YSU roundup | News and notes

Punting problems: YSU coach Eric Wolford has not been happy with his punters in camp, particularly with their directional punting. Sophomore kicker Jake Smith got several reps at that position in Wednesday’s practice. Smith, a transfer from Syracuse, has both a punting and placekicking background and has the strongest leg of any kicker in camp. “We’ve got to get our punting situation squared away right now,” Wolford said. “ We’re not getting the ball placed where we need it. That’s as simple as I can put it. You have a job to put the ball in a certain place on the football field, usually 37 yards away, and we haven’t been doing that.” Senior Erik Johnson, a Boardman High graduate who punted 11 times for a 33.5 yard average last fall, has been battling redshirt freshman Nick Liste (Niles) for the starting job. Ben Nowicki was the team’s punter last fall but graduated. Smith, who missed a 50-yard field goal against Penn State last year, was a first team all-conference punter in high school, averaging 41.8 yards per kick.

Morning malaise: Wolford was unhappy with his team’s effort in Wednesday’s morning session, particularly the offense. “We’re kind of at that point where we can see the end of camp, so we’re kind of looking ahead as players,” he said. “This morning we had to have a little wake-up call but I don’t anticipate that again.” He said the team is looking forward to playing someone else. “It’s time for us to hit someone else,” he said. “That’s pretty much how it is around the country.”

Scrimmage goals: YSU will hold its final scrimmage of fall camp at 4:30 p.m. Saturday as part of “Fan Appreciation Day.” Wolford said his main goal is to stay healthy. “We’re dinged up right now,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of time to recover, though. I want to see good assignment football and disciplined football.”

Looking good: Wolford’s son, Stone, was sporting a “Fear the Penguin” T-shirt at Wednesday’s practice and his daughter, Marlee, wore a bright red YSU cheerleading outfit. “That’s a good-looking girl right there,” Wolford said. “There’s a future cheerleader.”

Joe Scalzo