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Brown takes on challenges
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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Youngstown State kicker David Brown, 82, is in his fi rst season with the Penguins after spending two seasons with a junior college in California.
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YSU kicker Dave Brown
California native adjusts to weather, being far from home
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Every winter, David Brown goes snowboarding with his family at Mammoth Mountain, a ski resort more than six hours north of his hometown of Ojai, Calif.
So, yes, Brown had seen snow before he came to Youngstown State.
He just hadn’t kicked in it.
He also hadn’t kicked much in extreme cold, wind or rain. But Brown has been introduced to all three over the past few weeks — as well as some other challenges — in his first spring in northeast Ohio.
“It’s a little different,” he said, smiling. “It just takes a little to get used to.
“I think by the time the season comes around, I’ll be ready and everything will be fine.”
Ojai is about 90 minutes from Los Angeles, a city not exactly known for its weather, and spent the last two years at nearby Ventura College, where he was 34 of 38 on extra points and 8 of 16 on field goals last fall. He was ranked as the No. 2 junior college kicker in the country by one publication.
Brown struggled in the team’s first scrimmage on Saturday, missing three of four field goals, but Penguins coach Eric Wolford wasn’t worried, citing a new snapper, holder and field (which has a crown in the middle) as reasons for the early struggles.
“We’re putting the time in before practice and he’ll have all summer to do more kicking and then camp,” Wolford said. “I don’t have any concerns. I think he’ll be fine.”
Brown is expected to replace graduating senior Stephen Blose, who made 65 of 67 career extra points, including a school-record 55 straight. He also made 12 of 14 field goals last fall, including his last 11.
YSU had expected last year’s kickoff specialist, Jake Smith, to replace Blose but Smith left the team — and the school — after the fall semester.
“It wasn’t like we really wanted Jake to leave,” said Wolford, who was sometimes critical of Smith for short kickoffs last fall. “He decided to go in a different direction and we had to go and get a guy.
“We felt like Brown was the best available.”
Other than some pre-teen trips to New York and Washington D.C., Brown hadn’t been this far east. He admitted it was intimidating to leave his friends and family for a school 2,500 miles away, but shrugged and said, “I feel like it’s a good chance to get on my own.”
Brown didn’t think Saturday’s struggles had much to do with the field’s crown and said he just needs to get his leg in kicking shape.
“With the conditions before spring, I couldn’t get out and kick a lot, so it’s still early in the game for me,” he said. “It usually takes a couple weeks for me to hit my stride and I feel like I’m starting to get there.”
Once he’s there, he said he’s comfortable kicking from 55 yards and in — provided the weather is good.
“The hardest part is dealing with the weather,” he said. “I’m from California, where it’s always warm. It doesn’t really get under 60.
“So when it’s in the 20s and teens every day, it takes awhile to get used to it. But I’m starting to come around.”