AKRON, Ohio – Inclement weather did not dampen the University of Akron’s two-hour football practice Thursday afternoon in the Athletics Field House.

“Today’s practice was much better than Tuesday,” said head coach J.D. Brookhart. “I thought we had much better energy level and intensity today.”

While Brookhart was upbeat during and after the practice, there could have been cause for concern as the Zips only had one quarterback available for Thursday’s practice. Carlton Jackson and Chris Jacquemain both suffered injuries at the conclusion on Tuesday’s practice, leaving redshirt freshman Sean Hakes the task of taking all the snaps during practice.

“Neither injury to Carlton nor Chris is serious and we expect both back soon,” Brookhart said. “Sean handled the situation well and we as a staff had to make a few adjustments to accommodate having just the one quarterback.”

Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead had this to say about the first six practices:

Overall, how have the first six practices gone?
”I think the kids are striving to achieve some of the goals and expectations we put upon them. We are trying to develop toughness by running the ball, develop discipline and develop attention to detail. For the most part, they are working hard and excited about their opportunities.”

What has been a bright spot so far?

”It all starts up front (with the offensive line) and I think they have done out an outstanding job. He have placed a heavy emphasis on running the ball and we are working hard to get that done.”

What are points of emphasis this spring?
“We need to have consistency in three areas; eliminating turnovers, penalties and missed assignments. We have had steady improvement along that front from practice one-to-six. Today, we did not have a turnover and only had one penalty. We will have to watch the film to see about the missed assignments.”

You have addressed the offensive line, what about the skill positions?
“It is exciting to have three young and talented quarterbacks. They are doing some things really well, but do tend to show their inexperience at times. The running backs and tight ends have had a very strong spring. They are very deep and experienced. The wide receivers are doing a good job toughing it out. We have had some injuries at the position so the others are doing a nice job picking up the slack.”

The Zips will hold its annual spring game on April 15 (Sunday) at 4 pm in the Athletics Field House. Prior to the game, the Zip baseball team will host Central Michigan at 1 pm. All the events of the day – presented by Sky Bank – will be released as details are solidified.