Wide receiver Larmon fights through injuries

The Penguins hold their first jersey scrimmage Thursday at 2 p.m.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- If there is one color that Phil Larmon does not want to see this year it's yellow.
Larmon, a junior wide receiver from Worthington, has spent a large part of the last two seasons for the Youngstown State football team on the sidelines injured.
Injured players at YSU wear yellow practice jerseys.
Larmon came to YSU in 2000 and was redshirted. In 2001 he earned his first varsity letter, playing in 10 games and catching 10 passes for 96 yards, but was hampered off and on all season with a shoulder injury.
Last year the 6-foot, 181-pounder was expected to be one of the top wide receivers on the team, but a hamstring injury set him back in fall workouts and he didn't get to play in the season opener.
First career TD
The hamstring bothered him most of the season, but he still caught nine passes for 107 yards, including his first career touchdown pass, a 10-yarder against Southwest Missouri State.
He sat out spring football practice nursing the hamstring, but he's healthy for the first time in two years and looking for a big season with the Penguins.
"I just need to stay healthy," Larmon said. "I feel great right now and I worked very hard this summer in the weight room. All my numbers were up in all areas."
Larmon is excited about the group of wide receivers the Penguins brought to camp.
"We're a little young there, but everyone is working hard on the basics so that we do what we do well," he said. "We've always been able to run the ball here, but last year we struggled with the passing game."
Larmon feels that the team has the quarterbacks to do the job this year.
"[Aaron] Marshall is No. 1 and I've noticed a big difference in him this season from last year," he said.
"I can remember between by freshman and sophomore year that there was a big change for me," he continued. "All of sudden you can see the coverage more clearly and the routes seem to open up.
"I've noticed that [Marshall] has a lot more confidence this year in the huddle.
Larmon is also enthused by the upbeat attitude, which has translated into better workouts.
More depth
"We've got a lot more depth at wide receiver this year and that really helps," he said. "Last year during two-a-days we had only three or four healthy receivers and this year there are 11.
"Our summer workouts went very well and we had as many as 60 players showing up for them. When you get that many people around during the summer it's nothing but good for the program."
The Penguins held their second two-a-day workout on Monday, going with full pads in the morning session and then working in shells [helmets and shoulder pads] in the evening.
Today's workout, scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. will also be in full gear. The Penguins will hold another two-a-day session on Wednesday and then will hold its first jersey scrimmage of the year Thursday at 2 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.
mollica@vindy.com