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Dog days of summer
Penguins try to keep cool as temperatures and practices heat up
By JOE SCALZO
YOUNGSTOWN
At the end of Thursday’s practice, as he waited for wide receiver Dominique Barnes to finish his interviews, sophomore running back Jamaine Cook leaned back on a bench inside Stambaugh Stadium with his legs outstretched, his head back and his eyes closed.
“I’m ready to pass out,” he said a few minutes later. “I still think the guys are getting used to [training camp].
“Our legs are kind of dead but everyone around the country is still doing the same thing.”
Welcome to the dog days of summer, when the initial thrill of getting back on the field wears off, the heat and humidity cranks up and the Penguins just try to survive the mental and physical grind of cramming 20 practices into 16 days.
“We’re dragging right now,” said Barnes.
And that was after Practice 8.
“It’s that point where it’s hot out here but it’s hot everywhere,” said fifth-year senior Eric Rodemoyer, a starting guard. “It’s going to be hot on Sept. 4 [against Penn State].
“It’s that point where you’ve got to keep grinding through camp. It’s supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to feel like that, but you’ve got to fight through.”
The Penguins will hold their second two-a-day practice today, then play their first scrimmage of the summer session on Saturday morning. It’s one of three scrimmages planned over the first three weeks of practice leading up to the first day of classes on Aug. 23.
Wolford has challenged his players to maintain their initial intensity but he knows words aren’t always enough. That’s why he’s brought in so many new players since the spring, understanding that having a player breathing down your neck can be more inspiring than a coach doing the same thing.
On Thursday, Wolford moved true freshman Stephen Page (Newton Falls) from defensive line to offensive line, in part because he’s been dissatisfied with the line’s second unit. He also moved true freshman Donald D’Alesio (Mooney) from cornerback to safety and, in a somewhat surprising move, moved redshirt freshman Dan Banna (Canfield) from tailback to linebacker “to kind of solidify things there and help them with special teams.”
Linebacker was supposed to be a position of strength for the Penguins, but when they unexpectedly lost two starters this summer, it created some holes. Banna also struggled to find carries in a backfield that has emerged as one of YSU’s deepest units. Cook, along with freshmen Adaris Bellamy, Jordan Thompson and Allen Jones (Ursuline) have looked good so far and that position will get even better when redshirt freshman Torrian Pace returns from a hamstring injury.
“They’ve exceeded my expectations as far as coming into this fall,” Wolford said of his running backs. “We’re trying to get that way at every position.
“We’ll have to get another recruiting class to be able to have that type of competition. Competition definitely makes you better.”
While Wolford isn’t satisfied with his second-unit talent at most positions — he admitted there’s a drop-off between his starters and backups, in large part because there’s so many young reserves — a few younger players are getting reps simply due to the physical nature of training camp. Penguins such as senior offensive tackle Chris Gammon (left knee), senior guard Bobby Coates (stomach virus), sophomore WR Jelani Berassa (left knee) and junior safety Deionte Williams (left ankle) have all missed practice time in recent days.
But with just over three weeks left until the season-opener against Penn State, the Penguins can’t afford to focus on who isn’t there.
“I feel like we’re progressing greatly every day,” said Cook. “That’s our goal, to get better as an offense and a defense every day.”