Concerns exist for Penguins

OK, so it probably wasn’t the greatest performance by a Youngstown State football team against a not-so-great opponent, but it was still a pretty good effort by the Penguins on Saturday.

The 42-6 win over Stony Brook University didn’t sit all that well with Coach Jon Heacock, but the Penguins gave the 14,000-plus fans something to cheer about.

OK, so senior quarterback Tom Zetts didn’t have his best game; in fact, he had six bad passes in his first 10 attempts and one was intercepted.

But when he needed to, he came through. Throwing to junior Ferlando Williams certainly doesn’t hurt because every time he gets his hands on the football he’s a threat to go all the way.

Williams has always been a quarterback, first in high school and then at Georgia Military Academy. But he was recruited by the Penguins as an athlete and the hopes were that he would be a great receiver for Zetts.

That part is still true, but when sophomore quarterback Todd Rowen suffered his second leg injury in two years, the Penguins were forced to move Williams into the backup position. The main reason is that the other three quarterbacks are true freshmen.

Williams made friends
when spotlight hit

Williams made his first appearance before the area media following Saturday’s game and he was an instant hit.

“Hi, how are all you guys? I never thought it would be this long before I got to meet you all,” Williams opened.

“Preparing for two position is not easy, but it is something that I’ve been doing for a long time and I’ll get it done here also,” he said.

The toughest things are the meetings.

“I get up at 7 and go to a meeting with Coach [Brian] Wright and the quarterbacks. Then I go to class and come back in the afternoon and meet with Coach [Dave] Elliot and the wide receivers,” he said.

Williams said what he really wants to do is return kicks.

“I’ve been waiting all season for them to put me back there. I’d love that,” he said.

Williams isn’t the only bright spot on offense as the Penguins are suddenly overflowing with running backs.

Sophomore Jabari Scott continues to hold the top spot, but Saturday during the first two games this year, scored a pair of touchdowns.

They’ve also got a couple of other prospects in junior Brandon Nicholson and redshirt freshman Jordan Edwards.

Another opponent
found it hard to run

Defensively the Penguins have been outstanding against the run, allowing just 96 yards on 31 attempts against the Seawolves.

But Stony Brook was able to move the ball through the air against the Penguins, gaining 200 yards. However, YSU did intercept four passes, sack the quarterback once and force five hurried throws.

This week, the Penguins will be in action against Lock Haven, a Division II team that has lost three straight and is probably no where near as good as Stony Brook.

The interesting part of this week’s matchup is that the coach of the Bald Eagles is John Klacik, who spent many seasons as an assistant coach at YSU and was Heacock’s offensive coordinator until leaving for his first head coaching position.

The matchup should give the Penguins plenty of opportunities to iron out some of the problems that Heacock has been concerned about. It also should enable the staff to take a good look at some of its backup performers and get them some playing time.

It also will be the final tuneup before the Penguins open play in the Gateway Football Conference. That opener will be Sept. 29 at home against Missouri State in a 6 p.m. kickoff.

Following the Missouri State game, the Penguins go back on the road for the first time since the opener when they play at Southern Illinois.

The Penguins are definitely not playing well enough to handle the top teams in the Gateway and they don’t have a lot of time before they’ll have to be.

Stony Brook and Lock Haven are a long way from Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Illinois State — not just in miles — and that’s probably is the biggest concern Heacock has right now.

XPete Mollica covers YSU athletics for The Vindicator. Write to him at mollica@vindy.com.