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Nania gets the nod as YSU’s QB
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Less than two years after experimenting at safety, Youngstown State junior Dante Nania earned the starting nod at quarterback for the Penguins’ opener on Aug. 30 at Illinois.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
On Monday morning, Youngstown State coach Eric Wolford called junior Dante Nania into his office and finished off one of the more improbable comebacks in school history by naming him the starting quarterback.
“I kind of got teary-eyed,” Nania said. “It was real emotional for me.”
The decision had all the suspense of a Harlem Globetrotters game — Nania had all but clinched the job by late last week — but it wasn’t always this way.
Nania ended the 2012 season having attempted just one pass in his first two years as a Penguin and was stuck behind Kurt Hess like a Smart Car behind a semi.
Not wanting his YSU legacy to be limited to holding on extra points and field goals, Nania approached Wolford and said, “I want to play — and I don’t care where.”
“I wanted to get on special teams, on kickoff [coverage], I wanted to get down there and play some safety,” he said. “I just wanted to get on the field.”
So, YSU opened spring practice in 2013 with Nania at safety, a disastrous experiment that ended after seven practices when it became clear that his considerable athleticism didn’t translate to backpedaling.
He spent the rest of the spring at quarterback, looking like a guy who had spent the past few months preparing to play defense.
“I could have easily just transferred,” Nania said.
Instead, he stuck it out, besting Nick Wargo for the backup job in the spring, then showing enough in training camp to convince the coaching staff to redshirt incoming freshman Ricky Davis. Nania played in four games last fall, completed 11 of 20 passes and got hurt twice. His season ended with a separated shoulder on a late hit in the North Dakota State game.
Then, after a strong spring, Nania entered this summer’s training camp with a slight edge on Davis and ended it with a huge one.
“I don’t think it was a surprise to anyone,” Wolford said after Monday’s practice. “He’s performed the best in camp. Thus far, he’s proven he’s our guy.”
What was surprising was the emergence of true freshman Hunter Wells, who earned the backup job by performing well in practice and really well in the meeting room. A four-year starter at Fairless High, Wells (6-5, 195) set Stark County’s career passing yardage record.
“I’ve been coaching a long time and he’s probably as far along as any freshman I’ve ever had,” said offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery, who is in his 24th year of coaching. “We put a lot of responsibility on our quarterback and it’s hard to get a grasp [of the offense] really quick. That’s why it’s pretty remarkable what Hunter Wells has done so far.”
Davis probably has the most physical ability of any quarterback on the roster but wasn’t been able to build on a strong spring.
“I think he didn’t have the camp he wanted to have,” Wolford said. “Sometimes when you have a guy behind you [Wells], you feel the heat and don’t handle that very well. Ricky’s tremendously talented but he’s got to keep working and learn the offense and make good decisions.”
Wolford said Wells was actually in the running for the starting job at one point this summer and made it clear that Nania will need to play well to keep the job.
Although Nania (6-0, 195) is three inches shorter than Hess, he’s more athletic, giving YSU a better running threat at quarterback.
“He moves really well and he’s got a strong arm,” Montgomery said of Nania. “He doesn’t limit us in anything that we do as far as the passing game is concerned.
“He’s in his fourth year in the program and he’s got a good idea of what we’re trying to do offensively and he’s just been really consistent. He’s kind of an extension of us coaches on the field and he’s been a good leader.”
Wolford has repeatedly said he wants this year’s quarterback to be more of a game manager, someone who will avoid turnovers and make smart decisions.
But the competition also came down to less obvious factors like mental focus and leadership.
“The other guys have done a really good job,” Montgomery said, “but we felt like Dante separated himself.”