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Penguins football springs forward
By Joe Scalzo
scalzo@vindy.com
Youngstown
Coach Eric Wolford - Spring Practice
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In his first spring practice as YSU’s head football coach, Eric Wolford watches his players during drills Wednesday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium.
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Gannon Hulea (16) at YSU's spring football practice at Stambaugh Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Following Wednesday’s spring practice, new YSU football coach Eric Wolford poked fun of senior guard Eric Rodemoyer’s suspiciously deep tan and a YSU employee’s connection with the weather gods.
Rodemoyer, in turn, made fun of Wolford’s curly blond locks.
“They like to get after me about my hair, my clothes — you name it, they enjoy it,” Wolford said of his players. “They’re just jealous.
“It’s hard when you’ve got an old man like me and I look better than them.”
It was a light moment following an intense first practice as the new Penguin coaching staff wasted no time putting their stamp on the team.
“We want to set the tone early,” said Wolford, who took over for Jon Heacock after last year’s 6-5 season. “I told our staff this morning, ‘We’re not getting today back and we’re going to set the tone for this football team today.’
“I feel good about where we’re going.”
The first hour was businesslike as the Penguins went through individual drills and the coaches did more teaching than yelling. That changed in the second hour as the team’s seven-on-seven drills took on a sense of urgency, with coaches screaming about mistakes and the need for good energy.
“[Wolford] tells us to be tough,” said senior safety Andre Elliott. “We’re not going to be soft around here and we’ve got to get going.
“You can’t come out flat. You come out flat and you have a flat practice and it’s just a bad day overall.”
Wolford hasn’t tried to ease into his first coaching job, making it clear that he expects the players to adapt to him and his staff and not the other way around. To drive his message home, he’s vowed that no job is safe and has tried to create as many competitive situations in practice as possible.
“We’re going to create a competitive atmosphere,” he said. “If we have to move a guy from linebacker to defensive end, if we have to move a guy from corner to safety or whatever the case may be, we’re going to find a way to create competition.
“I’m a believer that competition makes us all better. I want guys breathing down other guys’ necks and letting them know, ‘If you make a mistake, you might lose your job.’ ”
Rodemoyer, one of the team’s best players, embraces that approach.
“Either you get used to it or you get left behind,” he said. “I look at it as an opportunity to get better.
“If you’re not competing every day to be the best player you can be, you’re just getting worse. If you’re not out here to prove yourself every day that you’re the best at your position, then something’s wrong.”
Added Elliott: “It’s always good to have someone pushing you. It makes you work harder. If everybody’s working hard to earn a spot, then we’ll be a great team.”
Wolford admitted he was nervous before Wednesday’s practice and called a few of his coaches Tuesday night, knowing they were nervous, too.
“I said, ‘If you weren’t a little bit nervous, something would be wrong,’ ” he said. “Every year I’ve been in coaching, every spring, every fall camp, I’ve had butterflies like I was a rookie coach.
“I think that tells you that you have the right feelings.”