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YSU players encouraged about Pelini’s hiring
Bo Pelini
Podcast Episode
Tom Williams, Ed Puskas, and Joe Scalzo talk about YSU's decision to hire Bo Pelini as the head coach of YSU football.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Over the last few days, as rumors swirled around Youngstown State hiring Bo Pelini, sophomore running back Martin Ruiz had one thought: I hope they’re true.
“Having him as head coach, I know he’s gonna come in and take care of business,” said Ruiz, a second team all-conference selection this fall. “Youngstown, we’re about to get back on the map.”
Youngstown State’s players aren’t on campus this week because of the winter break, but based on interview and tweets from the last few days, the Penguins are excited about Pelini’s arrival.
“It’s like a breath of fresh air,” junior defensive lineman Emmanuel Kromah said. “It feels like he’s going to bring something different, something we haven’t had in a long time.
“He has the experience to take this team to the next level and I can’t wait to meet him personally.”
Junior linebacker Dubem Nwadiogbu, who earned honorable mention All-Missouri Valley following a breakout year, said he’s looking forward to playing for a defensive-minded coach.
“Offense is important and offense wins games, but I feel like defense wins championships,” he said. “This is part of a big change at Youngstown. It’s going to put Youngstown on the map.”
All three players said they liked playing for Eric Wolford and were disappointed by his firing. But after narrowly missing the playoffs over the past few years, they’re hoping Pelini can get them over the top.
YSU loses just 11 seniors from last year’s team, which finished 7-5 after losing its last three games.
“We’re still a young team and we’re gonna be a good team,” Nwadiogbu said. “With the right coach, we should make the playoffs. We might even make it all the way. You never know.”
Final candidate list
Pelini was one of eight candidates who received on-campus interviews, according to a compliance report obtained by The Vindicator.
The others were Akron RB coach Trent Boykin (who played and coached at YSU), Kansas State WR coach Andre Coleman (a former assistant under Wolford), Eastern Kentucky coach Dean Hood, Purdue DB coach Taver Johnson (who coached with Jim Tressel at Ohio State), Waynesburg coach Rick Shepas (a Mooney graduate who played at YSU), Michigan State LB/special teams coach Mike Tressel (Jim Tressel’s nephew) and Florida Atlantic offensive coordinator Brian Wright (who was an assistant at YSU from 2001-09).
Bo knows Faux
While most people know Pelini because of his seven-year stint as Nebraska’s head coach, he’s also become famous because of the popular Twitter parody account “Faux Pelini,” which features a Photoshopped picture of Pelini holding a cat wearing a Santa hat.
Faux Pelini’s Twitter page describes him as a “former Nebraska coach, yeller, philanthropist, anger manager.” It features tweets like this one from Dec. 11: “Sometimes when I can’t sleep I think about how I’m getting paid $150K/month not to work, then I still can’t sleep but I’m in a better mood.”
Pelini has (occasionally) embraced the account in recent years, famously leading the Huskers onto the field for last year’s spring game while holding a cat.
When asked about the account Wednesday, he laughed and said, “I don’t know if it’s had any effect on my life. I don’t follow it as much. I know a lot of people do. It’s pretty funny, at my expense a lot of times.”
When Pelini was hired at YSU, the anonymous person who manages the account briefly changed the name to “Yo Pelini” and retweeted a photo of Pelini holding Pete the Penguin.
“I guess he was looking to resurrect himself and he did,” Pelini said. “Cats and penguins, they got along well, I’m sure.”