Behind Enemy Lines: Akron Zips

With Temple's 2023 season opener against Akron just days away, OwlScoop.com spoke with Perry McCarty, a writer for Rivals' GamecockScoop and an Ohio native, to get an in-depth breakdown of what to expect from Joe Moorhead's Zips program.

OwlScoop.com: DJ Irons is back for another year at quarterback but has also faced competition from Virginia Tech transfer Tahj Bullock. The last time Temple played Akron, Irons was in his first year and didn’t performed particularly well. How have you seen his game improve since 2021 and is the expectation still that he’ll be the man under center against the Owls or has Bullock done enough to take snaps away from the incumbent starter?

McCarty: Irons is QB1 heading into the 2023 season. Joe Moorhead gave Irons high praise by saying Irons played as well as any first year quarterback in his system. Irons’ biggest flaws last year hinged on either holding onto the ball too long or giving up on the play downfield once he started to scramble. On the bright side, Irons has a big arm, can make most throws, and has the ability to collect chunks of yardage with his legs. He has the respect of his teammates and was voted as one of the team captains.

There is a lot of excitement around Tahj Bullock and he may see the field in situational packages. Bullock is a load as a runner and has a quicker release than Irons when throwing the ball. If for whatever reason Irons struggles, Bullock will have his opportunity to guide the team.

OwlScoop.com: Losing Shocky Jacques-Louis obviously hurt but LSU transfer Alex Adams and Penn State transfer Daniel George also had big 2022 and appear poised to make up arguably the MAC’s best receiving duo in 2023. What should Temple fans expect out of that duo on Saturday?

McCarty: The wide receiver position is deep and considered the strength of the team. Zips relied heavily on Jacques-Louis early in 2022, but as the season progressed Adams and George took on a larger role. Adams plays out of the slot and is one of the most explosive players in the MAC, while George is a bigger receiver that plays on the outside and was a former 4 star recruit. Adams is a consensus 1st Team All-MAC selection and George has been voted either 3rd or 4th Team All-MAC by most preseason publications.

Redshirt sophomore Jasaiah Gathings will fill Jacques-Louis’s spot and will be backed by former JUCO Caleb Anderson. Neither player is well known at the moment, but both have plenty of athleticism and the ability to win their fair share of 50/50 balls. Freshmen Paul Davis, Adrian Norton, and Jean Louis may work their way into action as well. Coach Moorhead favors 11 personnel, so three receivers are often on the field together. Another note is how often the offense uses the running backs as receivers. Keep an eye on how they are used to pick up yardage on short outs and also leaked down the middle of the field if the defense is caught with poor eye placement.

OwlScoop.com: Similarly to Temple, Akron struggled to run the ball last year. Leading rusher Cam Wiley is back in the portal but the Zips did add two formerly heralded recruits in Florida transfer Lorenzo Lingard and Arizona transfer Drake Anderson. How do you expect Akron’s ground game to shape up in 2023?

McCarty: Joe Moorhead wants to run the football. He’s well known for his prolific offenses and his best ones had a strong rushing attack. A challenge most turnaround situations face is along the lines of scrimmage and that was no different for Akron. The offensive line struggled to open holes for the running backs and also keep Irons upright. It took several games for the best combination of players to be found and even then, the whole of the OL was still not up to standard. A number of offensive linemen were shown the door and 7 new faces were brought in (4 portal, 3 freshmen).

The idea is with another year in the system, along with some talent upgrades at RB and OL, will bring improved results. Offensive line coach Joel Rodriguez was with Joe Moorhead at Fordham when they engineered an impressive turnaround and made Fordham into an FCS powerhouse.

OwlScoop.com: At least from the outside looking in, the expectation seems to be that Akron is going to be able to score points, which makes a lot of sense when you consider Joe Moorhead’s offensive success at Penn State and Mississippi State. But the Zips were also No. 118 in the nation in scoring defense at 33.5 points allowed per game. Have you seen enough improvement on that side of the ball to reasonably expect that the Akron defense will be able to keep up with its offensive counterpart?

McCarty: It’s hard to believe, but Akron actually improved the run defense by nearly 140 yards per game vs the previous season. However, that can still improve by a good amount. Zips struggled mightily with creating pressure on opposing quarterbacks, while cornerback play also struggled. Some of that goes hand in hand, but upgrades were needed. The secondary should be a strength in 2023, (in particular the safeties) and there is a chance all of the starting DBs will be former P5 players.

Linebacker depth was a major issue outside of All-MAC 1st teammer Bubba Arslanian. Now the linebacker room actually looks like a collection of FBS football players. They will be inexperienced and/or young, albeit athletic and physical. The defensive line is where most questions remain. The Zips brought in 11 new defensive linemen (3 portal, 5 JUCO, 3 freshmen). There is no doubt the athleticism, size, and length has been increased up front.

And while the sentiment is the DL will be better in 2023, there are no guarantees with so many new faces. Defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar favors a 3-4 scheme with a “Nickel” and did not have the horses to effectively run much of what he wanted last season. Now that he has a more diverse group to choose from, the defense will likely show some looks that were not seen in 2022.

OwlScoop.com: Akron hasn’t won a non-conference road game since 2018. What are your expectations for Saturday’s game and, bigger picture, for this year’s team as a whole? Is the program close to competing for bowl eligibility or is the rebuild still in its infant stages?

McCarty: Honestly, I’d be shocked if the Zips didn’t win at least 6 regular season games and become a bowl game participant. I actually expect more than that this year. Akron had trouble closing games out last season losing 5 conference games by a score (7,6,6,3,1) and that was with a roster less talented than their opponents. Multiple staff members have said they did not have 100% buy in from a number of players, hence the high amount of transfers both in and out this offseason. That rhetoric has changed to where there is a quiet confidence throughout the program heading into 2023. A similar level of physicality that Akron closed the year with was seen at the spring game and the amount of quality depth was noticeable. The depth also aligns with Rivals labeling Akron’s 2023 recruiting class as the top comprehensive class in the MAC.

As far as my prediction goes for this game, I expect it to be very close. For the Owl fans hoping for an easy win over Akron, I’m afraid those days are gone. It should be an exciting matchup between two programs that are on the rise.

Follow Perry McCarty at @ItsCoachMcCarty.