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YSU chemistry on the rise
Photo
Defender Brandian Ross, left, tackles Jamaine Cook during a recent Youngstown State University scrimmage. Ross is one of the Penguins’ team captains for 2010.
By JOE SCALZO
YOUNGSTOWN
The last scrimmage of training camp had just finished and newly-minted team captains Brandian Ross, Torrance Nicholson and Dominique Barnes were doing their final interviews with redshirt freshman QB Kurt Hess standing a few feet away.
“You need to get your ugly lens for those guys,” receivers coach Phil Long yelled at the TV reporters.
After answering the typical questions about team growth and chemistry, Ross and Nicholson were asked to name their camp highlight. Each broke into a big grin.
“Picking off Kurt Hess,” Ross, a cornerback, said.
“Sacking Kurt Hess,” Nicholson, a defensive tackle, said.
Hess cracked up. During spring camp, Hess roomed with Ross. The two didn’t know each other but they hit it off.
Ever since, Ross has come up to Hess before practice and vows to get an interception, while Hess promises a touchdown. Ross finally got him in a training camp practice.
On Saturday, Hess did something almost as good. Early in the scrimmage, with Ross in man coverage against Barnes, Hess floated a perfect 38-yard pass to the right sideline, hitting Barnes in stride over his shoulder, just beyond Ross’s outstretched fingers.
“That was the highlight of camp,” Barnes said, cackling. “Beating B-Ross deep.”
Added Hess, “He came up to me afterward and said, ‘You threw a perfect ball because I couldn’t get to it.’”
It’s a good sign that Hess — who has never taken a snap in a college game — can make that play. It’s a better one that two senior captains feel comfortable enough to bust his chops over the plays he didn’t make.
That chemistry has been one of the big stories of camp and it’s not limited to the players.
Barnes, for instance, was in the coaches’ doghouse in the spring but has drawn raves this summer, both for his play (which has been terrific) but also for his attitude.
“In the spring, it was all new,” said Barnes, who led the conference in touchdown receptions last fall. “It was change and it took me awhile to get adjusted to it.
“I got adjusted to it and we’re all working together. We’re all one team, one family with the same goal.”
The Penguins went into training camp with 36 new faces and, so far, haven’t had a player leave the team or create a big off-field distraction. In the weeks leading up to camp, YSU coach Eric Wolford preached the need to become a team and not just a collection of players.
According to senior guard Eric Rodemoyer, that’s exactly what happened.
“Right now we’ve got a chance,” he said. “We’ve got a good team going and everyone’s getting close.
“Now we have to fine-tune things and get ready for Penn State.”
Before that happens, here’s a look back at a few highlights from the past 20 practices.
Best performances
When asked to name three or four players who stood out during camp, Wolford cited Ross, Barnes, Hess and junior Stephen Meadows, who started every game last fall only to see sophomore Obinna Ekweremuba get a lot of the first-team practice reps in camp.
By the end, however, Meadows was back in the starting lineup.
“Those are probably the guys [that stick out],” Wolford said.
You could also include YSU’s running backs in this category. Although redshirt freshman Torrian Pace missed much of camp with a hamstring injury, the other four (sophomore Jamaine Cook and true freshmen Adaris Bellamy, Allen Jones and Jordan Thompson).
“We’ve got five guys back there we feel pretty dang good about and that’s a good start,” said Wolford.
Best nickname
Sophomore kicker Jake Smith earned the nickname “Screech” for his resemblance to the nerdy “Saved by the Bell” character played by Dustin Diamond.
Smith said the nickname came from freshman Dan Fernback, who Smith had nicknamed Fred Flintstone. (Smith insists he only got the nickname because he didn’t have time to get a haircut in the past few weeks. When he finally did, a teammate botched it, shaving his sideburns above his ears.)
“They also call me that guy from ‘The Matrix,’ Keanu Reeves,” said Smith, who declined to name his barber. “I don’t think I look like either of them.”
Runners-up: D.J. Moss (Doughboy), Cook (“The Great Pumpkin,” for his round head) and any of the 50 nicknames given to Ekweremuba.
Also, the team calls Wolford “Superman” because of the way he slicks back his hair.
Best quotes
Wolford, on whether he preferred blocking for scatbacks or power backs when he played at Kansas State:
“I liked blocking for guys that make the offensive line look good,” he said. When asked about juking running backs, he said, “I like dancing a little bit, but you better be dancing in the end zone.”
Wolford, on the hottest places he’s coached:
Tucson, Arizona, it’s 110-115 out there,” Wolford said. “Houston was a hot son of a gun, though. I’d wear swimming trunks to practice to try and stay dry.”
Junior QB Marc Kanetsky, on the training camp grind:
“Guys wake up and feel like they’re 75 years old,” he said. “It’s not bad for us [quarterbacks]. Us and the kickers joke around about it in the locker room, saying, ‘This is easy; I don’t know what you guys are talking about’ while the other guys are sitting in the ice baths forever.”
This and that
When asked to name the funniest player on the team, Hess said, “Marc Stevens thinks he is. I’d say [freshman] Zach Larson.” ... Wolford likes to joke with reporters about their hair, clothes ... well, anything. In the midst of one of these conversations, WKBN-TV reporter Joe Aulisio (one of nine kids) admitted his dad cut his kids’ hair with a “Flowbee,” a made-for-TV product that vacuums the hair, then cuts it. “It actually works pretty well,” Aulisio said. ... Pace, who gets teased about his love of fruit (particularly by Carson Sharbaugh), was asked to describe the perfect fruit salad. “It has to have a little of all the fruits,” he said. “Cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and pineapple.” He then tops it with yogurt and granola. ... Eleven Penguins are majoring in general studies, a team-high. There are also 11 players majoring in a business field, with several underclassmen listing it as an “academic interest.”