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Wolford tries simple solution to D’s woes
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Think back to the last time you opened a door. How much thought did you put into turning the doorknob?
Eric Wolford wants the same amount from his defense.
With some YSU defenders still struggling to grasp the team’s defensive concepts after six games, Wolford and his staff are taking a page from Henry David Thoreau: simplify, simplify, simplify.
(Or, if Thoreau is too complicated, try the KISS principle: Keep it simple, stupid.)
“Sometimes you’ll be thinking too much about your assignment ... it may make you play slow,” said Wolford, whose team plays host to Southern Illinois on Saturday. “So, as coaches, we say, ‘Hey, this is a glaring problem. We need to change it. We’re not getting it. So we need to simplify.’
“If we simplify some things, then you’re completely confident.”
The high expectations surrounding YSU’s defense — and its new coordinator, Joe Tresey — have vanished over the last three weeks. In conference-only games, YSU ranks last in the Missouri Valley in scoring defense (39.3 points per game), total defense (398.7 yards per game) and pass defense (269.3 ypg).
Although YSU’s Tuesday depth chart remained the same from last week, Wolford said there are changes ahead, including one at nickelback, where little-used sophomore Jamarious Boatwright will replace Deionte Williams and Parnell Taylor. Boatwright missed last season with an ACL tear but played in all 11 games as a freshman, with three starts.
“All signs of that move right now look very good,” Wolford said. “He was very good [Monday] in practice. He has some natural instincts that I think are a big part of a game, too. He looked a lot more comfortable out there, so I think that will be a good move.”
Wolford said the coaches will wait until later in the week before making some other personnel changes, but it’s clear he needs more from his defensive line. The four projected starters (defensive ends Luis Quinones and Josh Fenderson and defensive tackles Aronde Stanton and Nick DeKraker, all seniors) have combined for three tackles for loss in six games, an unacceptable figure for a 4-3 defense.
By contrast, the three defensive linemen in Southern Illinois’ 3-4 setup have combined for 10 tackles for loss.
Wolford said the team had a good practice on Monday, the team’s first since the 35-28 loss to Illinois State. He said he’s trying to walk a fine line between making the necessary corrections and not destroying the team’s confidence.
“When we watch film together, we pointed a few things out,” Wolford said. “We pointed a few guys out. We said, ‘Hey, this needs to be better right here. We know that you’re better than that.’
“We kind of had a reality check. At the same time it wasn’t a bashing. If you bash them and berate them and you tank them, then you run the risk of losing your football team.”
For all of YSU’s struggles over the past two weeks, the team is still in good shape for a playoff spot. The Penguins need to win three of their last five to get to seven wins, which is the baseline.
That’s not as sexy as what was being written after the team’s 4-0 start, but, as quarterback Kurt Hess said, it’s important to keep perspective.
“You know, we haven’t really been in this position at 4-2 since Wolf’s been here,” Hess said. “We’re probably the most miserable 4-2 team out there, but we need to realize we are in a good position right now.
“We’ve had some hard losses and those are things that we’re going to learn from and take forward but there definitely is a sense of urgency and a sense that maybe our backs are against the wall and that we need to win this game.”