Penguins better be on toes at Horseshoe

By Pete Mollica

Ohio State’s Jim Tressel is aware of Youngstown’s new spread offense, but that doesn’t mean YSU will confound the master of game preparation, personnel and clock management.

YOUNGSTOWN — A year ago in Ohio State’s first meeting with Youngstown State, the Buckeyes walked away with a 38-6 victory and the Penguins walked away with a lot of pride.

The Buckeyes weren’t overly impressive against the Penguins, who held them to just 147 yards rushing and just 46 yards on 16 carries for touted running back Chris “Beanie” Wells.

But still the Buckeyes went on to post an 11-1 regular season record and capture their third straight Big Ten championship before losing in the BCS national championship game to LSU, 38-24.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, now in his eighth season, spent 15 years as the coach of the Penguins, winning four national championships in Division I-AA, before joining the Buckeyes.

Last year’s game was a very emotional one for Tressel. His second go-round might not be less emotional but a little different.

“I think the first time you do anything, it’s a little bit different, and especially something as emotional as playing against somewhere where you were for 15 years, it’s still a little bit different.” Tressel said.

“You’re sitting there last night watching the same field that you used to watch for 15 years before and you wonder if you’re Ground Hog’s Day or whatever. So it’s a little different, but not totally different than a year ago,” he added.

“As far as what do we see from their team, they’re a physical bunch, just like we told our guys going into last year’s game, their defense is going to fill up the box and they’re going to dare you to run and you’re going to have to handle more guys being there than you can conceivably block, and if you’re going to beat them, you’re going to have to throw,” he continued.

“Offensively, we gather that they’ve gone to a new spread offense, so it’s a little bit of a guessing game for us. We really don’t know what they’re going to be doing because there’s a whole bunch of different kinds of spread. There’s spreads where the pass is primary. There are spreads where the run is primary and there are spreads where you do it all. So we’re preparing as if they can do it all.

While last year the Buckeyes came into the opener young and inexperienced, this year’s team is just the opposite.

The Buckeyes have 18 starters returning from last season, including all of their skilled positions and they have depth at every position.

Wells, the 6-foot-1, 237-pound tailback, is a Heisman Trophy contender and despite his poor performance last year against the Penguins, Tressel feels a whole different Wells will show up Saturday.

“I think Beanie, if you go back and look at that game, he was so anxious. Every time he got the ball he wanted to just go run for a touchdown and probably didn’t have his eyes on the task of how things were unfolding and the blocking scheme and he just wanted to go because he was so excited. What you saw as the season developed was a more patient back, a back who knew more about the schemes,” Tressel said.

“He can stand in the I-back now and he can visualize how it’s going to be blocked because he’s seen a lot of the different looks. He’s had a lot more carries. And as a person, I think he’s done a very good job with — obviously there’s a lot more attention paid to him today than there was a year ago today, yet I think he’s done a good job keeping his eyes on the task at hand.”

When Wells, who rushed for 1,609 yards on 378 carries and 22 touchdowns, isn’t running the football, senior quarterback Todd Boeckman will be throwing it.

Last year, his first as a starter, he was 191-of-299 for 2,379 yards and 26 touchdowns with 14 interceptions. He was 17-of-23 for 225 yards and two TDs against the Penguins.

He’s also got some great receivers, led by senior Brian Robiskie, who had 55 receptions for 935 yards and 11 touchdowns, and an offensive line that is as big as a mountain, led by senior tackle Alex Boone (6-8, 315).

The defense is led by 2007 Butkus Award winner James Laurinaitis (6-3, 240), a senior linebacker who had 121 tackles, including nine for losses, and five sacks.

Former Warren Harding standout Dan “Boom” Herron, a redshirt freshman, is expected to see action Saturday, both in the backfield, where he’s listed right behind Wells on the depth chart and in returning kickoffs.

One other area player on the depth chart is former Hubbard High standout Shaun Lane, the older brother of YSU starting fullback Ben Lane.

Lane is listed as the backup cornerback in the Buckeyes’ secondary.

mollica@vindy.com