Palmer to sign today with YSU

Mineral Ridge High kicker Brian Palmer always wanted to be a Penguin.
Palmer has attended Youngstown State football games ever since he was a youngster and someday hoped he could carry on the tradition of the Penguins kickers.
Today that dream becomes a reality.
The 6-foot, 165-pound Palmer, a two-time All-Ohio selection as well as an All-Inter-County League pick, will sign his national letter of intent to join the Penguins. The official signing day is Wednesday, but the NCAA allows players to sign today.
Palmer kicked 24 career field goals for the Rams out of 30 attempts, and averaged 40 yards per punt.
The Penguins return senior kicker Nick Terracina and sophomore punter Joe Bishop, two of the best the school has had in recent years.
Six players give verbal
Palmer is one of six players who have made verbal commitments to the Penguins this year. He and three others are local products.
The Penguins have verbals from two Howland High standouts -- offensive lineman Brad Sampson (6-3, 260), and tight end Chris Kenney (6-3, 240). They also have a verbal from Struthers High standout lineman Justin Decker (6-4, 287).
Two other out of state players have also made commitments to the Penguins. They are offensive lineman Josh Tanner (6-2, 275) from Orlando, Fla., and defensive tackle Ben Suran (6-2, 276) from Negnun, Wis.
The Penguins also have two college transfers already on campus who will participate in spring drills.
They are Vince Gliatta, a transfer from Penn State. The 6-1, 200-pounder is a Canton Central Catholic High graduate and will compete for the starting quarterback position. He will officially be a freshman next season since he was redshirted last year by Penn State.
The other transfer is Monquantae Gibson, a 6-1, 195-pound running back from Kentucky. He played in seven games with the Wildcats last year and rushed six times for 12 yards and a touchdown. He was a redshirt freshman last year and will have three seasons with the Penguins.
Last weekend Youngstown State had a group of recruits on campus, one was Riccardo Valenzuela, a 6-3, 300-pound offensive lineman from a junior college in California. His father is Fernando Valenzuela, the former major league pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers and now a radio and TV broadcaster.
Men on win streak
How about that YSU men's basketball team?
The three straight victories by the Youngstown State men's team has the fans talking positively about the Penguins for a first time in a while.
Now, the three wins are great, but let's take a good look at the three teams the Penguins have defeated to improve to 7-12 this season.
Cleveland State was on a 13-game losing streak when it lost to the Penguins and Loyola (Ill.) was on a seven game losing streak, while IPFW had lost 11 of its last 12 games.
Still, when the Penguins have struggled like they have this year, a three-game win streak against anybody is a good one.
John Robic's team has shown tremendous improvement the last month of the season. They've been in every game and it's been mainly one or two lulls in most of those games that have cost them a victory.
They should be on a four-game winning streak after blowing the game at home with Butler.
At Detroit Thursday
Thursday night they travel to Detroit where they've never won. The Penguins are 1-11 all-time against the Titans and have lost the last eight meetings and are 0-6 in Detroit.
The Penguins do get a break by playing four of their final six games at home in Beeghly Center where they are 6-3 on the year.
XPete Mollica covers YSU athletics for The Vindicator. Write to him at mollica@vindy.com.