2007 RECRUITING - Defensive line

Football

Now we move to the defensive line, which should be a great strength for Akron this season.

So far, coach J.D. Brookhart and his staff have only offered scholarships to three prospects...

• Aaron Douglas, a 6-foot-2, 270 pound defensive tackle from Virginia Beach, Va. The Zips are competing with Marshall and Louisville, who have also offered scholarships. Perhaps Andre Boone, a 2006 recruit from the same city (but not high school), can help sway Douglas. Rivals.com lists Douglas as a tight end. Douglas also has interest in Virginia, Virginia Tech and Penn State.


• Jafe Pitcock, a 6-2, 240 defensive end from Piqua, Ohio. Stop the presses. Kent State is actually competing with Akron for a recruit. Ball State, Eastern Michigan and Miami (Ohio) also have offered Pitcock a scholarship. Pitcock also has interest in Cincinnati and Ohio State.


• Carson Byrd, a 6-2, 255 defensive end from Trotwood, Ohio. Byrd and his high school coach tout his athleticism on Scout.com. "Carson is a beast," coach Maurice Douglass said. "Carson is very nimble; he has excellent footwork." From Byrd himself: "I have very good foot speed ... and I'm pretty good at reading the play." They are probably right, as Byrd already has five scholarship offers: Akron, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Ohio and Toledo. Byrd must be a smart guy because he also has an interest in Northwestern, Georgetown and Stanford. Louisville, West Virginia and Vanderbilt are also options, Rivals.com says. The site says Byrd runs the 40-yard dash in 4.71 seconds.

On the subject of football, I spoke with the Indianapolis Star's Purdue football reporter today. He knew a lot about Akron and the MAC. It turns out a lot of people do around here. We had a Zips conversation at the Indianapolis Indians press room as well.

I will finish off this series sometime tomorrow probably.