AKRON and KENT, Ohio -- There were no real surprises for the Akron Zips or the Kent State Golden Flashes as both programs wrapped up their spring football camps with spring games. For Akron, the first-team Blue defeated the White, 16-7, behind one touchdown and three field goals, two from beyond 50 yards. For Kent, the first-team Blue defeated...
View full sizeKent State QB Colin Reardon drops back to pass as head coach Paul Haynes looks on Saturday during the Golden Flashes' jersey scrimmage in Kent. AKRON and KENT, Ohio -- There were no real surprises for the Akron Zips or the Kent State Golden Flashes as both programs wrapped up their spring football camps with spring games. For Akron, the first-team Blue defeated the White, 16-7, behind one touchdown and three field goals, two from beyond 50 yards.
For Kent, the first-team Blue defeated the Gold, 31-0, as tailback Trayion Durham (12 carries, 80 yards) scored on a pair of 5-yard touchdown runs and freshman quarterback Colin Reardon made a strong statement with a 17-of-25 performance for 243 yards and a 45-yard TD throw to freshman William Woods out of Shaw.
Defensively, the Blue got four sacks from lineman Nate Terhune, plus a 12-yard TD interception return by defensive lineman Andrew Christopher out of Chardon. But the real focus was on pounding the football with Durham, particularly in the red zone.
"I wanted to make a point, no doubt," coach Paul Haynes said. "I don't care if [the defense] knows what is coming."
At Akron, most of the action was early.
Akron's first offense went 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown on its first possession, but it showed both the Zips' strength and its weakness. The strength was a solid passing game as starter Kyle Pohl (16-of-24, 144 yards 1 TD) completed a pair of third-down passes for the first-team offense, in blue. One pass went for a big first down and the other for a 9-yard touchdown to junior tight end Anthony Ritozza from Kirtland.
But the weakness was glaringly obvious as both pass plays came on third-and-1 and the Zips opted not to run for either, but to throw, indicating little faith, even in the spring, for the offensive line to get the job done, or the tailbacks to make a way out of no way.
Two possessions later, the White team did get a 1-yard touchdown run by junior Marvin Staten (nine carries, 93 yards, one TD) to tie the score, 7-7. After that, the White team threw a pair of interceptions, both picked off by junior defensive back Donte Williams. The Blue team failed to get anything out of the first as a 38-yard field goal attempt by sophomore kicker Robert Stein was wide right. After the second pick, the Blue again failed to get a touchdown, but this time Stein, from Cincinnati, knocked through a 19-yard field goal for a 10-7 Blue lead.
The scoring remained that way until the end of the half, when Stein booted a 58-yard field goal with two seconds remaining for a 13-7 lead for the Blue. Just to prove that was no fluke, the first score in the second half came on a 54-yard field goal from Stein to make it 16-7, Blue. And that proved to be the final score.
The missing link: While Akron coach Terry Bowden said his team is better now than last spring, and better at doing the basic fundamental things, one thing is missing.
"We still lack that big-play capability," he said.
On the hunt: Bowden made it clear after the spring game the Zips are not done adding faces. He said there will be "eight to 10" new faces coming by fall camps, either transfers, fifth-year players and/or JC transfers.
"We need more depth, quickly," Bowden said. And while he could not name names, he said there would be players coming to anchor both the offensive and defensive lines. "A couple of BCS transfers that have played are coming in," he said.
On the hunt II: Bowden has also made it clear since arriving last season he would welcome fifth-year transfers, and proved it with one-year quarterback Dalton Williams, who started his one season with the Zips. Bowden made it clear after Saturday's scrimmage he will gladly take a fifth-year quarterback again, even though he has praised sophomore Kyle Pohl as his No. 1 QB all spring.
"If we had somebody come in, Kyle Pohl needs to prove he can win that position," Bowden said. "He needs competition. He needs to win his position. If we bring someone in, and they can compete and start at that position, Kyle has two more years after that. The thing is, he [a transfer] better be pretty good, because I think Kyle is a pretty good quarterback."
Broadway Brian: The latest New York Jet, offensive tackle Brian Winters out of Kent State, hunkered down in a Cleveland hotel with his girlfriend, waiting to hear his name called for the NFL Draft. No family, just a bottle of water.
"I didn't want any noise or distractions," he said. "It was very stressful. I was edgy."
Winters, who was the cornerstone of a Kent offensive line that produced two 1,000-yard rushers last season, said Jets head coach Rex Ryan had some welcome words for Winters. "We want you to be our guy playing left guard."
Winters said he was welcomed by both the coaches and front office people with the Jets, and was asked "what quarterback do you think should start? I asked them, which one, there are six of them. They are all great quarterbacks, it depends on the scheme. It was an out-there question.
"At first it shocked me they would ask that kind of question. I'm a fan [of Tim Tebow]. Obviously [Mark] Sanchez is a great quarterback. And Geno [Smith] is a great quarterback, too. My dad said, I should have told them Joe Namath."