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Youngstown State football report card
OFFENSE
Bottom line: The graduation of Kurt Hess, a four-year starter at quarterback, hurt the offense’s overall production but a group of talented skill position players eased the transition for two new quarterbacks. The unit averaged 27.3 points per game, a number that dropped to 22.6 in conference games. Both were the lowest marks of the Eric Wolford era. Finished fourth in total offense with 415.2 yards per game, including 385.4 in conference games. Basically, a middle-of-the-road offense in the MVFC.
Grade: B-minus
QUARTERBACKS
Who’s leaving: Junior Dante Nania (transferring).
Returning starter: Freshman Hunter Wells.
Others returning: Sophomore Tanner Garry, sophomore Nick Wargo, redshirt freshman Ricky Davis.
Bottom line: The summer’s much-hyped quarterback competition between Nania and Davis fizzled out quickly, as Nania seized control and Davis dropped below Wells on the depth chart. But the coaches clearly never trusted Nania to be anything more than a game manager. Wells’ development in the summer, as well as his strong performance in a spot start against Butler (when Nania was injured), prompted the coaches to yank Nania after one quarter in the second conference game against Western Illinois. Wells played well enough to keep the job the rest of the year, although he struggled in November. Ideally, the skinny Wells would have redshirted this season but Wolford’s uncertain job situation forced YSU into win-now mode. Wells is an ideal pocket passer with good height (6-5), accuracy and game awareness but he’s not a threat to run. It’ll be interesting to see what the next staff thinks of Wells, who voiced his frustration about the coaching change on Twitter and who could look to transfer if he doesn’t like what he sees. Nania, meanwhile, has already announced plans to play elsewhere next fall.
Grade: B-minus
RUNNING BACKS
Who’s leaving: None.
Returning starter: Sophomore Martin Ruiz.
Others returning: Sophomore Jody Webb, junior Demond Hymes, redshirt freshman Edmond Jacobs, freshmen Ryan Moore, Sidney Sandidge, Raekwon Washington.
Bottom line: A team strength. Ruiz finished fifth in the MVFC in rushing with 265 carries for 1,320 yards and 10 TDs. He was essentially the same back as last year — a versatile runner who can get the tough yards between the tackles but is also dangerous on outside runs. He’s not the best running back in the MVFC but he’s comfortably in the top five. The explosive Webb ran for 715 yards and had another 216 receiving but had his worst game of the season at the worst possible time for YSU, losing two fumbles in the red zone in an overtime loss to Indiana State. Moore looked good in limited action but may have to wait his turn.
Grade: B-plus
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Who’s leaving: Senior WR Jelani Berassa, senior WR Christian Bryan, senior TE Nate Adams, senior TE Kintrell Disher (career-ending knee injury).
Returning starters: Junior WR Andrew Williams, junior WR Andre Stubbs.
Others returning: Sophomore TE Jacob Wood, sophomore WR Joe Gallinatti, redshirt freshman Ian Banks-Tillman, redshirt freshman Michael Callender, freshman WR I’tavious Harvin, freshman WR Jaylon Brown, freshman Logan Rhea, freshman WR Darien Townsend, freshman WR Brad Good, freshman WR Nick Bozzo, freshman TE Shane Kuhn, freshman TE Chance Towery
Bottom line: Another team strength. Williams may have benefited the most from Wells’ promotion, catching 47 passes for 776 yards and four TDs in MVFC play alone. For the season, he had career-highs in catches (54) and yards (976). Berassa had a terrific summer and got off to a strong start, catching 18 passes for 340 yards in the non-conference games before his production tailed off. He finished with 32 catches for 564 yards and six TDs but seemed to grow frustrated as the season wore on. Adams was as advertised, a strong blocker and red zone receiving threat who was also an effective in limited action at fullback. Stubbs didn’t live up to his preseason all-conference hype but combined for more than 500 yards rushing and receiving and made his share of eye-popping plays. Bryan was (mostly) solid as a punt returner but did his best work in press conferences.
Grade: A-minus
OFFENSIVE LINE
Who’s leaving: Senior C Stephen Page
Returning starters: Junior T Trevor Strickland, sophomore G Brock Eisenhuth, sophomore G Dylan Colucci, redshirt freshman T Justin Spencer
Others returning: sophomore T Christian Wilson, sophomore G Matt Bell, sophomore G Jim Bertovich, redshirt freshman G Cole Newsome, redshirt freshman T Cameron Fraser, redshirt freshman C Anthony Parente, freshman C Charles Zaborsky, freshman G Dwayne Williams, freshman T Jeff Rotheram, freshman T Warren Marlowe
Bottom line: Better than anyone expected, which is a testament to Wolford and offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo. Despite four new faces, they controlled the line of scrimmage against Illinois and played well most of the season, although they struggled against North Dakota State (like everyone else) and in the second half against Illinois State. Paved the way for the league’s third-best rushing attack while giving up just 12 sacks — tied with NDSU for best in the league. Should be the team’s biggest strength entering next fall.
Grade: B
DEFENSE
Bottom line: Wolford fired unpopular defensive coordinator Joe Tresey and replaced him with last year’s special teams coach Jamie Bryant. The move paid off. The best defense of the Wolford era was occasionally dominant (vs. Missouri State and Southern Illinois, for instance) and was almost always competent. It wasn’t a national championship-level defense but it was definitely playoff-level, which is more than you can say for the previous four years. Gave up 23.5 points per game, which increased to 24.4 in conference games — both highs for the Wolford era. Gave up 375.5 yards per conference game, which was about 50 yards fewer than last year.
Grade: B
DEFENSIVE LINE
Who’s leaving: Senior DT Octavius Brown.
Returning starters: Junior DE Terrell Williams, sophomore DE Derek Rivers, junior DT Emmanuel Kromah.
Others returning: Junior DE Eric Myers, junior DT Steve Zaborsky, junior DT Jimmie Kitchen, sophomore DE Joshmere Dawson, sophomore DT Rickey Hagood II, redshirt freshman DE Kevin Rader, redshirt freshman DT Milton Williams, freshman DE Johnson Louigene, freshman DT Cody Squiric.
Bottom line: Want to know why YSU’s defense made such a big improvement from last year? Start here. Rivers was a monster in his first season as a starter, recording 14 sacks (the third-best total in YSU history and the most in a regular season) and 17 tackles for loss. Terrell Williams added 10 sacks, making a huge jump from his sophomore to junior seasons. For comparison’s sake, no one in Wolford’s first four seasons had more than 6.5 sacks in a season. While depth was an issue later in the year — the starters were obviously wearing down — it was an encouraging season for a unit that has typically lagged behind the MVFC’s best.
Grade: B-plus
LINEBACKERS
Who’s leaving: Senior Desmond Williams, senior Travis Williams.
Returning starters: Junior Dubem Nwadiogbu, sophomore Jaylin Kelly, redshirt freshman Mike Palumbo.
Others returning: Junior Antoine Cox, junior Kevon Caffey, sophomore Laron Taylor, sophomore B.J. Welch, redshirt freshman John Linkosky, redshirt freshman Cole Kochman, freshman Nathan Pittman, freshman Joey Tabachino, freshman Jonathan Stewart.78
Bottom line: Finally healthy, Nwadiogbu had the best season of any linebacker in the Wolford era, recording 104 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss while showing elite athleticism and good awareness. Kelly, the middle linebacker, took over for three-year starter Teven Williams (who was kicked off the team in the offseason) and was OK, recording 84 tackles, including six for loss. Desmond Williams had his moments as a hybrid linebacker/defensive end. YSU often played in nickel sets, so this unit wasn’t as important as years past.
Grade: B
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Who’s leaving: Senior CB Julius Childs, senior FS Donald D’Alesio.
Returning starters: Sophomore CB Nate Dortch, junior SS Tre’ Moore.
Others returning: Junior CB Kenneth Durden, sophomore CB Eric Thompson, sophomore CB Deion Hall, sophomore CB David Rivers, sophomore SS Jameel Smith, sophomore FS Kenny Bishop, redshirt freshman FS Grant Mercer, freshman CB Chrispin Lee, freshman CB D.J. Thomas, freshman CB Jacob Studdard, freshman CB Robert Byrd, freshman SS Kevin Wilson, freshman FS Shane Dixon, freshman SS Asim Pleas.
Bottom line: Again, probably the best defensive backfield of the Wolford era, although it benefited from YSU’s improved pass rush. Moore replaced Jameel Smith early in the year and proved to be a playmaker, intercepting a team-high four passes while showing a willingness to make the big hit. D’Alesio played the best football of his career over the final month. Childs was never going to be a shutdown corner but he was a good tackler. Dortch and Thompson should only get better. Durden sat out the season because USF never submitted his transfer paperwork (and I never got a good explanation why, although it obviously had something to do with him getting arrested for felony marijuana possession in January), but some at YSU believe he has NFL-type ability. Overall, this unit was pretty average, which counts as a huge upgrade over past years.
Grade: C
SPECIAL TEAMS
Who’s leaving: Senior K/P Joey Cejudo, senior LS Nathan Gibbs.
Others returning: Redshirt freshman K Connor McFadden, freshman LS Chris Ross, freshman P Nick Sheely.
Bottom line: Cejudo made 14 of 17 field goals and 38 of 39 PATs, averaged 40 yards per punt and was one of the league’s best on kickoff average but he also had two field goals blocked against Illinois State and had the infamous “butt punt” in the opener against Illinois. That kind of summed up this unit as a whole. YSU’s specials were mostly solid but every game seemed to have one or two blunders. And outside of Cejudo’s tremendous day at South Dakota State, you never got the feeling the special teams ever contributed to a win. YSU just seemed to be hoping it wouldn’t cost them one. Sometimes, it did.
Grade: C-minus
COACHING
Who’s leaving: Well ...
Bottom line: Privately, YSU officials knew this was going to be a rebuilding year and Wolford repeatedly talked about how young this year’s team was, but the near-misses over the previous four years gave this year’s coaching staff almost no wiggle room. Bryant was a clear upgrade over Tresey at defensive coordinator but his move weakened the special teams, which were below average for the MVFC. Offensively, the staff made the right call in promoting Wells, but it was a pretty frank admission that they hadn’t recruited/developed well at that position in previous years. (Hess was a Jon Heacock recruit.) Outside of the disastrous finale against North Dakota State, YSU looked capable of winning every game. But like Wolford’s previous four years, his team shrank in the biggest moments, missing the playoffs by one game for the fourth straight year. I have no doubt that, if Wolford were given another five years, he would make the playoffs a few times. But if the ultimate goal at YSU is to compete for a national championship, does anyone honestly think Wolford and his staff could win four or five straight playoff games? I think we all know the answer to that question.
Grade: C-minus