Former Akron Zips running back Quentin Hines, an undrafted free agent, agreed to terms with the New England Patriots at the conclusion of the weekend’s NFL Draft, according to a source.

Hines, who saw limited action with the Zips gaining 194 yards on 35 carries for a 6.5 average was one of 16 free agents that the Pats signed. He grabbed the attention of NFL teams with freakish numbers in his pro day at UA in which he ran a sub 4.4 40-yard dash and had a standing long jump of more than  11-feet.  He reports to the Patriots in two weeks.

The Zips will take the filed against one another in the annual Blue-Gold Spring Game at InfoCision Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday.  Here are several things Zips fans should look for:

Quarterback play:  Sophomore Kyle Pohl is the starter, but pay attention to whether he's comfortable running the offense and if he's developed any chemistry with receivers.   Behind him look at how Dalton Easton, the No.2 quarterback for now and Steve Franco, No. 3 play. 

Overall practice proved spirited Thursday as the offense and defense got at one another.  Here’s guessing that there is more than a bit of anticipation ahead of Saturday’s annual Blue & Gold Game set for 1 p.m. at InfoCision Stadium.

Offense:  It looked better today for several reasons, the first being that the quarterbacks got time to throw courtesy of the team’s offensive line.   That had been a problem in recent practices as presumptive starter Kyle Pohl and his would be back ups got the chance to show what they and the receivers could do.  Of particular note:  fifth-year senior Jerrod Dillard made a couple of nice catches and tacked on some yards after the catch in the process.  Andrew Pratt made a nice grab of a 30-yard pass from backup Dalton Easton as well.  That’s progress and had the offensive line not provided the time to scan the defense it might have been a different story. 

It’s a tired refrain but the offense remains the focus for the Akron Zips in practice as the defense continued to show dominance.   Zips fans should get used to that until the fall rolls around.  This is in no way the finished team and a number of players will be arriving for training camp to bolster the roster. 

Offense today:  There wasn’t much in the way of sustainability.  Although there were a couple of plays that stood out, including a strike over the middle from backup quarterback Dalton Easton to D.J. Jones, for the most part the performance proved bland.  One of the problems is lack of consistent play from wide receivers. It’s noticed in players such as fifth-year senior Jerrod Dillard who grabbed nine TDs last year, but isn’t a player who excels in practice.  Case in point: on a pattern to the end zone, had Dillard leaped for the pass over a DB who was at least five inches shorter than he, the offense would have had a TD.  It’s one of those nagging things the Zips will have to work on.