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Steady progress
Pelini pleased with growth on both sides
youngstown
There are three practices left before Youngstown State’s football team showcases itself at their Spring Game on April 7. Wednesday, head coach Bo Pelini said he was pleased with how both sides of the ball have progressed.
The offense and defense have had their moments during drills. A shovel pass from quarterback Hunter Wells to running back Tevin McCaster fooled linebacker Lee Wright while defensive end Fazson Chapman feasted on an offensive line that still hasn’t quite found their positions.
Neverthess, each side is pretty deep in their playbooks now.
“Most of our stuff is in,” offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery said. “There’s always some things we want to look at these last three or four days but the biggest thing is consistency.”
If consistency is priority one, filling out the depth chart is priority two.
“We also need to find our depth. We’re not really deep at a few positions,” Montgomery said. “We still need to find out who our top three or four running backs are. We need to find that next receiver to step in and then the offensive line.”
One of those consistent positions on the field has been tight end. Kevin Rader, last season’s hero at Eastern Washington, said the playbook has been opening up for tight ends.
“A couple of years ago, tight ends didn’t get many catches around here and it’s really changed,” Rader said. “I feel like we’ve really opened the playbook for the tight ends and we’ve put a little more on top of the plays that we have in there that will disguise things better. We’ve also added some deeper passes and I think that’s helped.
“If the tight ends get the ball, more the receivers will be more open too.”
Defensively, Chapman took advantage of inexperience on the offensive line and made life difficult much of the afternoon by taking up residency in the backfield. Chapman said it’s the defense’s job to bring that fun and intensity to practice.
“Very intense today,” Chapman said. “The offense won the last two days so we gave it to them today, and now we’ve got to respond to them and show the coaches we’re leaders out there.
“Coach Bo has very high expectations of the defense with all the installs out there. Everyone just has to do their job.”
While quarterback turned wide receiver Ricky Davis is still competing for a job catching instead of throwing, Wells has shown a new-found ability to tuck the ball away. He torched the defense on a few occasions on Wednesday’s practice with his legs.
“There’s been some instances where they bring a blitz and I see a crease and just take off for an easy play,” Wells said. “Our defense isn’t used to me taking off so they don’t have anyone spying me.”
Montgomery said Wells’ legs won’t be a large part of the offense, but it’s been good for wells to become more comfortable with running.
“He knows he’s just got to play within the system,” Montgomery said. “Not that we’re going to ask him to run the ball a lot but if something is there he can pull the ball down and be effective. The biggest thing is getting confidence and knowing he can do it.”