YSU News and notes

Showing real growth: Senior tackle Andrew Sinko has been growing his beard since last year’s Valparaiso game in September and it’s grown to “Duck Dynasty” levels. When asked how often he’s asked about it, he laughed and said, “A lot. I’ll be walking through campus and hear people yell out ‘Nice beard!’ I get a lot of comments about it throughout the day.” Although it’s several inches long, he said a lot of it has fallen out because of his facemask and chin strap. He also said YSU DE Kyle Sirl grabs it in practice as well as opponents. “They try to,” he said. “It doesn’t really affect me.”

Edging Elkins: Sinko was named YSU’s offensive lineman of the week for his performance against Illinois State, becoming the first lineman other than senior center Chris Elkins to win that award this year. (Elkins has won twice, with no one winning the award in the four other games.) “We always joke back and forth because our grades have been so close,” Sinko said. “He’s always one percent higher than me. I finally unseated him.”

Easy target: Three players shared special teams player of the week: senior punter Nick Liste, junior kicker Joey Cejudo and sophomore Andre Stubbs. Liste made the mistake of walking past the press conference room when Eric Wolford finished up on Tuesday. “When you look at Liste, you wonder how he walks around with those eyebrows,” Wolford said. “They look like sun visors.” Liste’s response? “He’s also said I have a fur coat on my forehead.”

Joe Scalzo