Pelini: Character, academics are key

By John Kovach

YOUNGSTOWN — Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini said Monday he plans to emphasize the importance of character and academics when he speaks today at the second session of the eighth annual Cardinal Mooney Football Camp of Champions.

”I plan to tell the campers today about the need at this point in their life to be a good person and represent yourself well and at same time to get good grades,” said Pelini, a graduate of Mooney.

The former Mooney quarterback and Ohio State safety is one of several Valley natives enjoying success as college football coaches, who are participating in the Mooney camp and serving as instructors and/or speakers.

Pelini is headlining the camp staff along with fellow Mooney graduate and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who spoke on Monday.

Bob’s brother, Ron, is the camp director. They are sons of Ron Stoops, former Mooney offensive coordinator.

Pelini, who led Nebraska to a 9-4 record in his first season last year, including a come-from-behind 26-21 Gator Bowl win over Clemson, also emphasizes academics at Nebraska.

Forty-nine of his Cornhuskers each had a 3.0 grade-point average for the 2009 spring semester, including seven who had perfect 4.0 marks.

Pelini also said he wants to tell kids today to experiment with other sports besides football to find out where their talents and interest may lie.

“Kids should play as many sports as possible because they are young and still growing and they should not specialize at this point but should play as many sports as possible,” said Pelini, who also led the Cornhuskers to a tie for first place in the Big 12 Conference North Division regular-season with Missouri, each at 5-3.

Pelini hopes the campers learn something special and enjoy their experience so they come away with a good feeling about football.

“The camp is also about teaching fundamentals to play the game, learning the basics and [having] a good experience so that they will want to keep playing and working,” said Pelini.

Like Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, Pelini has developed into one of the top coaches in the nation, and one of the best defensive minds in the sport.

Pelini’s overall record at Nebraska is 10-4 because as an assistant in 2003 he went 1-0 as interim coach for Nebraska with a win in the Alamo Bowl.

Then he shifted to Oklahoma to serve as co-defensive coordinator for one year under Bob Stoops in 2004, before joining Louisiana State as defensive coordinator from 2005-07.

Pelini said the number of college coaches from Mooney and the area keeps increasing, and that the Mooney camp also serves as a reunion for them.

“It’s nice. Everyone looks forward to it,” said Pelini about the camp. “The fraternity is growing. It comes back to the type of players we have in the area and it is only going to get better.”

Pelini also has an area-flavored coaching staff at Nebraska with three assistants on board, including his brother, Carl, who formerly coached at Austintown Fitch High. The others are Tim Beck (Mooney) and Ross Watson (Fitch).

Beck and Watson also attended the camp Monday.

Other Mooney grads and assistant college coaches on hand were Mark Stoops, Ron’s and Bob’s brother from Arizona; Reno Ferri (Akron) and Frank Colaprete (Georgetown)..

Other college assistants at the camp were D.J. Durkin (Boardman and Stanford), Nick Sicliano (Fitch and Ohio State) and Sean Terlecky (Niles and Mercyhurst).

Bo Pelini also has one area player on the Nebraska team, Tim Marlowe, from Mooney. The coach said Marlowe is showing promise.

“He has a chance to see playing time. He is doing a good job. He had a good spring,” said Pelini.

kovach@vindy.com

SEE ALSO: Camp of Champions.