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Michigan State transfer Jalyn Powell happy to come home to YSU
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Jalyn Powell could see the future at Michigan State and he wasn’t in it.
During bowl practices last season, MSU’s coaches switched him from safety to star linebacker, which is considered a hybrid position between safety and linebacker, “but I was always in the linebacker meeting rooms,” Powell said.
At 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, Powell knew he didn’t have the size to excel at linebacker in the Big Ten and by the time the Spartans wrapped up their spring game, he wasn’t happy with his playing time, either.
“I didn’t feel comfortable playing linebacker — I’m way too small — and I felt like that was the reason I wasn’t getting more reps,” he said.
So, when the Warren Harding High graduate decided to transfer, he looked for a school that offered him three things: a chance to play close to home, a chance to play safety and a chance to play right away.
“YSU was one of the first schools that came to mind,” he said. “My family is here and I wanted to play this year. I felt like sitting out a year would hurt me, since I already sat out my freshman year when I redshirted.
“I thought this would be the best fit for me.”
Powell was one of five Mahoning Valley natives who made their Youngstown State debut on Tuesday as the Penguins opened their first fall camp under Bo Pelini. The others are true freshmen: RB Joe Alessi (South Range), WR Isiah Scott (Hubbard), TE Mark Schuler (Springfield) and OL Jake Zinni (West Branch).
A former four-star recruit, Powell played in nine games last fall and made five tackles, including three in the come-from-behind win over Baylor in the Cotton Bowl.
“I feel like I could have excelled at safety anywhere in the nation,” he said. “I feel like I can compete with anybody. They [MSU’s coaches] felt like I fit in best with the team at linebacker. It didn’t fit me the best personally.”
Powell joins a crowded defensive backfield at YSU that includes two other safety transfers this summer (junior LeRoy Alexander out of Nebraska and junior Jamar Pinnock of Scottsdale Community College) and two returning starters (senior Tre’ Moore and junior Julius Childs). Overall, YSU has 17 defensive backs in camp.
“We’re gonna need every one of them at some point,” secondary coach Richard McNutt said. “Today was the first time I had a chance to get [Powell] on grass and coach him. He moved well and he’s eager to learn and compete and that’s all I ask these guys to do. I’m coaching him up like the safety he came here to be and I’m looking forward to seeing him grow.”
Powell is one of two Harding graduates on YSU’s roster. The other, senior running back Demond Hymes, is the team’s oldest player (he turns 24 on Oct. 15) and arguably its funniest. Powell is a lot more reserved.
“Demond is a clown,” junior DE Derek Rivers said. “Jalyn is really quiet, a really nice kid. It’s kind of weird to have to different personalities like that from the same school.”
Powell admits as much. He ignored all interview requests when he initially decided to transfer and comes across as friendly, but soft-spoken.
“I usually just like to let my work ethic and everything speak for itself,” he said.
“I don’t really have any reason to talk that much, so I feel like that’s accurate for him to call me quiet.”
Although he’s learning a new system, he’s been working out with his teammates for the past month, so he feels like he has a head start. He didn’t get many reps in Tuesday’s practice, but Pelini vowed afterward that all the young players will get their chances.
It’s up to them to make the most of them.
“I just have to come out and work hard every day and prove to them [the coaches] that my coming here was the right choice,” Powell said.