Hess (officially) gets nod as starting QB

August 22, 2010 at 12:09a.m.

By JOE SCALZO

YOUNGSTOWN

On the first play of Saturday’s scrimmage, YSU redshirt freshman quarterback Kurt Hess found himself backed up inside his own 1 yard line.

It was the type of situation that called for a conservative handoff to sophomore Jamaine Cook, or maybe even a QB sneak.

Instead, he threw deep to a double-covered Dominique Barnes. The pass fell incomplete but it sent a message: Hess — who hasn’t played a meaningful down in almost two years — wasn’t just there to manage the game.

“Kurt will be our guy,” YSU coach Eric Wolford said afterward, officially declaring what’s been an open secret for most of camp. “If we started Kanets [junior Marc Kanetsky], I’d feel good about that too, but right now we’ll give Kurt the handoff and see what happens.”

Hess went 9 of 15 for 112 yards and two TDs and, for the third straight scrimmage of training camp, no interceptions. He looked confident and decisive in YSU’s hurry-up, spread offense.

“He had a pretty good camp leading us,” said Barnes, a preseason all-conference pick who caught two passes for 46 yards and a TD and returned a kickoff for a TD. “He don’t make too many mistakes, he makes the right reads.

“He don’t do too much and he don’t do too little.”

Kanetsky went 5 of 7 for 33 yards, while third-stringer Najee Tyler was 9 of 16 for 93 yards and a TD and true freshman Patrick Angle was 2 of 3 for 15 yards.

Hess entered camp as the de facto starter, having earned the job after a strong spring camp. Although he was a little up and down early on, by the end of the first week it was clear he was again the man to beat.

He embraced the summer competition and said he focused on staying positive, not letting a bad play or a bad practice shake his confidence.

“Since I’ve been here, I wanted to show what I could do and take advantage of the opportunity that’s been given me here at YSU,” said Hess, who attended Dayton Chaminade-Julienne. “Starting at camp, we were all pretty even and we didn’t know how everybody was going to come out.

“It’s real beneficial to you if you come out with the right attitude every day. If you have a bad practice one day, you need to come out with a great attitude the next day and continue to get better.”

True freshman Allen Jones led the running backs with 12 carries for 69 yards and a TD, followed by true freshman Jordan Thompson (five carries, 54 yards, TD) and sophomore Jamaine Cook (five carries, 49 yards).

Defensively, junior cornerback Randy Louis led the team with six tackles, while redshirt freshman defensive end Kyle Sirl had two sacks and junior linebacker Deonta Tate and sophomore linebacker Ethan Slark each forced a fumble.

Although there are still a few positions to be sorted out the depth chart has come into focus over the last few days. Here’s a look at a rough draft, based on Saturday’s starting spots:

Up front, senior left guard Eric Rodemoyer (also a preseason all-conference pick) will be joined by seniors Andrew Radakovich (left tackle), Justin Rechichar (center) and Bobby Coates (right guard) and sophomore D.J. Main (right tackle).

Junior David Rogers and redshirt freshman Carson Sharbaugh are vying at tight end, while junior Ely Ducatel and sophomore Juilian Harrell will join Barnes at receiver.

Cook is the starting tailback with freshman Adaris Bellamy seeming to have the edge as his primary backup, although the Penguins are deep at the position. With senior fullback Kyle Banna out with a finger injury, true freshman Mark Brandenstein got the starting nod on Saturday.

Defensively, seniors Torrance Nicholson and Luke Matelan and juniors Stephen Meadows and Andrew Johnson started on the line, with Tate and John Sasson joining sophomore Will Shaw at linebacker. Senior Brandian Ross and Louis started at corner with senior Andre Elliott at safety. At the other safety spot, senior Nick Gooden split time with true freshman Donald D’Alesio.

“We’re getting pretty close,” Wolford said of his depth chart. “We feel pretty good about what we’re doing with the majority of the offensive positions.

“There’s a couple spots open on defense and couple on special teams.

With camp over, the Penguins will spend the next two weeks preparing for their Sept. 4 opener at Penn State.

“I would obviously like to be a little bit better, but I feel good about where we are,” said Wolford. “I feel good about where we’re headed.”