Penguins’ Kishman eyes more line duty

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State offensive tackle Matt Kishman is looking forward to his senior football season with the Penguins.

Kishman, a 6-3, 280-pounder from Minerva, has served mainly in a reserved role the past three seasons and is looking forward to seeing some considerable playing time on the YSU offensive line this fall.

Kishman has been getting even more than his share of work this week, the first week of fall practice for the Penguins.

One reason is that senior tackle Tyler Booth and senior guard Josh Tanner are both recovering from injuries and haven’t been doing much practicing yet this fall.

“Things have been going pretty well,” Kishman said. “We are only three days into the camp and we haven’t been doing all that much, but things seem to be coming around on the line.”

“We should be getting Booth back in a couple of weeks and Tanner should be back soon, and we really need both of those guys up front,” he added.

“Some younger guys have been getting some additional reps while they are out which will only help, but we still need a healthy Tyler and Josh back in the lineup.”

Hasn’t played a lot

Kishman, who had a great spring session and worked hard over the summer, hasn’t seen a lot of action for the Penguins.

He played in five games last season, three as a sophomore and three as a redshirt freshman. He had his most playing time last year at Penn State.

“We had a great summer, most of the guys were here, some of us came twice a day and it has shown in the workouts to date. Most everybody is in good shape,” he said.

This summer, Kishman also had a new experience in the sports world working as a summer intern for WYTV Channel 33 in the sports department.

“It was really different and I enjoyed it,” Kishman said. “You got to see what goes on from both sides of the camera.”

“I really took the internship just for a class and the grade, but once I got involved I really got into it and it really is something that I might consider after graduation,” he added.

Another hot practice

Wednesday, the Penguins again worked out in 90-degree temperatures and head coach Jon Heacock has been pleased with the team’s performance.

“We’re still just running around in helmets, but we’ve seen some good things from the younger kids and the veterans are looking good also,” he said.

“We have to be careful what we do in this heat and we have plenty of water available at all times, but the kids came in pretty good shape and they are handling the heat well,” Heacock said.

The Penguins will have a day off from practice today, but will meet for the annual photo day from 4 to 6 p.m. at Stambaugh.

“We’ll have meetings throughout the day and the kids will be going over all the NCAA regulations,” Heacock added.

The Penguins will practice in full pads on Friday and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. before taking Sunday off. They will return Monday for their first two-a-day session at 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

mollica@vindy.com