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Ron Stoops and Rollen Smith adjust to the college game
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Youngstown State assistant football coach Ron Stoops said the transition to coaching college players after so many years in high school is getting easier every day.
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Youngstown State assistant football coach Ron Stoops said the transition to coaching college players after so many years in high school is getting easier every day.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State football coach Eric Wolford vowed to recruit the Mahoning Valley aggressively and snagged two of its top talents in his first few weeks.
They weren’t players, though. They were coaches.
Mooney defensive coordinator Ron Stoops was Wolford’s first hire, taking over the newly-formed position of director of high school operations. He’s also an assistant secondary coach.
Ursuline running backs/cornerbacks coach Rollen Smith was Wolford’s last hire, serving as assistant defensive line coach.
It’s been a smooth transition for both.
“It feels more of the same every day,” said Stoops, who coached at the high school level for the past 28 years, including the last nine at Mooney. “It’s been a really interesting experience and adjustment.”
Stoops is teaming with Mooney High graduate Frank Buffano to coach the secondary, which means he focuses on four positions instead of 11.
“Yeah that’s a little bit different,” said Stoops, who won three state titles coaching at Mooney and advanced to the final five times. “It’s kind of nice, just have to concentrate on my guys and my side of the ball. You concentrate on corners and safeties first and help out where need be when it comes to film and game plans.”
After eight years at Youngstown South, Smith has spent the past 20 at Ursuline. The Wilson High graduate was a standout DB at Arkansas before getting drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 1975 draft. He helped the Irish win back-to-back state titles the past two years.
“I think I can bring some of my experiences to help the D-line,” Smith said. “It starts up front. That relentless attitude. Having a short memory. You make a bad play, the next play have to [move on].
“We’ll get there.”
Stoops, whose three younger brothers are all successful college coaches, said he focuses more on the small details than he did with high schoolers.
“Just trying to do everything a fraction of a second better, quicker, faster,” he said. “That’s just the way the game is and the athletes that you’re playing against. Just more attention to detail to your stance, to your footwork, your alignment.
“There’s a small margin for error.”
Stoops’ job also involves building relationships with area high school coaches, although Wolford and many of his assistants are already known throughout the area.
“It’s a team effort,” he said. “Coach Wolford has built a lot of good relationships with a lot of people around here over a long time and a lot of these other assistants as well.
“As a group we’re making an effort to get a lot of coaches here and get their players here. Make sure that they feel comfortable and know that we’re always available.”