Quarterback: To lead an offense to success, one needs a wealth of leadership qualities.
Leadership is obtained through experience, and that’s something that Akron starting quarterback Patrick Nicely has little of.

A true freshman, Nicely is the quarterback that the Zips have settled on after quarterback Matt Rodgers went down with an injury against Ohio. In limited time this season, Nicely is completing just over 50 percent of his passes, throwing for one touchdown and two interceptions.

Nicely has little experience both in games and in practice, as he spent the majority of the season practicing with the third team with hopes of being redshirted.

“I think they’ve settled because they pulled a redshirt off of [Nicely],” NIU head coach Jerry Kill said. “Anytime you do that you’re pretty much settled into what you’re going to do.”

GRADE: C-

Wide Receivers: Deryn Bowser is Akron’s leading receiver, and just like his namesake, he can be a beast.

He leads the team in both receiving yards and touchdowns, with 307 and five, respectively. Bowser is one of two Akron receivers with more than 20 catches and 200 yards.
However, Bowser is out for the rest of the season.

After fracturing his fibula at Buffalo, Bowser has been ruled out for the rest of the season. Without the senior wideout, the receiving corps has to be led by Jeremy LaFrance and Jeremy Bruce.

LaFrance and Bruce are the only two Zips, aside from Bowser, who have caught more than 10 passes this season. Neither has caught a touchdown.

Senior Dashan Miller could provide a spark, especially in the return game. The wideout ranks 28th nationally on kickoff returns and has taken one back for a touchdown this season.

GRADE: C-

Running Backs: With a running back system that mirrors NIU’s two-back attack, one could be forgiven for believing that Akron has a productive running game.

Rather, the Zips rank outside of the top 100 teams nationally in rushing offense, and their second leading rusher is quarterback Matt Rodgers.

The quarterback has been hurt since the fifth week of the season.
As a team, Akron has only rushed for 746 yards. Its leading rusher, running back Joe Tuzze, has yet to crack the 200-yard mark for the season.

Rounding out the backfield are freshman tailback DeVoe Torrence and Alex Allen, who has endured season-ending injuries twice in his collegiate career.

“They’ve got a couple running backs that I’ve seen play that can play some football,” NIU linebacker Alex Kube said. “I don’t know if there’s anybody in particular that I’d be like, ‘whoa,’ but they have a lot of good skill players.”

GRADE: C-

Offensive Line: To protect young quarterback Patrick Nicely, Akron’s offensive line needs to improve its play.

The Zips’ line ranks 100th in the nation in sacks allowed, giving up 2.86 per contest. This has led to Akron ranking 103rd and 104th in passing offense and rushing offense, respectively.
But it’s not inexperience that has led to the Zips’ line troubles thus far, as Akron is starting four upperclassmen.

Size isn’t the issue, either, as the lightest starter on the line for Akron is 295-pound center Elliott Bates.

It’s uncertain what the cause of the offensive line’s problems have been up to this point, but its play has to improve if the Zips want to have any success this season.

GRADE: D+

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