Pelini focuses recruiting on Ohio, Pa.

February 4, 2015 at 12:09a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

For schools like Ohio State and Alabama, National Signing Day feels a little like the NFL draft, with future first-round picks ready to make an immediate impact.

For Youngstown State, today is a little more like the Major League Baseball draft. You may have heard of a few names — especially if they’re local — but most players will need a few years to develop.

Last February, for instance, Eric Wolford signed 24 players and just one of them (quarterback Hunter Wells) started a game. And five of those recruits weren’t even on the opening day roster.

With that in mind, Bo Pelini has approached his first recruiting class with the Penguins a lot like Wolford did in his second year at YSU. In 2011, Wolford signed 35 players, including 11 from the Mahoning Valley, and more than half of those recruits ended up making an impact. It was a class that featured quality and quantity.

Today, Pelini is expected to sign just under 30 players, including six from the Mahoning Valley.

Cardinal Mooney kicker Zak Kennedy, who is already enrolled at YSU, and West Branch offensive lineman Jacob Zinni (whose father played for Jim Tressel in the early 1990s) both committed to the Penguins under Wolford and have kept their commitments.

Pelini has since added four more Valley recruits: Cardinal Mooney WR D.J. Anderson (who committed on Tuesday), South Range RB Joe Alessi, Springfield TE Mark Schuler and Hubbard WR Isiah Scott.

By contrast, Wolford recruited just four Valley players — total — over his last three years and two of them (Cardinal Mooney DL Austin Trgovcich and Brookfield RB Ryan Mosora) have already left the program.

At least 13 other Pelini recruits hail from Ohio, while five are from Pennsylvania. (A YSU source said the school expects to add a few other out-of-state recruits today that have not yet been reported.) That’s also a departure from Wolford, who had more Florida recruits (eight) than Ohioans (seven) in last year’s class.

Since the Penguins graduated just 11 seniors from last year’s team, it’s a safe bet that many of Pelini’s recruits are here on partial scholarships. Also, 10 players have left the program since the offseason, including Nania (who transferred to Slippery Rock after losing his job to Wells) and linebacker Laron Taylor (a transfer from Iowa who appeared in eight games as a backup last year). None of the other eight players appeared in a game last season. That should free up a few more scholarships.

FCS schools can only offer a maximum of 63 scholarships, compared to 85 for FBS programs. But unlike FBS schools, FCS programs can divide those scholarships however they want toward a maximum of 85 players.

Most college coaches consider it a good recruiting class if 40 to 50 percent of the recruits end up starting at least one game. The bigger the class, the lower that percentage needs to be.

In his first year in the FCS, Pelini is erring on the side of quantity. Like Wolford did in 2011, he’s hoping he gets plenty of quality, too.