YSU FOOTBALL Brown is the top 'draft' choice for second time

The White team preferred defense to open the spring game draft.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- For the second straight year Brandon Brown was the first player chosen at the Red and White spring game draft, held Wednesday at the DeBartolo Club.
The White team, which won the coin flip and got the first pick, chose Brown (6-foot-1, 250 pounds), a junior defensive end from Ursuline High.
When it was the Red team's choice to pick first, it took freshman redshirt quarterback Tom Zetts, while junior Aaron Marshall went to the White team.
The draft began with seniors being placed on each team by the coaching staff.
Representation
The White team seniors are linebacker Yancey Marcum, defensive back Mike Bracken, defensive linemen Nate Baston and Matt Briggs, offensive lineman Norris Kennedy and punter Ryan Martino.
The seniors on the Red team are cornerback Herb Jones, defensive lineman Justin Martin, center Coby Hayslett, wide receivers Phil Larmon and Matt Rycraft, tight end Mike Roberts and kicker Nick Terracina.
Terracina and Rycraft handled the rest of the selections for the Red team, while Bracken and Kennedy picked for the White team.
The Red team will also include junior tailback Josh Cayson of Warren JFK, junior fullback Joe Juby and redshirt freshman Vince Gliatta backing up Zetts.
The White team will have transfer sophomore Monquantae Gibson at tailback, with sophomore Demetrius Ison and redshirt freshman Joe Nicholson at fullback. Senior Ryan Wisecarver will back up Marshall at quarterback, and sophomore Joe Bishop will be the kicker.
"We had our list pretty well made out before we went into the draft," said Terracina. "When they took somebody we had next, we just went down to the next player."
"We came out pretty good," said Bracken of his White team. "We kind of stacked up that defensive front."
"I think it's going to be a lot of fun on Friday," added Rycraft. "We're all still teammates, but it's going to be interesting to see what happens on Friday night."
Commissioner Heacock
YSU coach Jon Heacock, who served as the draft commissioner, was pleased with the selections.
"I thought it was interesting just how they selected," he said. "You could see that a lot of time and thought went into the process.
"I thought it was a great choice by the White to go to the defense to open the draft," Heacock added.
Heacock said he has been pleased with the overall progress the team has made this spring.
"The enthusiasm has been the real key this spring, and there has been a lot of hard work involved. This team has grown in all the different areas this spring," he said.
The Penguins held their final workout of the spring Wednesday afternoon, working in helmets and shoulder pads.
The spring event Friday will include all phases of the game -- offense, defense and kicking. There will be two 35-minute continuous clock halves, with a 10-minute halftime.
Three of the four quarterbacks, Zetts, Marshall and Gliatta, will be protected from contact, while Wisecarver will play live.
Long snapper Tanner Dunlap will snap for both teams.
mollica@vindy.com