Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Wells listed atop
YSU’s depth chart
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State head football coach Bo Pelini spoke to the media as the team completes final preparations for Thursday night’s home opener against Duquesne.
A few surprises headlined the preview when the official YSU game notes listed Hunter Wells as the projected starter and listed him at the top of the quarterback depth chart in front of Ricky Davis and Trent Hosick.
Even that wouldn’t allow Pelini to officially name a starting quarterback, saying “There are three quarterbacks listed. We’ll find out on Thursday at 7:30.”
The other surprise was junior linebacker Lee Wright, who had been with the first-string defense all camp wasn’t listed as a projected starter and is nowhere on the two-deep depth chart.
Pelini said Wright is not playing with the team “right now.” Wright was charged with improper handling of a firearm after an incident on campus in May. Wright had tried to challenge the university’s suspension, which was set to be through December, in Mahoning County common pleas court but that challenge was dismissed by Judge Maureen A. Sweeney, saying she lacks jurisdiction.
Duquesne is expected to be a strong test for the Penguins, who haven’t dropped a home opener since 1995. The Dukes finished 8-4 in 2015 and won the Northeast Conference before falling to William & Mary in the first round of the playoffs.
“It’s almost like opening up agaisnt an FBS team,” senior defensive end Derek Rivers said. “They made the playoffs and we didn’t. You’ve got to respect those guys.”
Duquesne ran a spread offense and a 30-stack defense a year ago, and that’s what Pelini and his staff have had to plan for since there’s no film of this year’s team yet.
“You always have to be ready to adjust,” Pelini said. “All you have is film from last year to base your gameplan on that. Early season games are always a challenge. You never know, they could’ve changed for a four-man front. But we’re pretty multiple defensively and our offense has seen a lot from us. They’ll be ready to go up against whatever they throw at us.”
Despite being a spread offense last year, the Dukes ended up with fairly balanced yardage. Duquesne averaged 244 yards through the air and 174 yards on the ground. Rivers said despite the arm of senior quarterback Dillon Buechel, the defensive key will be first stopping the run.
“We have to play the run first,” Rivers said. “I think we’ll be able to stop the run but we have to be 100 percent on them because they pass the ball a ton and their quarterback has an awesome arm.
“They’re definitely not a team you want to sleep on because if you do they’ll definitely come in here and beat you for sure.”
From the offensive perspective, junior left tackle Justin Spencer said the 30-stack defense is a bit different, but it isn’t anything the team hasn’t been up against in the past.
“It’s nothing we haven’t seen before,” Spencer said. “We’ve seen it from a few teams and they do a few different things but it’s nothing new.”