When University of Akron coach Terry Bowden arrived in town in December, he said his football team would possess a more local flavor.
Of the 10 Ohioans who signed letters of intent Wednesday to play for the Zips for the next four years, four of them are from Northeast Ohio.
The Zips signed offensive linemen Curtis Black from Kent Roosevelt and Quaison Osborne from Hudson. Safety Benny Cunningham from Medina will also join the team as will wide receiver Andrew Pratt of Green.
Bowden said that two-thirds of his recruits should come from Northeast Ohio, western Pennsylvania and areas surrounding Detroit. Those skill and edge players such as wide receivers, running backs, linebackers and defensive ends should provide speed, too.
“The linemen that are here look like the linemen I always try to find,” Bowden said. “We evaluated them and felt that they were just as good as anybody we could get. They’re outstanding players who have outstanding size.”
Black, 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds, and Osborne, 6-4 and 300, certainly fit the bill. But in Pratt, Bowden’s breaking the pattern just a little.
“In Pratt, we saw a 6-5 track guy that had incredible upside. Having recruited plenty of receivers, I see a guy that has a chance to be an outstanding football player and receiver because he’s agile like a 5-foot-10 guy,” he said. “And here’s a guy with the speed and the height that’s just what you’re looking for.”
Bowden sprinkled six recruits from Florida into the recruiting class, something that’s not unfamiliar to area football fans. The intent is clear: to be able to match and, if possible, beat teams with speed. Bowden is attempting to bring typical SEC football to the Zips. It’s a method that worked for Jim Tressel at Ohio State and a policy that will likely continue under new Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer.
“We were looking for some speed, so what I think we got were some speed linebackers and speed skill [players] to add to our group,” Bowden said.
Looking for that skill set in Florida is one thing, but recruiting strong players is another. Bowden gave assistants Chuck Amato and Todd Stroud credit for that.
The Bowden and Amato names along with the added experience of all three coaches played a role, as well.
The Zips pulled linebackers Keionne Baines, Jatavis Brown and John Rachal, along with cornerback Imani Davis, running back Wade Edwards and defensive end Alfonso Horner from Florida.
Coaching changes at other schools allowed some of the players to be available, giving UA access to riches they might not have otherwise discovered.
“They’re a nice crew of kids that can run a hit,” Amato said of the future Zips. “It’s a league of spread offenses from what I’ve seen. Therefore we need [linebackers] that can play in space. We’ve got kids with speed, and they’re all pretty good. We’re excited to have them.”
The reality with this class and any other is that the coaches don’t entirely know what they can expect of their future players.
“We tried to not sign anyone who couldn’t make us competitive in the MAC,” Bowden said. “We are very pleased with the players we’ve got. We think some of them are really going to be leaders as we go forward.”
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Zips blog at http://zips.ohio.com. Follow the Zips on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
