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Pelini’s plan: YSU’s transformation starts on defense
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Bo Pelini arrived in Youngstown last December as part coach, part cartoon character.
He was known as an old-school defensive specialist who won nine games each of his seven years at Nebraska, sure, but he was also the neck-clenching sideline screamer who got compared to Voldemort from Harry Porter, and whose fame (infamy?) spread throughout college football thanks to the fake Twitter account, Faux Pelini.
“I haven’t seen that,” said YSU senior defensive tackle Steve Zaborsky, a Fitch High graduate. “When I got the word [that he was being hired], I looked up YouTube videos and kind of found out what kind of guy he was going to be and I expected that [intensity], but actually when he came, along with his brother and the coaching staff, it was the complete opposite, actually.
“I’m sure game time it’s going to change. We’ll see on Saturday. But he definitely cares. I can tell. And as long as you’re trying to do the right thing and get better every day, it’s not a lashing-out system at all.”
Pelini will make his Youngstown State debut on Saturday against Pitt at Heinz Field, where the Penguins shocked the Panthers in the 2012 opener.
That game marked the high point of Eric Wolford’s tenure at YSU, a five-year stint that included a handful of big wins and far too many late-season losses. After firing Wolford in November, the Penguins turned to Pelini in hopes of resurrecting a once-dominant program that has made the playoffs just once since Jim Tressel left for Ohio State after the 2000 season.
“That’s the goal — to get back to that level,” Pelini said. “Is that going to happen this year? I don’t know. I hope so. That’s my goal. That’s our goal. Our goal is to win them all and compete for a championship.”
Since being hired, Pelini has focused heavily on defense, his specialty, upgrading an already-talented group with a pair of Nebraska transfers (defensive end Avery Moss and safety LeRoy Alexander) and a scheme patterned on aggression and confusion.
“From the first day, he told us he has a blueprint for how to win,” Zaborsky said. “It’s been set in stone and it hasn’t changed one bit.”
What is that blueprint?
“It’s his way and there’s no other way,” Zaborsky said, grinning. “It’s not like he’s cracking the whip on us. But it’s set in his way. It’s a lot easier to understand because it’s not changing.”
Offensively, the Penguins will look much like they did the past five years, in large part because Pelini retained Wolford’s offensive coordinator, Shane Montgomery, and offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo. With eight returning starters — including four offensive linemen, sophomore quarterback Hunter Wells and preseason all-conference pick Martin Ruiz — the Penguins will look to pound teams on the ground, then attack through the air via play-action.
“As far as I’ve seen, Coach Pelini has given Coach Montgomery pretty much full reign over the offense,” senior left tackle Trevor Strickland said. “There haven’t been many changes, maybe a couple tweaks here and there.”
Pelini was a controversial figure in Lincoln, in part because of his outbursts (most notably the leaked eruption against the fans following a come-from-behind victory against Ohio State in 2011, then a profanity-laced rant against his former boss, Cornhuskers athletic director Shawn Eichorst, in his final team meeting) but also because he failed to live up to the high standards set by legendary coach Tom Osborne.
He enters a similar situation in Youngstown, where Tressel’s hand-picked successor, Jon Heacock, sandwiched too many mediocre seasons around a 2006 national semifinalist berth. Wolford upgraded YSU’s talent but also alienated fans with arrogance and failed to keep pace with a Missouri Valley Football Conference that went from good to great during his tenure.
The difference is, while Nebraska fans got angry, YSU fans simply grew apathetic, opting to stay home and watch Ohio State games on the couch rather than sit through snowy November losses at Stambaugh Stadium.
Pelini’s hiring has re-engaged that fan base — not to mention the hiring of Tressel as YSU’s president last year — but it’ll take big wins, not just a big-name coach, to sustain it.
“I would hope that the expectations are high because my expectations are high,” Pelini said. “You don’t want to coach in a place where winning doesn’t matter. I think winning matters to people around here. They expect and demand success. They’ve experienced it in the past and they saw what it means.
“They’re hungry for it. We have to match that with our work ethic and what we bring to the table as a football program.”