YSU quickens pace of offense

By Pete Mollica

The Penguins will use a no-huddle attack that will feature several players.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State football team will employ a new offense this season under the direction of offensive coordinator Brian Wright.

Wright, in his eighth season as a YSU assistant coach and fourth as offensive coordinator, is excited about what lies ahead for the Penguins’ offense.

“The whole new concept of the offense this season basically involves the pace at which we will play the game,” said Wright. “We are trying to make it an up-tempo offense, but we also have the option of slowing things down when we need to.”

The big feature will be the no-huddle attack.

“This offense, instead of featuring one guy, will enable us to feature several guys,” Wright said.

As the team heads into its final days of preparation for the season opener, Wright feels very good about the new offense.

“The players are taking this challenge and running with it,” he added. “All of our skilled guys know that they have the opportunity to get the ball almost on every play.”

Wright knows the success of any offense depends upon the guys up front and this year he’s very excited about his offensive line.

“They have worked very hard since last season and sacrificed all summer long to even get better,” he added.

Wright feels the team has some great leaders on the line, led by senior tackle Tyler Booth (6-6, 315) and senior center Brad Samsa (6-3, 275). Both are three-year starters, although Booth returns for a fifth year after missing last season with a knee injury.

One of the big additions this season has been sophomore guard Eric Rodemoyer, a transfer from the University of West Virginia where he started six games last season with the Mountaineers. The 6-2, 305-pounder is a Sharon native and a product of Kennedy Catholic High.

The Penguins have an All-America candidate at tight end in senior Derrick Bush (6-4, 270), a three-year starter. The tight ends will have a different role in the new offense.

“We’ve kind of combined our tight ends and our fullbacks into one position,” Wright said. “We’ve named them the ‘Super Back.’

They will line up out wide, in the backfield and on the line this year and Bush will team up with fullback seniors Ben Lane and Charles Gresham and sophomore Kyle Banna.

Wide receiver is another deep position.

Heading up that group is senior Ferlando Williams (6-0, 205), who led the team in receiving last season and will also see some action out of the backfield again.

Williams is joined by senior Da’Michael Horne (5-11, 185) and junior Aaron Pitts (6-2, 185) along with junior college transfer junior Donald Jones (6-0, 200), who Wright and the entire coaching staff have had high praise for this summer camp.

The Penguins have been banged up at tailback this fall, with last year’s top rusher, senior Kevin Smith, missing most of the camp with a hamstring pull. Junior Dan Brown, a transfer from Iowa this spring, has just returned to action after recovering from a hamstring injury.

The top back in came this fall has been junior Jabari Scott, who has been getting a majority of the reps during scrimmages.

“He’s had a great camp thus far,” added Wright.

Redshirt Freshman Kamryn Keys is another back that has seen a lot of work because of the injuries.

But the big question in the YSU offense is at quarterback and who will step in and take over for four-year starter Tom Zetts.

Junior Todd Rowan (6-3, 215), a LaBrae High product, has been given the job and although he’s been around for two seasons he’s played very little in game competition. He’s thrown only one pass in two seasons, but has been on the field both years as the placement holder for kicker Brian Palmer.

Junior transfer Brandon Summers (6-0, 205) has looked good this fall and will handle the backup duties, while redshirt freshman Paul Corsaro (6-3, 200) will operate behind Summers.

“The quarterback position has been really competitive this fall,” Wright said. “Todd has a really good handle on the offense, while Brandon gives us a whole new dimension to the offense with his running ability.