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Nania, Davis step up in QB derby
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
On the first play of the first scrimmage of spring practice, Youngstown State junior quarterback Dante Nania lined up under center in the I-formation at the Penguins’ own 1 yard line.
He play-faked to running back Martin Ruiz and fired a deep pass down the center of the field to wideout Jelani Berassa, who snagged it for a 30-yard gain.
All spring, Penguins coach Eric Wolford has talked about his quarterbacks being game managers.
On Saturday, they showed they can be playmakers, too.
Nania completed 4 of 8 passes for 78 yards and a TD, looking comfortable while working with the first-team offense. Redshirt freshman Ricky Davis also played well, completing 8 of 11 passes for 111 yards to solidify his spot as Nania’s backup.
“Those two guys are doing good things,” said Wolford, who said at the beginning of spring he wants to narrow the four-man race to two by the end of camp.
So they’ve separated themselves?
“I think so,” he said.
Third-stringer Tanner Garry completed 4 of 8 passes for 22 yards and a TD on a nice fade pass to WR Andrew Williams in the left corner of the end zone. Fourth-stringer Nick Wargo was 1 of 3 for 4 yards.
Davis got almost no reps last summer, then spent the fall running the scout team, so he entered the spring as a bit of an unknown commodity. On Saturday, he showed off a strong arm, a quick release and good athleticism to escape pressure in the pocket.
“Ricky’s a very talented guy,” Wolford said. “It’s very similar to the situation with [RB] Jamaine Cook [last spring]. Everybody worried about what we were going to do. We’ll handle it. We got talent. Got a lot of it. We just got to get them to manage the football game.”
Nania, who spent last season as Kurt Hess’ primary backup, looks more comfortable than he did last spring, when he started at safety, then moved back to quarterback. His pre-snap recognition has improved and he no longer gets flustered in the pocket when his primary read is covered.
Problem is, because the quarterbacks aren’t allowed to get hit, any time a defender touched them, the play was whistled down. Both Nania and Davis showed the ability to escape pocket pressure, only to see completions wiped out because of a fingertip sack.
“Both of them are having a really good camp,” said Berassa, who caught five passes for 99 yards in the 90-minute outdoor practice. “They both run really well and avoid pressure when it’s in their faces. And they throw really well on the run. In our offense, we run a lot with the quarterback, so they both bring a lot to the table.”
Neither quarterback has Hess’ grasp of the offense, but both are better with their legs than Hess, who could pick up three or four yards on an option play but wasn’t much of a scrambler.
And Davis, in particular, showed he can make throws that Hess couldn’t. In that respect, he’s similar to former backup Patrick Angle, who transferred to Ohio Northern last offseason rather than spend another year behind Hess.
Neither Nania nor Davis is likely to duplicate Hess’ first year, when he earned conference freshman of the year honors, but through two weeks of practice, they’ve opened some eyes.
“I think Coach Wolford is looking for someone who wants to step up all the way to the plate and be that Kurt Hess and lead the offense,” senior linebacker Travis Williams said. “Every good offense needs a good quarterback. They’re both working at it and they’re competing, so that’s what coach likes and that’s what we like as a defense.”