Friday, April 19, 2013
Stepping up: After packing on 10 pounds in the offseason and impressing the coaches this spring, sophomore DT Steve Zaborsky (Fitch) earned a starting spot on the White (first team) defense for tonight’s game. He credited trainer Mike Cochran, along with departing seniors Aronde Stanton and Nick DeKraker, for getting him ready. “That helped me make a lot of strides,” he said. Zaborsky injured his ankle last week so he’ll play tonight’s game at less than 100 percent. “Hopefully the ankle holds up,” he said. “I hope to go out there and perform like I did in the first scrimmage and keep gaining. I want to stay on the coaches’ good side and make some plays tomorrow.”
Back at it: After being hampered by hamstring injuries the past week or two, wide receivers Christian Bryan and Aronde Stubbs should be back at full-go for the spring game. Bryan was especially miffed about his injury, since he’s one of the most flexible players on the team — and he can do a Dick Hartzell-esque split to prove it. “They said it was just because of overuse,” Bryan said. “The last couple of days we’ve had a lot of reps and every rep is at full speed. But I’ll be ready to go [today]. I’m getting there.” Bryan was knocked out of last year’s spring game, “so I’m hoping to finish the entire game this year.”
Radio coverage: Bob Hannon will call play-by-play for tonight’s game on WKBN-AM 570 starting at 7:15 p.m. Ed Muransky, the color analyst the past three seasons, will work his final game alongside incoming analyst Chris Sammarone, who was an All-American center on the 1994 national championship team. Tonight’s game will have four 15-minute quarters, with a running clock in the second half. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $5. YSU students get in free.
This and that: Senior linebacker Ali Cheaib will miss the game after breaking a finger in his right hand. He wore a cast at Thursday’s practice and YSU coach Eric Wolford said he’ll be out for about four weeks. ... Backup quarterbacks Dante Nania and Nick Wargo split the reps during Thursday’s practice and both struggled with “the high winds of Youngstown, Ohio,” as Wolford put it. “Hopefully it’s not windy [today],” he said. ... Defensive coordinator Joe Tresey said the defense had 25 turnovers through the first 13 practices. ... Get live updates on Twitter @JoeScalzo1.