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Crucial offseason begins for YSU football
By Joe Scalzo
youngstown
After a season full of what-ifs, the YSU football team faces an even bigger question: What now?
The Penguins will lose 21 seniors, including many of their best players, after a disappointing 3-8 season that saw them finish last in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
That list of seniors includes three starting linemen (guards Bobby Coates and Eric Rodemoyer and center Justin Rechichar), their best receiver (Dominique Barnes), their best defensive lineman (Torrance Nicholson) and their best cornerback (Brandian Ross). Add in injured safety Andre Elliott, who missed the final six games with a shoulder injury, and kicker Stephen Blose and it’s easy to see why this is such an important offseason for YSU coach Eric Wolford.
“We really don’t match up with a lot of people right now,” said Wolford following Saturday’s loss to Indiana State, the Penguins’ seventh straight defeat. “Right now we’ve got some work to do to get caught up with the league and I think that’s showing.”
Wolford said he plans to bring in 30 players between now and next August, a group that will likely include Division I and junior college transfers as well as high school seniors.
Outside of running back and quarterback, the Penguins have needs all over the field but defense is easily the biggest concern. YSU’s secondary, in particular, will need an influx of talent — and an influx of confidence — after that unit was shredded by opposing quarterbacks in the last half of the season.
YSU’s defense gave up at least 400 yards in its last seven games and gave up an average of 34 points in its conference games.
“We’ve got some spots that need to be taken care of,” Wolford said. “I don’t think they need to be mentioned publicly.”
Wolford has made no secret of his dissatisfaction with the team’s offseason commitment, an attitude he tried to change in his first few months and will continue over the next nine. The first casualty will be strength and conditioning coach John Patrick, who has already been told he won’t be back although there’s not yet been an official announcement. Patrick had two strikes against him — he didn’t have a prior relationship with Wolford and he was a holdover from the Jon Heacock era.
Patrick, who declined to comment about the move, will continue working with the other Penguin sports team as he finishes the year.
It’s also a safe bet that a few players will opt to leave the team, either because they didn’t get enough playing time this fall or they don’t fit into the program’s long-term plans.
On the plus side, YSU was competitive in every league game — the Penguins lost their seven Missouri Valley contests by a combined 39 points — and stayed competitive even when it was clear the season was lost.
On the other hand, eight losses is a stunning number for a program with YSU’s resources and tradition.
“We’ve got to develop the players that we have here,” Wolford said. “We’ve got to get bigger, faster and stronger so we can match up.”
One thing is clear — for all the excitement Wolford brought to Youngstown this fall, his honeymoon period is over. Fans are already questioning the team’s coaching decisions — particularly the team’s blitz-heavy defensive scheme — and he’ll be expected to do more than stay close with the league’s best teams next fall.
Wolford seems ready.
“Anything I’ve ever accomplished in my life has never come easy,” said Wolford. “Nothing good comes easy. If we had won some of those close games, we might have had a perception that we’re better than we are.
“Everybody who watches us play knows we’re going to be better.”