Passion powers Wolford’s method

Eric Wolford

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YSU's new head football coach Eric Wolford addresses the press and public Tuesday afternoon.

The new YSU football coach doesn’t back away from recruiting challenges.

By JOE SCALZO

Vindicator sports staff

As an offensive line coach at the University of Illinois from 2007-08, Eric Wolford was part of a staff that wasn’t afraid to go head-to-head with Ohio State for a player, even when that player was on the Buckeyes’ home turf.

YSU fans can expect that same fearlessness from Wolford — albeit on a smaller level — when it comes to recruiting for the Penguins.

“Wolford is not going to take a kid off the board just because the [Mid-American Conference] schools are offering him,” said Mark Porter, a Canfield native who runs the recruiting Web site ScoutingOhio.com. “When he was at Illinois and Ohio State offered a kid, that meant Illinois just had to go after him harder.”

Soon after Wolford was hired last month, Porter sat down with him to go over film of some of the top recruits in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. The first thing he wanted to see was tape of players being recruited by MAC schools.

“He wants kids at least that good,” said Porter.

As of Friday, Wolford had only officially offered four players. But much of that was due to Wolford’s reluctance to offer a scholarship to a player before his coaching staff has been finalized. Wolford wants to make sure his staff likes a player as much as he does, Porter said.

“Without giving too much away, Eric’s a tough grader,” said Porter. “A lot of times, he’d see a player [a MAC school offered] and he’d be like, ‘Are you kidding me? They offered this kid?’”

Wolford’s speciality is offensive lineman and Porter remembers seeing Wolford watch five or six plays from a certain player and saying, “Stop the tape.”

“He’s say, ‘His arms or too short’ or ‘His ankles aren’t flexible enough,’” Porter recalled.

In a meeting with reporters on Friday, Wolford admitted it’s tough to go from recruiting the Southeastern Conference for South Carolina to recruiting for a I-AA school in northeast Ohio.

“You saw Alabama play [Thursday] night,” he said. “I had a chance to live that deal firsthand, so it’s been a little bit of an adjustment for me, as far as watching the talent.

“But I still see a lot of good football players and I can still see the niche that Youngstown can be.”

Although there’s no one overwhelming trait Wolford was looking for, Porter said there were a few characteristics that stuck out.

- Grades were important.

“I didn’t show him any dummies,” said Porter.

That said, Wolford might be willing to take a risk on a kid if he’s a special talent. Especially if it’s a local player who has a big-time offer (and there are a few in this year’s senior class) who doesn’t qualify academically.

- Attitude was important.

Wolford liked players who didn’t back down on film. He doesn’t necessarily want dirty players, but he likes guys who play with an edge, Porter said. A good example is Mooney senior DB Donald D’Alesio, who doesn’t have ideal size or athleticism but doesn’t back down. Another is Columbus Northland DT Quentin Jones, who is only 6-foot, 305 but makes the most of his ability.

“When you put on the tape, [Jones] really gets off the ball and he’s mean and nasty,” Porter said. “The one type of player he looked for was the tough overachiever, because that’s what he is.

“If you have a lot of spunk and toughness, he might not worry if you’re two inches undersized.”

- Transfers could be important.

Don’t look for Wolford to add a lot of junior college players, but like Jim Tressel did at YSU, Wolford will be in contact with talented players who might be unhappy with their situations at Division I programs.

Wolford admitted as much to reporters, but emphasized it has to be the right transfer. He won’t take someone just because he played at a Division I school.

Porter expects Wolford to concentrate his efforts on the Youngstown area this year, which may result in a smaller recruiting class. Wolford expected to sign between 22-25 players, which is optimistic considering he’ll be finalizing his staff just a few weeks before signing day.

If the class is small, it won’t be for a lack of effort. Wolford has already visited more than 50 schools in Ohio and western Pennsylvania and is averaging 800 miles per week on his car just for recruiting.

With an entirely new staff — Wolford said he hopes to finalize his staff within two weeks — and a new system, it’s possible the Penguins could lose some players in the spring and summer.

In fact, Porter expects as much.

“He’s still evaluating a lot of the guys on his team — and not just on last year’s tape, but also in spring ball,” Porter said. “He’s going to bust those guys up and I’m sure spring ball will have some thinning of the herd.

“If you’re not a tough son-of-a-[gun] and you don’t like getting up at 5:30 to work, he’ll know in a hurry.”

scalzo@vindy.com