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Ready For His Rookie Season
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Taylor Hill at football photo day at YSU.
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Jake Wright, wearing the famed #24 of YSU, tosses a few passes for his dad, Offensive Coach Brian Wright at football photo day at YSU.
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Lenny Wicks poses for his mom, Yvonne, holding his two children, 2-and-a-half old Lenny Jr. and 4-year-old Nevaeh at YSU's football photo day.
Mooney standout Taylor Hill is picking up with the Penguins where he left off with the Wolverines
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN — Taylor Hill didn’t play football last season, the first season he’s missed since he was a little kid, but the former Cardinal Mooney High standout appears to be picking right up where he left off after his senior season with the Cardinals.
Hill joined Youngstown State last January after spending one semester at Michigan, where he was recruited by the out of Mooney.
But Hill never felt that he quite fit in at Michigan so he elected not to play football last season, waiting until he could transfer to YSU.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound freshman linebacker took part in the Penguins’ spring drills and it was obvious from the time he stepped on the field that he was going to be a major addition the program.
“I really had no idea just what was going to happen when I came here, but I knew right away that this was where I really wanted to be,” Hill said. “I feel fortunate that I was able to fit right into the program.”
Now in fall camp, Hill has moved right into a starting outside linebacker position and he’s excited about the prospects for the coming season.
“This team is really coming along,” he said. “There are so many players, younger guys, who got a lot of experience last season because of all the injuries.
“This group is really starting to jell and as long as we keep working hard we are only going to get better,” he continued.
The Penguins are working with three young linebackers — Hill and junior Na’eem Outler on the outside and sophomore Deonta Tate in the middle. Another local freshman, Sylvester Gibbs, could also see some action, as will sophomore John Sasson, once he gets back into action after an offseason injury. Sophomore David Rach of South Range and junior Jordan Edwards are also expected to be in the mix.
Hill said he really loves working with linebacker coach Jerry Olsavsky, the former NFL linebacker who played with the Steelers.
“I love working with Coach ‘O’, he said. “He’s so positive and he’s so easy to work with.”
Another big plus for the defense has been coach Jon Heacock taking over as the defensive coordinator, according to Hill.
“Coach Heacock taking over the defense has really been a big positive for this team,” he said.
In Hill’s three seasons at Cardinal Mooney, the team played in the Division IV state championship game all three years, but won only one of those games, in 2006 when the Cardinals defeated Plain City Jon Elder 26-12. Hill had five tackles in that game.
His sophomore and senior seasons ended with losses to the same team in the title game. The Cardinals were beaten 33-9 in 2005 by Coldwater and again in 2007, 28-27.
In Hill’s three seasons at Mooney, the Cardinals posted a record of 36-4.
The Penguins returned to action today with their first two-a-day practice session at 9:50 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. both at Stambaugh Stadium.