DEFENSIVE MANEUVERS The Penguins believe it’s what’s up front that counts.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — A year ago, some of the key plays made by the Youngstown State defense came from its defensive front line.

The Penguins lost just one starter off that front line and this year the unit is expected to be one of the strengths of the defense.

Senior Blake Halverson was part of that unit a year ago and the 6-3, 240 pound defensive end played in all 14 games, starting six.

He returns with All-Gateway Conference junior Mychal Savage and senior Greg Jacobs, although Jacobs has missed the first week of practice taking care of family matters back in Virginia.

“I talked to Greg this week and he said he would be in camp tonight [Monday],” Halverson said.

Halverson, a native of Palm Harbor, Fla., is a fifth-year senior and is expecting big things from the defense again this year.

“We’ve got some experience, but we also have a lot of hard-working young guys who are really picking up the system quickly,” he added.

New coordinator

The Penguins brought in new defensive coordinator Jeff Mills last spring and he made some changes in the defense.

But Halverson says that everybody has pretty much adjusted to the new system now.

“Most of it was just a change in terminology,” he said. “We really like the changes and feel that it is only going to help to make us better.”

Halverson says that the defense might just be a hair ahead of the offense during the game.

“The O-line has a few injuries and once they get everybody back I think that we’ll have two very balanced lines this season,” he said.

He also feels confident that the defense will be holding up its share of the load this season.

“With all the new techniques and stuff that Coach Mills has added, we should be even better than last year,” he said.

Halverson came to the Penguins in 2003 out of Keswick Christ High School and was the first student-athlete from that school to earn a Division I football scholarship.

So far

He was redshirted his first season and played sparingly as a red-shirt freshman in 2004. He appeared in seven games as a sophomore, including 31 plays against the University of Pittsburgh.

Last season, he moved into the rotation and finished with 16 tackles, nine solos, two pass breakups and two tackles for losses.

“Being a senior you know that you know have to also be a leader,” he said. “I’ve spent the last three years looking up to the seniors ahead of me. Now I’ve got guys looking up to me and it’s a whole different role, but one I like.”

The Penguins held their first two-a-day session on Monday, holding a 40-minute scrimmage in the morning session.

“We went at it pretty good for about 35-40 minutes,” head coach John Heacock said. “There were a lot of good hits and some good plays and we came out of it without any injuries.”

The Penguins are without sophomore backup quarterback Todd Rowan, who has injured his leg and may miss a week or two of practice.

That leaves the Penguins with three freshmen quarterbacks to back up senior starter Tom Zetts.

YSU will hold a single workout today at 2:30 p.m. and then go back to two-a-days on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

mollica@vindy.com