Camp Thread

[ytownchief22]

1st team offense today was as follows.

Craycraft- QB
Turner- RB
Mallory- WR
Shackleford- WR
St. Surin- WR
Joiner- TE
Becker- LT
Velez- LG
Jones- C
Zinni- RG
Robinson- RT


Nate obviously got some reps with the 1’s too. Waid with the 2’s. They are working Hawkins slowly back at TE. Alessi and Chapman getting reps at RB too. I’m guessing you’ll see a committee there this year.

[goodnews]

I thk Nate is a change of pace qb. The superior passer needs to start regardless of experience.  Otherwise the opponents are gonna stuff the box and might anyway.

[Double ET]

From Vindy:

Turner aiming for more carries

Christian Turner still has plenty of work to do.

Turner will likely become Youngstown State’s top running back following the graduation of Tevin McCaster.

In the past two seasons, Turner has mostly been used in passing situations and has performed well in that role.

He was the team’s leader in receptions last year with 24 for 196 yards and a touchdown.

On the ground, he averaged 4.6 yards per carry. Those are signs that the junior is ready for a bigger role, but that isn’t enough for him.

“I’m never really satisfied. There’s always room for improvement. Once you get satisfied, you start to become complacent and that’s never good,” Turner said. “I feel like in pass protection, I can work on my technique. Being able to run between the tackles is something I’ve put a lot of focus into and just being a good overall back where it’s in the run game or the pass game.”

Even by improving his game, there’s a good chance he won’t be all alone in the backfield. Last year, McCaster has 269 of the 323 carries by YSU running backs last year. More backs are expected to contribute.

“They expect everybody to play their role, which is to contribute to the team in anyway that we can,” Turner said. “I think just being in a room with all that talent in me, [Joe Alessi, Braxton Chapman and London Pearson], we all do something different and we all have a role to play.”


Not 7th heaven

Youngstown State was ranked No. 7 out of 10 teams in the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s 2019 preseason poll. The Penguins collected 153 points to put them ahead of Western Illinois, Southern Illinois and last-place Missouri State.

Pelini’s reaction? He was non-plussed.

“I don’t care if we’re picked first or seventh. We’re going to get what we earn,” Pelini said. “You need to take that with a grain of salt. It doesn’t matter. I like our team. I like our chances and we’re ready to put the work.”

North Dakota State is the projected MVFC champion with 392 points.

Bumps and bruises

Wide receiver Darius Shackleford sat out Monday’s practice with a leg brace on his left leg after getting injured last Saturday. Pelini said the junior should be ok, but will receive an MRI. Shackleford had 11 catches for 213 yards and two touchdowns last year.

“He’ll be alright,” Pelini said. “I don’t think it’s anything serious.”

— Brian Dzenis

[Double ET]

Vindy article on DE Justus Reed:

By BRIAN DZENIS

bdzenis@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Two days into fall camp and Justus Reed has been dubbed the grandpa of the team.

The name fits because he already sports a beard. It also fits because the two-time redshirt-junior defensive end is beginning his sixth season in college football and his third at Youngstown State.

During the offseason, Reed was granted a sixth and seventh year of eligibility from the NCAA after tearing his Achilles tendon during the summer before the start of fall camp in the 2018 season. The timing of that injury is why Reed can still be considered a junior in 2019.

“They actually gave me two and I was completely surprised by that,” Reed said. “It really is a blessing. It’s something I’ve prayed about with my friends and family.

“I got lucky, I guess.”

Should he stay through the 2020 season, he would become the longest-tenured football player in terms of eligibility at YSU. Right now, he’s tied with former Penguins wideout Jelani Berassa, who redshirted twice while playing for YSU from 2009 through 2013 after suffering two season-ending knee injuries.

Reed’s career stretches back to 2014, when he redshirted during his freshman season at Florida. He played two more seasons with the Gators before transferring to YSU.

“I thought it was going to be two [years] and then I was done,” Reed said.

A shoulder injury limited Reed to seven games, but he showed what he can bring to the Penguins. He tied the team lead in sacks with five – one of which was a strip sack he returned for a touchdown – and was second on the team in tackles for a loss with 5.5 as a situational pass-rusher. He also made the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s All-Newcomer team.

His absence was noticeable during YSU’s 4-7 campaign. The Penguins used a rotation of four defensive ends to try and make up for the loss. Reed’s return, plus the returning experience from seniors Shereif Bynum and Ma’lik Richmond and sophomore Antoine Cook make for an optimistic head coach in Bo Pelini.

Pelini on Monday also pointed out that sophomore James Jackson, who played sparingly last year, has been impressive in camp.

“He’s a really good football player. The guys respect him,” Pelini said of Reed. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can play that position. We have really good depth there and I like the depth on our defensive line.”

Reed is set to graduate with a degree in communications in December. He now has plenty of time to rack up sacks for the Penguins.

“I’m going to do what ever I can do to make this team better and get us back to where we’re supposed to be,” Reed said of what he’ll. “We have a winning tradition here and we need to get back to that.

“We’re going to be dirty,” Reed said. “That means we’ll be really good.”

[ytownchief22]

Defense carrying things so far. Look legit.

[go guins]

Defense carrying things so far. Look legit.

If Reed is healthy, and he is making all the right statements, and with Carl back, this D should be legit. 
However, the O has HUGE questions.  If Craycraft can't clearly win the QB job, it means he is, at best, competitive with Mays, which we all (with the exception of 1AA) know isn't nearly good enough.  We have questions with every OL position except center and the center, RB, TE and WR. Other than that, we're fine, unless we get close but can't push it in, we have kicking issues too!  REALLY hard to win games 14-10 with the spread.  Scores are more like 31-28 and we don't look like we can put up 31 against Fitch much less the MVFC

[ytownchief22]

Carl is more focused on the offensive side of the ball, not the D. Bo is handling most of the D work.

Disagree with the kicking issues. Gonya is going to be good. McFadden probably just on kickoffs only.

WR is probably the biggest question mark with QB but with Mallory, Shackleford, Braswell, St. Surin and some other surprises, they should be okay.

TE is in good shape with Joiner and Hawkins. Backups are strong blockers and doing well.

RB will be Turner mostly with Chapman in short yardage and Alessi worked in every once in awhile.

OL look better than I thought. Coach Pete is coaching them up well.

[ytownchief22]

Big blow as Shackleford has a torn ACL. Done for the year.

[go guins]

Carl is more focused on the offensive side of the ball, not the D. Bo is handling most of the D work.

Disagree with the kicking issues. Gonya is going to be good. McFadden probably just on kickoffs only.

WR is probably the biggest question mark with QB but with Mallory, Shackleford, Braswell, St. Surin and some other surprises, they should be okay.

TE is in good shape with Joiner and Hawkins. Backups are strong blockers and doing well.

RB will be Turner mostly with Chapman in short yardage and Alessi worked in every once in awhile.

OL look better than I thought. Coach Pete is coaching them up well.

Both guys can coach D, just glad somebody is focused on it. 
Let's see, while it's true Gonya and McFadden's combined have NEVER MISSED a college kick, being a combined 0 for 0 isn't exactly what I would describe as good, more like a big question. 
WR, and I quote you "and some other surprises, they should be okay."  You're counting on "surprises" to get OK?  When you have huge questions at QB and you are looking for "surprises" at WR to get to "OK" that is pretty speculative.
TE has a huge issue with Hawkins recovery, and at this point, saying it's fine is again IMO speculative.
We have seen Turner run for 3 years and he can be an effective change of pace back and a good receiver, but we have NEVER seen him look like a consistent every down back.  My guess is Chapman wins the job in camp, but still a question mark in my mind.
Even with the OL being "coached up" there are still HUGE questions at QB!

I appreciate unbridled fan optimism, but we were what 5-7 and frankly I thing 6-6 sounds wildly optimistic to me.  I think we are going to be 3-0 going into conference, but I see us as underdogs in our first 7 MVFC games.

[go guins]

Big blow as Shackleford has a torn ACL. Done for the year.

Too bad for Darius.  I wish him the best in recover.
You want to know how desperate we are?  This is a senor with 3 years playing experience and a grand total of 11 catches, 4 in one game (so 17 games with a total of 7 catches) and we call his loss a "Big blow"

[ytownchief22]

Mallory, Braswell and St. Surin are a pretty good top 3. Sprinkle in some of the young speedsters who may or may not redshirt and it's a decent group. I think Hawkins (If healthy) and Joiner are a really good TE duo. But like I said, the biggest question is someone to get them the ball.

[ytownchief22]

Have heard good things about DT DeMarko Craig so far this camp. Could be a starter along side Wes. Trying to build depth behind them. Bynum, Reed, Richmond, Cook and James Jackson at DE.

It'll be a combination of Randall-Posey, Cash and Ray Anderson at LB.

The usual customers at DB with DJ Smalls, Melvin Jackson, Bryce Gibson with some others worked in.

Zaire obviously has the leg up on one safety spot.

[ytownchief22]

Zaire showing real skills and leadership at safety. Guy is a stud back there.

[IAA Fan]

Zaire showing real skills and leadership at safety. Guy is a stud back there.

Good to hear. Seems to have been a weak spot for some time now.

[go guins]

Mallory, Braswell and St. Surin are a pretty good top 3. Sprinkle in some of the young speedsters who may or may not redshirt and it's a decent group. I think Hawkins (If healthy) and Joiner are a really good TE duo. But like I said, the biggest question is someone to get them the ball.

"if healthy" are two pretty important words.  And if you had Jarvis Landry and OBJ at WR and me throwing them the ball, we wouldn't get far!  Now Mays and Craycraft certainly shouldn't be compared to me, but I don't see anybody comparing them to NDSU's Wentz or Stick or SDSU's Christion or, or, or, you could go on for ever.  I'd be happy if someone said they could grow into a Hunter Wells.  Now all I read is "Mays is going to be better than he was last year."  Last year he was the worst QB in the MVFC so the bar is pretty damn low!