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Youngstown State defense steps up, newcomers stand out
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
After a lackluster practice on Monday, YSU football coach Eric Wolford decided to crank up the intensity in the final minutes with five extra plays each for the first and second stringers.
Offense vs. defense. Losers run gassers.
The offense ran.
“At last camp, that never would have happened,” said junior tailback Jamaine Cook. “I’m really impressed with our defense. It’s definitely night and day.
“They’re giving us a run for our money.”
With 29 new players on defense, the Penguins are in a good news/bad news situation. The good news is they got a much-needed dose of depth and athleticism. The bad news is, most of them have no idea what they’re doing.
“We’re installing quite a bit right now and we’re installing it pretty fast,” Wolford said. “We have so many young guys on defense right now that I’m concerned we’re throwing too much at them at one time.
“I don’t care if we play one front and one coverage the whole day, let’s learn how to play it real well.”
Sophomore QB Kurt Hess got picked off twice on Monday — one by sophomore CB Donald D’Alesio, the other by sophomore FS Josh Garner on a tipped ball — and said he’s been challenged by the defense through the first three practices.
“They pushed me today,” he said. “It’s good to see them out here making plays but at the same time it frustrates me.
“But it’s good to have competition. Competition makes you better.”
Hess and Cook are two of the team’s leaders and were a big reason why the Penguins finished second in the conference in both yards and points per game last fall. With the graduation of senior WR Dominique Barnes, Hess stands to benefit from the influx of talent at receiver.
True freshmen wideouts Kintrell Disher and Christian Bryan both got reps with the first team on Monday.
“There’s some great raw talent at receiver right now,” Hess said. “They’ve got great speed, Christian runs great routes, Dish [Disher] makes these catches I’ve never seen people make before and even Brandon Thomas and Drew [Williams] are great raw talents.
“It’s good to get them out there and coach them up and teach them technique and work on their fundamentals because they’re going to be real good some day.”
YSU also added a talented — and confident — running back in Warren Harding graduate Demond Hymes, who raised some eyebrows on Sunday when he said he was gunning for a starting spot.
“I’m glad he feels that way,” said Cook, who led the conference in all-purpose yards last fall. “It’s the same way I felt as a freshman and look at me.
“It’s good to have that attitude and I can’t shoot him down for that.”
But?
“But we’re competing and at the end of the day, the best man is going to win,” he said. “We’ll see who that is at the end of camp.”
YSU’s 40-plus newcomers have jammed the roster, particularly on defense, and Wolford said he wanted to give everyone a fair shot to earn a starting spot. The Penguins have their first scrimmage on Aug. 20; until then, Wolford plans to give even the third- and fourth-stringers some reps in practice.
“I feel like there’s some positions were our third and fourth guy right now, on paper, might be better than our one,” Wolford said.
More than a dozen true freshmen played last fall so Wolford isn’t shy about playing newcomers. But they have to earn the time, he said, and that doesn’t just come on the field.
It could come on the sideline or in the classroom, too.
“Every day you have the opportunity to stand there and observe someone else running a play,” he said. “You should be taking a mental rep. If you stand there and have no awareness of what play is being run, shame on you.
“You missed out.”