Stops with Buckeyes, Jayhawks don't click

The YSU assistant football coach spoke to the Curbstone Coaches.
& lt;a href=mailto:bassetti@vindy.com & gt;By JOHN BASSETTI & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Ken Conatser said a little more about leaving the University of Kansas than he did about Ohio State, but he said even more about coming full circle.
Full circle would be his recent return to Youngstown State as an assistant coach to Jon Heacock after serving 15 seasons for Jim Tressel.
"Life is a journey, not a destination," Conatser said in explaining his orbit that landed him back where he feels most at home.
He made his comments Monday during an appearance before the Curbstone Coaches' noon luncheon at Lockwood House.
Not the money
"People say, 'How do you leave Ohio State? Leave Jim Tressel?' "
It wasn't the money, he said of his year with the Buckeyes.
"I was in a situation at Ohio State where I loved Jim Tressel and it was a great place, but I had a chance [at Kansas] to do what I really loved to do and that's coach the offensive line."
He's still on good terms with the Ohio State coach and has been invited to work football camps in Columbus.
"My temperament is defense, but my love is with the guys in the trenches."
At Kansas, where he spent the spring, preseason and two games with the Jayhawks, Conatser didn't feel good about what he was doing when he went to work every day.
"When you leave to go do what you love to do [at Kansas] and you don't fit -- hearing comments like 'this is the Big 12, not the Big 10 and it's a lot tougher' -- I'm not going to take it. It wasn't a good fit. They weren't going to win or lose any more games because I was there, so it was the best thing to do, for the kids' sake. I walked away from a good situation, financially, but the kids were the eye of the storm and it was better because it took a lot of heat off the offensive linemen."
Now YSU's defensive ends and special teams coach with an emphasis on the kickers, Conatser appreciates those who care about their own.
Right choice
He cited the benefits of the Curbstoners' selection of Tressel as speaker for its annual football all-star banquets instead of outsiders.
"You don't want to be somewhere you're not wanted," Conatser said. "Every year we went to the banquet, Jim Tressel got to be the speaker. And every year, there were kids who were getting to hear from their hometown coach."
He said Heacock's ascension to head coach was no easy step.
"The toughest job in the country was taking over Youngstown State for Jim Tressel. Recruiting is the essence, so what you [Curbstoners] do for YSU and for Jon Heacock and for the kids of this Valley is a great service."
Some of the players expected to lift the Penguins next fall will be running backs Josh Cayson, Mike Burns and Josiah Doby.
"They're three different types of running backs," Conatser said. "That's going to be tough to defend," he said of the trio, along with newcomer Justin Reams.
He's high on former Boardman High player Shawn Carlson at tight end, kicker Nick Terracina and defensive ends Brandon Brown and Matt Briggs.
"Nobody really recruited them," he said of Brown and Briggs, "but they've grown into good football players and I'm going to be a good coach."
Wild men
The arrival of Jerry Olsavsky as an assistant coach has added much spark to the sidelines.
"He's a maniac. He's wild," said Conatser, who may see a bit of himself in the former Chaney High, University of Pittsburgh and Steelers player. "He appreciates being on the field every day. When he coaches, those kids just love him. He's still playing the game."
Conatser was asked about Maurice Clarett.
He felt that keys to handling the temperamental standout player are Tressel's bond with the former Warren Harding running back, Clarett's one-on-one relationship with former NFL player Tim Spencer and the pressure to perform put on by two other players.
"Lydell Ross and Maurice Hall keep him on his toes. They'll make you work. They want your job."
& lt;a href=mailto:bassetti@vindy.com & gt;bassetti@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;