Seventh-year RedHawks coach Chuck Martin expected to have, among others, true sophomore quarterback Brett Gabbert and third-year sophomore offensive right tackle Bennett Clark for their 1 p.m. game on Saturday at Akron.
Both of those players missed the November 10 42-10 loss at Buffalo, which left Miami 1-1 and tied with Ohio for third place in the MAC behind the Bulls and Kent State, who both were 3-0 after winning while the RedHawks and Bobcats were idle because of Ohio’s COVID-19-induced roster problems.
Martin also hoped to have fourth-year junior running back Davion Johnson, fifth-year senior left tackle Tommy Doyle and sophomore defensive tackle Austin Ertl available against the 0-3 Zips. Johnson has missed both Miami games with an injury he sustained during spring practice before it was cancelled due to the pandemic. Doyle and Ertl were knocked out of the Buffalo game.
“If things go well, there’s no doubt Davion will be back,” Martin said during a Zoom media session on Nov. 19. “We hope to get Tommy back, but that’s not for sure. Defensively, we’ve got a shot at getting Ertl back. He wasn’t going to dress against Ohio. I think we’ll get Bennett Clark back, but he’s probably not going to be 100 percent for the rest of the year. We’ll definitely get Brett back. He was probably going to tee it up against Ohio.”
Akron goes into Saturday’s game on a 20-game losing streak, but like most coaches, Martin isn’t taking lightly the Zips, whose offense has been bolstered by the addition of 5-foot-11, 205-pound junior running back Teon Dillard, a Lake City, Fla., native and transfer from Independence Community College. Dillard gained 202 yards and scored four touchdowns in Akron’s 69-35 loss at Kent State on November 17.
“We’ve watched a lot of tape on the Zips,” Martin said. “They’re much improved. They’ve got a transfer running back who’s big and strong and fast. He’s a really good inside runner who’s tough to get to the ground. I haven’t seen a defensive back get him on the ground all year. We’ve got to keep him bottled up.”
Martin also sees Akron redshirt freshman quarterback Zach Gibson as a rising MAC star.
“He’s a playmaker who never gives up on plays,” Martin said. “They run a ton of (run-pass options). He’s done a good job of stepping up in the pocket, and he made a couple of big plays on third down against Kent State. You can see his competitive spirit on tape.
“The defense did not play well on (Nov. 17). They had some guys out you’re used to seeing play – some solid MAC guys. They struggled to get some stops. They struggled to get their footing defensively.”
TODAY’S GAME
Miami at Akron, 1 p.m., ESPN3, 980, 1450
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