Thiessen hoping to reinforce defense

Scott Thiessen is making a good transition into a starting role this season.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Over the years, the Youngstown State football team always has been known for its strong defensive play.
Senior safety Scott Thiessen believes that the same will hold true for the 2003 edition of the Penguins.
"Early this past spring, we weren't too happy with the way the defense was performing," Thiessen said. "We weren't playing up to YSU standards.
"We've come a long way since then, but now we've had some adversity with the injuries and all, but we have to play through those adversities," he added.
Thiessen came to the Penguins a year ago from Modesto (Calif.) Junior College in California, where he was a first-team all-conference selection after making 80 tackles in his sophomore season. He was also an honorable mention All-American and was the team's most valuable defensive player.
Played in all games
The 6-foot-2, 196-pound senior free safety came to YSU and played in all 11 games last season, recording 23 tackles, 11 of them solo hits; and had a career-best seven tackles against Indiana State.
The Penguins lost seven of their 11 starters on defense through graduation last season, including three in the secondary.
But Thiessen saw enough action so it was an easy transition for him to make into a starting role this year.
This year's team also had considerable depth in the defensive secondary.
"We feel very good about the defensive backfield this year," Thiesson said. "We've got some good freshmen who have come in and picked up the defense very quickly. I feel very good about our situation back there."
Offense beats defense
Thursday in the jersey scrimmage, the defense lost to the offense, 44-23, and lost the red practice jerseys for the rest of the season.
"It was tough for some of us," he said. "I know that [for] myself and Sherod [Holmes] it was the first time that we've been in white and it was tough for us to accept last night.
"We knew going into the scrimmage that we had some guys out with injuries, but it was a chance for some others to step up and get some playing time and there were several who did just that," he added.
Leadership role
Thiessen knows that he must assume a new role this season, one of a leader as all the seniors do.
"I have to become more of a leader, not just at my position, but for the entire team," he said. "Senior leadership has always been a key to YSU football success and there's no reason that this year will be any different.
"We're disappointed that we lost that scrimmage, but at the same time there were some people who had to step up and did, so we probably came out of the scrimmage better than we went into it."