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Beard brothers stepping up for YSU
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Youngstown State offensive lineman Andrew Sinko lines up during practice Tuesday at Stambaugh Stadium. Sinko, a Strongsville native, appeared in all 11 games for the Penguins last season.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo — the Don of the Penguins’ “Amish Mafia” — put his hand on his chin and started joking about the gray hairs poking through his black goatee.
“This one’s Sinko,” he said, “and this one’s Herdman.”
Although seniors Andrew Sinko and Fred Herdman are relative graybeards — Sinko was part of Eric Wolford’s first recruiting class in 2010 and Herdman was a member of Jon Heacock’s final class in 2009 — they’re fresh faces to many YSU fans, who grew used to seeing three-year starters D.J. Main and Andrew Radakovich and two-year starters Lamar Mady (now with the Oakland Raiders) and Mark Pratt man YSU’s line the past two years.
Sinko and Herdman are throwbacks to another era, when players routinely waited until their senior seasons to start instead of transferring at the first sign of sitting.
“You always have a job on the team, no matter what,” said Herdman, who played in six games last season as a reserve. “Whether you’re starting or not, you’re trying to make the team better.”
Herdman (6-foot-4, 290 pounds), who hails from Scottsdale, Ariz., originally signed as an offensive lineman, was moved to defensive end his first two years and was recruited back to the other side by Bricillo before the 2011 season.
“A lot of times the best place to find an O-lineman is on the D-line,” Bricillo said. “He’s a guy who was third or fourth on the depth chart on D-end and we threw him in on the scout team [offensive line]. I watched two reps and saw he was a guy who was physical, who puts his face on blocks.
“You might not be the most athletic guy on a D-line spot but you move over to the O-line and all the sudden your athleticism shows a little better.”
Sinko (6-4, 295), a Strongsville native, played quite a bit last season, appearing in all 11 games while getting reps with the starting offensive line in eight of those games.
“You just prepare like you’re going to play every week,” Sinko said. “They go down, it’s the next man up.”
While he’s best known for having the best beard on the team — seriously, it’s “Duck Dynasty”-level good — Sinko’s biggest strength is between his ears, not on his chin.
“Athletically, those two [Sinko and Herdman] are not always going to be the prettiest guys getting off the bus; they’re not going to wow you,” Bricillo said. “But they’re very intelligent and they take their craft seriously. They’re always looking to improve, they’re tough, they play through injury, they compete — they’re everything you want out of an O-lineman.
“Last year we could have won as many games as we did or more with them playing.”
YSU returns two starters from last year’s offensive line: preseason All-America center Chris Elkins (who started the last 26 games at right guard before moving over in the offseason to replace Mady) and left tackle Kyle Bryant (who started the last six games when Radakovich’s shoulder finally gave out for good).
Bryant (6-7, 320) is a transfer from Bowling Green — “He’s steady Eddie; he’s done everything we’ve asked of him,” Bricillo said — with an NFL body who still needs to get a little more physical.
As for Elkins, well, the only negative thing you can say is he still can’t grow a beard to save his life.
“He’s going to be a man-child when he hits puberty,” Bricillo said. “I find I barely coach him. He’s a guy who’s serious about his craft. When he screws up, he knows it, and that’s rare.
“I can count on my hand the number of MAs [missed assignments] he’s had the last two years.”
Bricillo figures he has nine guys he can win a championship with, with junior guard Dana Harris, sophomore tackle Trevor Strickland and redshirt freshmen Brock Eisenhuth (a guard) and Dylan Colucci (tackle) also in the mix for playing time.
While Coach Eric Wolford has been touting the line’s potential since the spring — and this is from a guy who almost never says anything good about the offensive line — Bricillo is a bit more cautious.
“Potential is the first thing to get a coach fired,” he said. “They’ve got potential, especially athletically, but they’re still making too many mental mistakes.
“The last two years, with more of a veteran group, we didn’t have that as much. I think we’ll get there, but we’re by no means a finished product. You’ve got to understand the subtleties of O-line play and study it like English.”