Bubba Arslanian ready for - maybe - his last season with University of Akron football

Bubba’s back.

After a record-setting 2022 season that saw him gain national recognition for his accolades as a starting linebacker on Akron's football team, redshirt senior Bubba Arslanian is set to return to the Zips for a seventh season.

No one at InfoCision Stadium seems to mind.

“We’re gonna keep petitioning for extra years of eligibility until they tell us no,” said Akron coach Joe Moorhead, laughing. “Hopefully we can get him up to 10 years.”

Arslanian enters the 2023 season fresh off one of the best season’s in Akron defensive history, as the Aurora graduate led the Zips in tackles (387) along with leading the Mid-American Conference in assisted tackles (44) and finishing fourth in the NCAA in average total tackles per game (11).

Those numbers helped Arslanian become a 2022 Honorable Mention All-America by Phil Steele, along with being named to the Phil Steele All-Mid-American-Conference First Team. He became the first Zip to earn All-America laurels since Jabari Arthur in 2007.

“The honors are really rewarding,” Arslanian said. “I’ve been playing football for 21 years, and have put in a lot of hard work to get to this point.”

While at Aurora, Bubba Arslanian was so good at linebacker he had a play named for him

The first 14 years of his football life came at Aurora, where he quickly stood out in the city’s youth leagues. After playing on the freshman team his first year with the Greenmen,  Arslanian was called up to the varsity squad two games into his sophomore year. The rest is history. 

“He was a three-year starter for us,” said Aurora coach Bob Mihalik. “He’s just one of those natural athletes where coaching him is really just getting the heck out of the way and trying not to screw it up.”

A three-sport athlete, Arslanian also wrestled (where he made the state tournament at 182 pounds in 2016) and played baseball, where he was named second-team All-District his senior year. But his main focus was always football, where he played running back, linebacker and even did some long snapping.

Arslanian had a stellar senior season for Aurora, recording 137 tackles, 61 solos, six quarterback hurries, three sacks, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery on a team that won the outright Suburban League American Division Championship. During that senior season, Mihalik installed a blitz package specifically for Arslanian (aptly titled Bubba) that had Arslanian loop out to attack the edge from his inside linebacker position.

“It’s still in our playbook, but we don’t do it as much anymore because we don't have guys that can do that,” Mihalik said.

Two months after that season ended, Arslanian committed to the Zips.

“Not only was Bubba our most talented player, he was also our hardest worker,” Mihalik said. “Sometimes the culture of your program can get in trouble if the best player doesn’t work hard, but that never happened with us.”

Arslanian’s work ethic carried over Akron, even if it didn't always result in success on the field. In 2017, Arslanian redshirted, soaking up all he could from an Akron team that won the MAC East and lost to Florida Atlantic in the Boca Raton bowl. 

Akron Zips have struggled for wins in Bubba Arslanian's career

Then the setbacks started. In 2018, Arslanian started in 12 games, but only recorded 10 tackles and the Zips finished the season on a four-game losing streak that cost coach Terry Bowden his job. The next season, Arslanian tallied 125 tackles, but the Zips went 0-12. A year later, the COVID-19 pandemic limited the Zips to a six games season. In 2021, Arslanian lost another coach when Tom Arth was dismissed after a 2-10 season in which Arslanian only played five games.

That’s where Moorhead comes in. A former Akron offensive coordinator, Moorhead took over Akron’s program last offseason following a stint as Oregon’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

When Arslanian first stepped onto Akron’s campus in the summer of 2017, Moorhead was working as Penn State’s offensive coordinator and was four months away from being named the head coach at Mississippi State. Now, the duo is working to put together a 2023 season that will live on in Akron football lore.

“The tools are there,” Arslanian said. “Coach Moorhead does a hell of a job organizing the team and I think we’re in a great position.”

While the Zips' 2-10 record last season left a lot to be desired, both Moorhead and Arslanian pointed toward the progress the team made. After being essentially non-competitive for three years, the Zips were in almost every game they played in, as evidenced by five of seven MAC losses being one-point losses. Their best game of the season came in November when they traveled to DeKalb, Ill., and blew out Northern Illinois 44-12 in a game where Arslanian finished with nine tackles.

“Bobby Bowden once said that the steps to bring back a program were to lose big, lose small, win small, win big,” Moorhead said. “This offseason we’ve focused on our ability to finish games in the fourth quarter.”

Moorhead’s influence was visible off the field as well, as the Zips had 30 NFL teams visit their facility during the season, something Arslanian attributes to his coach’s reputation.

“Coach Moorhead’s been around the game a long time and has earned a lot of respect,” Arslaian said.

At this time next year, Arslanian might be taking advantage of those connections to try to position himself for an NFL opportunity. But even if that opportunity doesn’t materialize, he’s still put together one of the best football careers in recent memory in the Akron-area.

“In my college career I’ve had three head coaches, six position coaches, and several other strength coaches so I’ve had to make my own comfort zone,” Arslanian said. “It’s been a heck of a journey.”

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Aurora High graduate Bubba Arslanian will play football for Akron