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YSU adds depth, talent in huge recruiting class
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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Warren Harding's Davion Rogers (29) is headed to YSU after singing with Michigan last February.
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YSU Head Football Coach Eric Wolford welcomes a massive 2011 recruiting class of 35 new players, including 12 local athletes.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Over the last few weeks, YSU football coach Eric Wolford tried his best to recruit a linebacker named Terry Johnson, figuring if he could just get the Pinellas Park, Fla., native to take a campus visit, he could get him to sign with the Penguins.
Finally, last weekend, Johnson visited. And committed.
“He fell in love with the snow,” Wolford said. “He’s down there from [Clearwater], so I told him this is just frozen sand here.”
Wolford may not be able to sell ice to Eskimos, but he proved he can sell snow to a player from the Sunshine State, not to mention the Peach State, the Golden State and the Palmetto State. But it was his work in the Buckeye State, particularly the “State of Youngstown” that stood out.
Led by 12 local athletes, Wolford welcomed 35 new players in a massive recruiting class designed to immediately upgrade the team’s talent and depth.
“This class should give us a foundation for the future,” said Wolford, who went 3-8 in his first season at YSU. “We’ve got to create a competitive atmosphere.”
The Penguins did especially well in Warren, where they snagged three Harding seniors and a 2010 Harding graduate in linebacker Davion Rogers. Rogers signed with Michigan last February but left the team in September after failing to meet academic requirements.
“I think once he came over here, and his dad and him saw the campus and saw the commitment from our president to our deans to everyone involved, he’s like, ‘Wow, these guys have everything that everyone else does,’” Wolford said of Rogers. “We’re going to start him at outside linebacker, but he’s 6-6, 215 pounds. He can play just about anywhere he wants.”
Rogers was the lone Division I transfer in the class, which had 24 high school seniors and 10 junior college players. Wolford had mixed success with Division I transfers last year — “Sometimes guys have stars in their eyes and they keep the stars in their eyes too long,” he said — so he put a bigger emphasis elsewhere.
Harding running back Demond Hymes was the first Raider to commit, sticking with the Penguins in recent days as schools such as Akron and Miami (Ohio) tried to woo him away. Teammates Jimmy May (a projected defensive back) and Ian Folmar (defensive line) followed in the past few weeks.
Fitch senior Steve Zaborsky was the first area player to commit to YSU, verballing last summer. He’s joined by Boardman RB/DB Nick Buonavolonta, Ursuline OL/DL Zach Conlan, West Branch OL Brandon Ferguson, Ursuline LB Jordan Markota, Hubbard DE Blake Novotny, East CB Mike Thomas and Sharon LB Justin Yuran.
“I’m not into predictions but I think we elevated our level of talent,” said Wolford, who felt a lack of depth led to the Penguins losing several games in the last few minutes. “I think we established last year we can play with anybody.
“We didn’t match up talent-wise, did we? No. We will now. Let’s see what happens now.”
The 35 recruits were 20 more than Wolford’s first class and 13 more than Jon Heacock’s biggest class. The Penguins lose 21 seniors and have already had two players (kicker Jake Smith and defensive end Stephen Meadows) leave the team since the end of the season.
Wolford admitted he didn’t get everyone he wanted — the most notable failure was Girard WR Landon Smith, who committed to the Penguins last summer but switched to Ohio a few weeks ago — but was pleased with the size and talent level of the class.
He said the key was getting players on campus, where he felt YSU’s facilities, coaching staff and support system gave him a 75-80 percent chance of landing a recruit.
“How many schools in the state of Ohio can win a national championship? About three, and you know who they are,” Wolford said, referring to Ohio State, YSU and Mount Union. “We’ve talked about playing for championships. That’s what this place expects. That’s what this staff expects. That’s what this community expects.
“I don’t shy away from that.”