Wolford targets Ohio, Florida

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

Youngstown

YSU football coach Eric Wolford likes to use the old saying about recruiting being like shaving: If you don’t do it every day, you’ll look like a bum.

True to his word, Wolford has been active since February’s signing day, offering scholarships to almost 20 seniors-to-be (and at least one junior-to-be), while hosting several current Division I players looking to transfer.

The Penguins have already offered scholarships to three local standouts: Ursuline running back Akise Teague, Poland wide receiver Darius Patton and Fitch defensive end Steve Zaborsky.

Patton, whose father Shawn was a RB on the Penguins’ 1994 national championship team, also has offers from several Big Ten, Big East and MAC schools, while Teague has an offer from Bowling Green.

Two other Ohioans — Kettering Alter TE Joseph Thuney and Cincinnati LaSalle QB Andrew Kummer — also have offers from the Penguins, who are hosting high schoolers from across the region this week for summer football camps. Hickory offensive lineman Matt Bell, who will be a junior this fall and attended YSU’s offensive line camp, also reportedly got an offer.

Wolford and defensive coordinator Rick Kravitz, a longtime South Florida assistant, have also targeted Florida heavily, offering scholarships to 13 players, most of which hail from the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Wolford’s approach isn’t a huge change from his predecessors — Jim Tressel and Jon Heacock also targeted Ohio and Florida — but he’s targeted higher-profile athletes earlier in the process. And offering a scholarship to a junior-to-be is also new.

YSU will host QB Najee Tyler this weekend, according to a source familiar with the program. Tyler, a 6-foot-5, 235-pounder who has three years of eligibility remaining, is looking to transfer from Purdue after redshirting his freshman year and not seeing action last fall. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native would have been stuck behind Robert Marve, who started 11 games at Miami in 2008.

Illinois QB Jacob Charest is another Big Ten quarterback looking to transfer, although it is not known whether YSU has approached him.

Finally, this paper reported last week that 14 players have left YSU since spring practice. In addition to the 11 names already reported, junior lineman Marcus O’Hara (Hubbard), junior tailback A.J. Zitello (Mineral Ridge) and senior WR Troy Rice (Rayen) have left.

O’Hara originally left last summer, then returned in the fall. Rice suffered a season-ending knee injury during spring practice.