etienne (Fr.-RS, 6-2, 190)
SS 10 Chevin
Pace (Jr., 5-10, 185)
37 Jason Nedd (Sr., 5-10, 197)
CB 28 Brandon
Anderson (So., 5-11, 170)
or 5 Davanzo Tate (Jr., 5-10, 185)
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK 39
Matt Domonkos (Jr., 5-8, 171)
45 Igor Iveljic (Fr., 5-11, 200)
P 38 John Stec
(Fr., 5-9, 180)
16 Andy Hildreth (So., 6-0, 185)
KOR 28 Brandon
Anderson (So., 5-11, 170)
21 Andre Jones
(So., 5-11, 183)
PR 21 Andre
Jones (So., 5-11, 183)
14 Johnny Long (Jr., 6-1, 180)
LS 49 Jason
Giachetti (Sr., 6-1, 230)
15 Brian Flaherty (So., 6-4, 235)
H 19 John
Mackey (Jr., 6-1, 180)
7 Carlton Jackson (Fr.-RS, 6-2, 195)
Specialists
Akron Head Coach J.D. Brookhart with former quarterback Charlie Frye. (AP)
Akron media relations contributed to this report.
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