YSU notebook

Defensive uprising: The story of the week has been YSU’s defense, which has turned up its performance over the past few days after a few lackluster scrimmages. “We’ve grown a lot from the first scrimmage [on Aug. 9],” said senior defensive tackle Torrance Nicholson. “We had a lot of new guys on defense and everybody was learning their responsibilities and what to do. And coach lit a fire under us. We knew we had to be a lot better.” Several Penguins are either playing new positions or are new to the program, so they spent the first few weeks thinking instead of just playing, Nicholson said. “Once you learn what to do, then you can just be athletes out there.” Added YSU coach Eric Wolford, “You can create a lot of things on defense if you’re playing fast.”

Up for grabs: YSU has its final scrimmage of fall camp at 4:30 p.m. today at Stambaugh Stadium. It’s also “Fan Appreciation Day,” with fans invited onto the field afterward to get photos and autographs. Wolford said there are still seven or eight starting positions up for grabs, with another 14-16 in the kicking game. “We’ve got a lot of youth on special teams and it’s going to be interesting to see how they handle live action,” he said.

Just in case: Senior Eric Rodemoyer, a preseason all-conference guard, played some practice reps at center on Friday morning just to get some experience at the position. “I’m a big believer in making sure you have four or five guys who can center the football, especially if you’re a team that does shotgun,” said Wolford. “You always want to make sure you’ve got your five best linemen on the field, so if you have to bring in a new guy at guard or tackle, then you can bump him in there at center if your center is struggling.”

Happy birthday: Junior linebacker John Sasson turned 22 on Friday. Sophomore running back Jamaine Cook turned 19 on Thursday.

Up next: YSU starts classes on Monday. The Penguins open the season at noon on Sept. 4 at Penn State. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and on WKBN-AM (570).

Joe Scalzo