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New faces, same expectations for YSU football
The Vindicator ( Youngstown)
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Youngstown State coach Eric Wolford said he’s pleased with the team’s preparations over the summer and is anxious for fall practice to begin today at Stambaugh Stadium.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Last summer, the YSU football team got one transfer from Miami. This summer, it got two.
Different Miami, though.
In what could be seen as a sign of progress, Penguins coach Eric Wolford welcomes two former Hurricanes — and 44 others — as part of a massive influx of talent heading into YSU’s first practice on Saturday.
The two former Hurricanes, redshirt freshman LB Travis Williams and redshirt freshman Devont’a Davis, both came to YSU after Miami fired Randy Shannon, prompting the pair to look elsewhere.
“There’s been a lot of turnover at Miami in the past year,” said Wolford, whose Miami recruit last year, WR Juilian Harrell, came from Miami, Ohio. “I think that’s pretty standard when you get a new coach.”
YSU has 46 newcomers since last fall — Wolford hinted that a 47th was on his way but wasn’t yet enrolled — and only five of them took part in spring practice. By contrast, Wolford had 36 new faces last summer. YSU has less than a month to prepare for its season opener at Michigan State on Sept. 2.
“I think it’s pretty hard to deny right now that there’s a lot of excitement around here,” said Wolford, who has 29 new players on defense. “All indications are our kids had a great summer and the new guys are adapting well.
“I think there’s a sense of urgency [among the veterans] and they realize we have a chance to be a pretty good football team.”
YSU returns 39 lettermen, including seven starters on each side of the ball. Wolford believes he finally has competition at every position, except possibly offensive line.
“We’re getting a lot closer to where we want to be,” he said.
The Penguins did lose 14 players since the spring, although only two, senior cornerback Randy Louis and senior guard Andy Colegrove, were expected to challenge for a starting spot. A lingering neck injury ended Colegrove’s career and Louis opted to continue his graduate degree in business elsewhere after graduating from YSU.
“Basically, Randy was made some promises early in his career prior to my being here and some things didn’t follow through,” said Wolford. “He was told things during the recruiting process that would happen once he graduated and they didn’t happen.
“It wasn’t necessarily intentional.”
Other notable departures included Wolford’s first recruit, sophomore RB Allen Jones (Ursuline), and two Division I transfers from last summer: QB Najee Tyler (Purdue) and senior CB Grant Mayes (Syracuse). Jones was stuck behind starter Jamaine Cook and backup Adaris Bellamy at the team’s most talented position.
“I love Allen — he’s one of our own,” said Wolford, who also graduated from Ursuline. “I tried to convince him the grass isn’t always greener on the other side and being part of a team isn’t about getting carries but he wanted to carry the football a whole bunch and I couldn’t guarantee that. I understood it.”
Also leaving the team were senior WR Dionte Snow, sophomore CB Darrell Webster, sophomore safety Justin Austin, sophomore FS Alex Antonucci, sophomore LB Cy Edison, LB Thomas Kipp, junior LB Ethan Slark, senior G Andy Colegrove, junior C Marc Stevens and redshirt freshman WR Jake Dragovich. None were expected to be significant contributors this fall.
YSU has 100 players on its roster — there are 15 players wearing duplicate numbers — and it’s a safe bet at least a few will leave the team by the end of training camp.
“Obviously we don’t want that but you’ll always have attrition,” Wolford said. “I also sense there’s enough people around here that know something special is going on. They know we have a chance to be pretty good.
“When they start telling me that, that’s a good thing. That’s when I know we’re going where we need to be.”
Where is that? Where YSU used to go, Wolford said.
“There’s a standard around here and that standard is postseason play and championships,” he said. “Period.
“That’s what the expectations are. We have to embrace it and go find a way to get it done.”
YSU Notebook | News and Notes
Keeping quiet: After making the wrong kind of headlines with his comments about last year’s preseason conference poll, YSU coach Eric Wolford didn’t have much to say about the Penguins getting picked eighth in the nine-team Missouri Valley Football Conference. “Last year I made the silly mistake of being upset about it,” said Wolford, who pointed that last year’s eighth-place preseason team, Western Illinois, made the playoffs. “I’m sure there will be some motivation but we don’t need to be picked eighth to be motivated. We’re very motivated, I can assure you of that.” Wolford’s team was picked seventh last year, prompting him to call it disrespectful, followed by this inflammatory quote: “In some parts of this world we live in, if you disrespect someone, you may lose your life.” Wolford has since apologized several times.
Top cats: Defending champion Northern Iowa was picked to repeat in the poll and Wolford agreed the Panthers are the league’s best team. “I knew when they were picked fourth [last year], all they were doing was opening up a hornet’s nest,” he said. “I wish their quarterback [Tirrell Rennie] would have come out early. They’ve got a good football team. There’s a lot of good football teams in this league and a lot of parity.”
Redshirts: YSU announced it will redshirt three players: Sophomore CB Jamarious Boatwright (who tore his ACL in the spring), senior cornerback Deionte Williams (who injured his wrist in the spring) and sophomore linebacker Mark Brandenstein (who has dealt with concussion issues).
Successful camps: Wolford said the team hosted more than 950 kids at YSU’s 12 summer camps. “I think that’s pretty impressive when you consider the people we have to compete with in western Pennsylvania and Ohio,” he said.
Joe Scalzo