Keystone State is key for YSU football

Keystone State is key: From 2010-14, Youngstown State signed 15 players from Western Pennsylvania, including arguably the best high school recruit of Eric Wolford’s tenure: OL Chris Elkins, a four-year starter who was in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp last summer as an undrafted free agent. Of the other 14, seven started at least five games last fall: OT Justin Spencer (12 starts), LB Jaylin Kelly (12 starts), DE Terrell Williams (11 starts), OG Brock Eisenhuth (11 starts), OG Dylan Colucci (10 starts), WR Christian Bryan (seven starts) and QB Dante Nania (five starts). Four others appeared in at least one game. Three have left the program. “Western Pennsylvania has been good to us in the past and is still a point of emphasis in recruiting,” offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo said. “I don’t anticipate that changing. At least I hope not.”

Ups and downs: Bricillo hails from Indiana, Pa., and played collegiately at Duquesne. He said Western Pennsylvania is similar to Northeast Ohio in that “it’s very proud of its tradition. I think it helps that I’m one of their own.” It’s also similar to Ohio in that it’s not as talent-rich as it was during the heyday of the Rust Belt. “The geographics that have affected Northeast Ohio have affected Western Pennsylvania as well,” Bricillo said. “The sheer numbers have gone down. My experience in Western Pa. recruiting vs. Stark [County], Summit [County], all the way up to Cleveland, is Pennsylvania has a lot bigger ups and downs. If you count Canton to Cleveland to Youngstown, it’s a little more steady. It’s seasonal in the recruiting [in Pa.].”

Pitt boost: Bricillo said YSU doesn’t have a high profile in Western Pennsylvania but said the Penguins got a boost with their 2013 win at Pitt. “That definitely helps as far as recruiting in Western Pennsylvania,” he said. “A lot of those kids follow Pitt and/or Penn State, but they follow Pitt specifically and remember when we played them in 2012. And that helps. In our region, it gives us immediate credibility when we go into the school. Even if the kid doesn’t know it, the [high school] coach says it. It can raise the eyebrows immediately.”

Balancing the numbers: Bo Pelini’s first recruiting class had 30 players, with many on partial scholarships. FCS schools are allowed to stretch 63 scholarships over 85 players, while FBS schools have 85 scholarships but can’t divide them. “He joked that he didn’t realize he needed to be a mathematician,” defensive coordinator Ron Stoops said. “All these .25s, .28s and .33s have to add up to 63 exactly.” Stoops praised YSU’s compliance staff for making it work. “Then tuition adjusts and kids’ [academic] scholarship money comes on and off,” Stoops said. “Some of it counts and some of it doesn’t count and the fractions are constantly moving. It’s a job in and of itself to manage that.”

— Joe Scalzo, The Vindicator