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OU’s Stoops on annual return: ‘There’s nothing like being at home’
By Ryan Buck
YOUNGSTOWN
The football coaching profession is a transient business.
Moving from team to team or school to school is the name of the game.
For many in perhaps the most well-known cradle of coaches in the sport, there is one place, however, that the miles and years have not interrupted.
Sunday once again saw the 13th installment of the Ron Stoops Sr. and Anthony Pelini Memorial Foundation Boccie Social at Cassese’s MVR. The annual event, which seems to grow larger every year, benefits scholarships for Cardinal Mooney High School thanks to ticket sales and a robust memorabilia auction.
Once again a “who’s who” of local football icons took part in the boccie competition and mingled with friends and fans alike.
Football brought them notoriety, but all of them attribute their collective success to their school and the people who helped them along the way.
“I absolutely love it,” said Bob Stoops, a Mooney alumnus and national championship coach at Oklahoma. “There’s nothing like being at home and where you grew up and with all of your true friends who you’ve had forever. It’s fun to be able to support a cause like this and more than anything able to see family and friends.”
Stoops has coached the Sooners since 2000 and was one of the nation’s top assistant coaches at Florida and Kansas State after playing at Iowa.
Older brother Ron, an assistant at YSU, helps facilitate the event and younger brothers Mike, his defensive coordinator at Oklahoma, and Mark, head coach at Kentucky, were all in attendance.
The brothers and the rest of the Youngstown coaching contingent are well-known in college football circles.
“More than anything, we’re all great friends,” Stoops said. “The Pelinis, us, Coach Tressel and on and on and on; everyone that’s here. We’ve had long relationships and family relationships and we’ve got great respect for it so this is always a great weekend to be back for.”
Bo Pelini, who was also in attendance, returned to his hometown to coach Youngstown State after a successful stint at Nebraska.
Tim Beck, meanwhile, is perhaps the most envied quarterbacks coach in college football. The Mooney alumnus is now in his first season at Ohio State after working under Pelini at Nebraska.
Beck oversees the star-studded trio of J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller of the reigning national champions.
“It’s been great and very busy, obviously,” said Beck. “Getting acclimated to the system and the players, moving the family out and everything. So it’s been kind of hectic, but I’m looking forward to a little down time here this summer.”
He made it a point to return home for the Social, which is now only a three hour’s drive away.
“It’s very surreal to be back home and being able to coach at The Ohio State University and getting a chance to come back to Youngstown and being around all my friends and people I went to school with. It’s awesome.”
Former NFL safety, Chaney graduate and YSU assistant Michael Zordich was able to attend. The Penn State graduate is now an assistant at Michigan and new coach Jim Harbaugh.
“[The transition]’s been very smooth,” said Zordich, whose children all attended Mooney. “I got there and we hit the ground running, recruiting, Spring ball, recruiting and now we’ve got a break in the action after a bunch of camps we went to. I’m really enjoying it. It’s been fast and furious, but fun.”