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Pelini settles in at YSU
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Former Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini looks on during the first half of a game against Iowa. Pelini is busy settling in as the new coach at Youngstown State.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
There’s a giant Penguin-shaped gift basket on Bo Pelini’s desk that he hasn’t had time to open. His office cabinets are mostly empty and he’s spent as much time searching for a house over the past three weeks as he has searching for defensive linemen.
“I’ll be happy once I get settled,” said Pelini, the former Nebraska head coach who was hired as Youngstown State’s football coach on Dec. 17. “I got a million things going through my head all the time last couple weeks. It’ll be nice to kind of get closure on some of these things.”
One of those things is his 10-member coaching staff, which Pelini is still finalizing.
While Pelini wasn’t ready to release any names on Monday — “We’ll release it all when everything is in place and ready to go” — a source said he plans to retain offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery, a former head coach at Miami (Ohio) who spent the last five years on Eric Wolford’s staff.
Linebackers coach Ron Stoops (a fellow Cardinal Mooney graduate and former assistant for the Cardinals) and safeties coach Michael Zordich (a former assistant at Cardinal Mooney) also will be back and offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo is likely to return, the source said.
Defensive coordinator Jamie Bryant will not return.
“I’m looking for high-energy guys, guys that share my philosophy,” Pelini said of his coaching staff. “Guys I know or guys I get to know that really fit what I want to do and how we’re gonna run the program and what we want to do to help these kids grow. That’s what it’s all about.”
Recruiting emphasis
Although Dec. 22 through Jan. 3 was a recruiting dead period in the FCS, Pelini used that time to watch film of potential recruits rather than his current roster.
Signing Day is Feb. 4.
“I’ve got plenty of time to kind of familiarize myself with what we have here, but we’ve got a short window to recruit,” he said. “Part of it is talking to guys that have been here. What we have right now, what our needs are. You can’t address it all in one class, so we’re not only thinking about this year but also the future and what we have coming down the line.”
Pelini has never played or coached at the FCS level so he’s still adjusting to the differences in scholarships (63, compared to 85 at the FBS) and talent.
He’s also learning how to divvy up the scholarships; unlike the FBS level, FCS teams can give players partial scholarships. Wolford and his staff had about 10 verbal commitments for the 2015 class and Pelini said he plans to honor most of those.
“There’s a couple we’re still evaluating,” he said. “You don’t really want to pull the plug on somebody, but there’s things you can look at, like how much of a scholarship to offer, which is a little bit new for me.
“At this level, you’ve got to have some flexibility.”
Pelini said he’ll recruit Ohio and Western Pennsylvania first. When asked what type of player he’s looking for, he said, “Guys that are tough, that love to play football.
“Obviously you’ve got to have the talent and all that, but I’m looking for the intangibles, too. Guys that are going to do things the right way and represent the community the right way. Kind of the total package.”
Pelini is open to FBS transfers and junior college players, but emphasized “it has to be the right fit.”
“Will that be a part of it? Yeah,” he said. “I know Coach [Jim] Tressel had a lot of success with that. I think you’ve got to look at each situation specifically. Why are they transferring? Does it fill a need? That type of thing. But I would never close the door on that.”
This and that
Pelini said he hasn’t yet finalized his contract. “We’re still in the process,” he said. “That’s been on the backburner a little bit. It’s getting close. It’s pretty easy on my part. At the end of the day, I know a lot about the community and the people here and I’m looking for a place I can stay awhile.” ... Pelini’s kids, Patrick, Kate and Caralyn, started school on Monday. His oldest, Patrick, is a sophomore at Cardinal Mooney. “[The move] was hardest on my son,” Pelini said. “That’s why I said I wanted to get this [transition to a new school] going quickly.” ... Pelini declined to comment on the released recording from his final team meeting at Nebraska, which featured profanity-laced criticisms of his former athletic director. “Not worth talking about,” he said. ... Pelini’s first game as YSU’s coach will be at Pitt, which just hired Ursuline High graduate Pat Narduzzi. When asked if that makes it more fun, he laughed and said, “I don’t know how much fun it will be. He’s a good coach. I wish I didn’t have to play him in the first game. But I like Pat. He’s a guy I’ve known for a while. I played against him in high school. They made a good hire.”