YSU’s offensive line depth looks improved
By charles grove
youngstown
While the rain held off at Stambaugh Stadium, the Youngstown State football team was back to getting its feet wet as fall practice opened.
The defense, as expected, won plenty of battles against an offensive line that now has more healthy bodies than it did in spring camp. But the offense was far from inept as all four starting quaterback hopefuls, Hunter Wells, Trent Hosick, Ricky Davis and Nathan Mays all mixed in with the offensive units. Each quarterback had moments of success and some busted plays.
“We’ll kind of mix [all four quarterbacks] in the first couple days and then we’ll start having one guy play with the first string for a couple days, let it play out for a week or so and then see where we are from there,” Youngstown State head coach Bo Pelini said.
“I didn’t come into camp with any preconceived notions of, ‘It should be this guy or that guy.’ ”
The defense did manage to force four turnovers in 11-on-11 drills, but Pelini said he was more concerned with corrections that come as a result of those plays and the players’ reactions.
“It’s about teaching right now and how those guys react to teaching,” Pelini said. “Today gave us a starting point and we’ll go from there.”
As far as the offensive line is concerned, the more bodies the better. Senior lineman Brock Eisenhuth said having more healthy bodies not only allows more substitutions to be made during practice, but players are able to stay hydrated better in the August heat.
“[Offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo] is great with us,” Eisenhuth said. “He gives us breaks, takes care of us, gets us water breaks and makes sure we’re fresh. But with a lot more guys it’s a lot better because you get a little extra and if someone goes down then someone can step up.”
When asked how the team is trying to avoid a repeat of a depleted offensive line from a year ago, the main change is hydration.
“We get a lot more breaks,” Eisenhuth said. “They keep telling us to stay hydrated. I guess a study came out saying more concussions come from dehydration, so they try their best to keep us hydrated.”
When the offense was moving the ball the tight ends were often the recipients of short- to medium-range passes. Senior tight end Jacob Wood said he’s excited about a strong use of tight ends within the passing game.
“That’s been a big point of emphasis for us in the summer through spring,” Wood said. “Coach [Joe] Ganz has really helped us with running our routes so that we can become a more integral part of the passing game. We’ve been working on that a lot.”
The tight ends performed well against some of the best defensive ends in the Missouri Valley Football Conference — being forced to block on one play before trying to get loose for an out route the next.
“[The defensive ends] are sound players so no matter what you do you have to be prepared,” Wood said. “If your fundamentals aren’t sound you’re never going to win and they’re going to throw you around and make you look dumb.”
The next two practices will be at Stambaugh Stadium from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today and Saturday. The Penguins are off Sunday.