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YSU Penguin Athletics => YSU Penguin Athletics => Topic started by: ytownchief22 on February 25, 2019, 12:21:57 AM
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Starts today folks. I can feel the excitement lol...
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Starts today folks. I can feel the excitement lol...
It's real hard to get excited about off-season conditioning programs, isn't it? Despite the terrible weekend for both BB teams, our "off-season" has been MUCH less painful than usual, in great part by both track teams, and for the first time in a long time, BOTH basketball teams! Great job coaches, players, support staffs and all involved.
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From what I'm hearing, Waid will be given every opportunity to grab the starting job but for now, he will be a backup.
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The release says spring game TBA. Does this mean there will be a spring game this year?!
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The release says spring game TBA. Does this mean there will be a spring game this year?!
Only Bo knows for sure, but they know when the practices are and when they end, so if they were planing on a spring game, I'd bet they would know when!
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Article on spring training from Vindy toda:
By DAN HINER
dhiner@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
Changes to the Youngstown State football team’s coaching staff came quickly.
But the newest coaches are familiar with the YSU coaching staff.
New offensive line coach John Peterson and secondary coach DJ Gomes got their first taste of coaching YSU football on Monday as the Penguins opened spring practice at the Watson and Tressel Training Site.
Carl Pelini also made his return to Youngstown after spending a season as the defensive coordinator and interim head coach at Bowling Green.
Both Peterson and Gomes have a history with the YSU head coach Bo Pelini and defensive coordinator Carl Pelini.
Gomes played for Bo Pelini at Nebraska from 2009-10. He was the cornerbacks coach under Carl Pelini last season. Peterson played at Ohio State from 1987-90 alongside Bo Pelini and coached under Jim Tressel at Ohio State.
Gomes was hired on Thursday to replace Richard McNutt, who stepped down after four seasons with the Penguins on Feb. 17.
“The thing with being a young coach is you have to be firm and you have to be consistent,” Gomes said. “You gotta show guys you’re here to coach ‘em, not be their friend.
“Of course you’re gonna be there at times when they need you, but you’re still their coach. Can’t let little things slide, especially initially, or it’s gonna role downhill from there.”
The former Cornhusker was hired so quickly he didn’t have time to move out of Bowling Green.
“I actually have to be out of that place on Saturday or by Saturday,” Gomes said. “We got practice — as you know — [Monday], Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. Hopefully I make it up there Thursday.”
Peterson has nearly 30 years of coaching experience, spending the last three years at Pittsburgh. He also coached at Akron, Miami (Ohio) and Cincinnati.
Peterson replaced Carmen Bricillo, who spent 10 seasons with the Penguins. Bricillo left YSU to become a assistant for the New England Patriots on Feb. 11.
“Every year is a new year,” Peterson said. “Transition can create opportunities. I’m learning who [the offensive linemen] are, they’re learning who I am.
“The exciting thing about spring practice is the ability to kinda reinvent yourself and have a fresh slate.”
Bo Pelini’s contract is set to expire Thursday, but the deal is coming soon. The Penguins head coach said he and YSU are finishing the details.
“It’s basically done and it should be any day now,” Bo Pelini said.
Tight end Kierre Hawkins, safety Kyle Hegedus and defensive end Justus Reed won’t fully participate in camp.
Reed and Hegedus suffered season-ending injuries prior to the start of last season. Hawkins played in two games before a knee injury sidelined him for the year.
“They’re in kind of a rehab program right now,” Bo Pelini said. “But they’re out here coaching, helping. Some are out here going through individuals, doing what they can do. I know come next fall camp they’ll be ready to go.”
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I was reviewing the spring roster, and noticed that 3 special teams regulars were missing. Anyone know if Dairus Hall, Curtis Parks and Mark Schuler are done for good, or just sitting out the spring?
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I was reviewing the spring roster, and noticed that 3 special teams regulars were missing. Anyone know if Dairus Hall, Curtis Parks and Mark Schuler are done for good, or just sitting out the spring?
I certainly don't have a clue about Hall and Schuler, but usually when they are not listed on the roster it means they are no longer involved in YSU football. Schuler is really enthused about his engagement, but not sure what if anything that will mean about his football career.
Curtis Parks posted the following on Facebook which is something for us to be pleased and proud of:
Curtis Parks December 17, 2018: So yesterday I did something ..... I graduated from the Accredited Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University with Honors and was awarded the Senior Leadership Certificate by the accounting department and will be interning with a Big Four Accounting firm this upcoming January with hopes of obtaining a Full-Time offer upon completion of my Masters of Accountacy
I don't know if that means he'll be back as a master's student in the fall or not, but whatever is best for Curtis' career, I'm for!
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The 2nd half of spring ball starts today. We'll find out more..
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I was reviewing the spring roster, and noticed that 3 special teams regulars were missing. Anyone know if Dairus Hall, Curtis Parks and Mark Schuler are done for good, or just sitting out the spring?
I certainly don't have a clue about Hall and Schuler, but usually when they are not listed on the roster it means they are no longer involved in YSU football. Schuler is really enthused about his engagement, but not sure what if anything that will mean about his football career.
Curtis Parks posted the following on Facebook which is something for us to be pleased and proud of:
Curtis Parks December 17, 2018: So yesterday I did something ..... I graduated from the Accredited Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University with Honors and was awarded the Senior Leadership Certificate by the accounting department and will be interning with a Big Four Accounting firm this upcoming January with hopes of obtaining a Full-Time offer upon completion of my Masters of Accountacy
I don't know if that means he'll be back as a master's student in the fall or not, but whatever is best for Curtis' career, I'm for!
Thanks for posting this. Always good to hear about the athletes graduating.
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I think Mark Schuler graduated and he isn't playing anymore.
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Craycraft is the starting QB for now with Cunningham and Waid splitting back up duties.
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Craycraft is the starting QB for now with Cunningham and Waid splitting back up duties.
Report Ono these two QB in today's Vindy:
By BRIAN DZENIS
bdzenis@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
While Youngstown State is taking things slow with quarterback Nathan Mays, the Penguins are getting some extra looks at their other QBs.
Mays was heathy enough to do some individual drills in the Watson and Tressel Training Site on Monday as the football team resumed spring practice after spring break, but was held out of anything involving the rest of the offense. He also leaves practices early to tend to academic obligations. Mays is recovering from surgery to address the nerve issues in his leg that plagued his 2018 season.
“It give us a chance to see what [Joe Craycraft and Mark Waid] can do. We still try to give Nate some reps,” head coach Bo Pelini said. “We went into these 15 practices thinking we would take it slow with Nate. We want to be sure he’s back at 100 percent before we throw him out there.”
A loose pecking order has been established behind the resting senior. Craycraft, a redshirt-sophomore, saw most of the first-team work on Monday. Waid — the former Girard QB who graduated in December — has appeared to leapfrog redshirt-freshman Jayden Cunningham on the depth chart and saw mostly second-team duties.
“I’m just seeing it. You can watch film all you want, but until you actually get our there and do it and see it in real life, that’s when you really start to grasp it,” Craycraft said. “I’m glad Nate is feeling better, but I want to take as much from these reps as I can.”
Craycraft made his collegiate debut with a cameo appearance at the end of a 42-7 win against Valparaiso last season, but has yet to throw his first career pass. On Monday, Craycraft showed off both his arm and legs, channelling some of the speed that made him a regional finalist in the 200 meter dash at Marion Pleasant.
With Waid, quarterbacks coach Joe Ganz said physically, Ohio’s fourth all-time leader in passing yards has all the tools for FCS football, but there’s more work to be done on the mental side of the game.
“I talk to him a lot and with him, it’s not about how you do when you succeed, but how you do when you fail because it’s going to happen. I never want my guys to be afraid to fail because I know they’ll get picked off at some point,” Ganz said. “There was a little lull [last Thursday] when we scrimmaged and he had a couple bad plays in a row and you can tell he isn’t used to it.
“He’s used to having a lot of success, but how he handles failure is what I’m trying to teach. He isn’t going to be perfect. He’s not going to have the numbers he had in high school, but he can be a really good football player.”
Citing his status as a freshman, YSU declined to make Waid available for an interview. Ganz is also trying to get Waid to embrace the number 24. Waid was initially assigned that number as a homage to former Penguin quarterback Tom Zetts. On the team’s roster, he’s listed as No. 5, but wore No. 18 on Monday.
“He got made fun of on the first day by some of the guys and Zetts was there to ref our practice [Friday before spring break] and he didn’t wear it and I was mad at him,” Ganz said.
Both Ganz and Pelini consider the quarterback job to be open in the fall, but Mays will be given every chance to enter the 2019 season as a starter for the first time in his career.
“He’s earned it. He’s played in big games for us so it’s like he’s the senior who waited his turn, he’s proven it. Is it Nate’s job from day one? No because of what Joe has done in the spring and he has seven more practices to prove what else he can do,” Ganz said. “If he comes in the fall and blows everyone’s doors off, it’s one thing, but it’s Nate’s team and it’s important he knows that.”
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Nothing quite like Pelini "coach speak". Ganz is learning from one of the best. I read this a couple times and it says NOTHING! They could have interviewed me for this article.
But it's nice to see the Vindy remembered we had a team!
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Lots of work to be done... Yikes.
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I think Mark Schuler graduated and he isn't playing anymore.
Thanks for the info.
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I think Mark Schuler graduated and he isn't playing anymore.
Thanks for the info.
By in large Mark did a great job punting, but replacing him is the least of our worries.
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Given the QB situation, it makes me wonder again why Craycraft didn't get some of MVG's snaps in the final 3 games.
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Given the QB situation, it makes me wonder again why Craycraft didn't get some of MVG's snaps in the final 3 games.
Good question, and I see two plausible explanations. 1. Bo doesn't think Craycraft is "the guy". If you have Joe as a redshirt freshman and you think he can play, why is the world would you recruit Waid? or 2. Bo thinks Craycraft is definitely "the guy" and doesn't want to use him in 2018 and burn up a year of eligibility, thereby preserving 4 more years, and realizing Waid recruited himself due to lack of credible offers.
There is a third option, and that is: they have no idea what they are doing, but I'm not inclined to go there. I keep looking at all the 9-3 years in Nebraska and the National Championship Game at YSU and understanding that while Pelini is socially inept with the press and the public, he does know something about football.
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Good possible reasons I think they want Waid to be the QB1. Has anybody seen any of the practices this Spring?
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Mays will be the starter once he's healthy (which he's not right now still recovering from surgery).
Waid will be the guy but I'm not sure it'll be this year.
The team still needs a lot of work from what I hear in practice. Defense will be ahead of the offense for sure.
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From today's Vindy:
Penguins return veteran group at wide receiver
By Brian Dzenis
bdzenis@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State’s depth at wideout speaks for itself when three of its top four players returning at that position can sit and the Penguins can still put out a group that resembles something fans will see on Saturday this fall.
YSU didn’t lose any receivers to graduation this offseason. As a unit, the Penguins had seven different receivers catch at least 10 passes last year to bring a veteran group into the 2019 season.
“We’ve got a little bit more experience,” Jeremiah Braswell said. “Being the senior, I’m trying to be the captain at the wide receiver position and help us get that bad taste out of our mouth from last year.”
Braswell was the Penguins’ leader among wideouts in yards (325) and tied the lead for touchdowns (two) during last year’s 4-7 campaign. For him, leadership is just as big a focus as routes and catches.
“There weren’t a lot of vocal leaders on the team last year. There just wasn’t enough,” Braswell said. “When things went bad with the team, there needed to be guys like me and others who can speak up and step up to get the team on track.”
It wasn’t surprise to see him getting first team action during Monday’s practice at the Watson and Tressel Training Site. The team’s next three leaders in yards, Zach Farrar, Samuel St. Surin and Darious Shackleford, were sitting out. Farrar attends practice, but doesn’t participate because he is playing for the baseball team this spring and the latter two were injured.
The guys who joined Braswell with the ones were familiar faces. There was fellow senior Kendric Mallory (169 yards, two TDs) and sophomore Natavious Payne (172 yards, one TD), who’s speed made him a staple in the lineup as a true freshman midway through last year.
“I have to work my speed, my route-running and I need to be more vocal,” Payne said.
Beyond those three, there’s a few players who are making some noise in the absence of Farrar, St. Surin and Shackleford. After spending two seasons exclusively as a kick returner, Warren JFK graduate Jake Coates got some first-team reps as a slot receiver. Head coach Bo Pelini is open to the idea of Coates earning a chance to get his first collegiate reception.
“He’s a lot better. He’s practicing better. He’s playing better and you’re starting to see some of his speed in his routes a little more,” Pelini said. “We know he can run, but he’s playing faster right now and he’s getting more confident.”
Another Mahoning Valley native getting more looks is Canfield’s Jake Cummings, a sophomore with the team.
“Jake Cummings has been great on special teams and has been playing a lot of positions for us,” wideouts coach Tim Marlowe said. “He’s been getting a lot better at receiver too.”
Things will be fluid with this group through the rest of the offseason.
“It’s just about earning it every day. I’d say we have a deep squad. We can only play two, three or four wideouts at a time and we have 10 guys who can play,” Marlowe said. “I feel like we’ve got a good group and we’re very unselfish. Sometimes it’s [Payne] with the big plays. Sometimes it’s Jake or Jeremiah. Anytime somebody scores, we celebrate together.”
NEW COACH
Evan Karchner is joining the Penguins’ coaching staff as a defensive assistant, Karchner announced Monday afternoon on Twitter. He was previously an undergraduate assistant at Bowling Green, where Carl Pelini worked as a defensive coordinator last year.
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From Vindy today:
Switching positions the norm in spring
By Brian Dzenis
bdzenis@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
To play offensive line at Youngstown State, be prepared to move around.
With just one full-time starter — redshirt sophomore left tackle Dan Becker — returning from last year’s group, last year’s tackle might be this season’s guard or this spring’s center could be a guard by fall.
“We’ve always been able to play wherever. You have to know all the different positions of where you’re going to play,” redshirt senior guard Jimmy Wilson said. “[Offensive line coach Coach John Peterson] has stressed that we need to know all of them. I saw some time at tackle and I haven’t played there since last fall. It’s been all about studying the playbook and knowing your stuff.”
Peterson wouldn’t commit to penciling in his starting five on the o-line, saying that will come in the fall, but there ares signs of a few players holding down spots on the first team. Becker’s job should be safe as a returning starter. On the other side of the line, senior Devon Robinson started two games at right tackle last year. The interior is where things become more fluid. Junior-college transfer Jordan Velez and Wilson are getting the majority of the top reps at left and right guard, respectively. Wilson hasn’t played in a game since the 2016 season as injuries have kept him off the field.
“I’ve had shoulder issues and some knee issues, but I don’t like using things as excuses,” Wilson said. “I just have to keep pushing myself even harder. Especially this summer. I also have to push everyone around me to make them better.”
West Branch graduate Jacob Zinni has been the top center in spring ball after spending the past two seasons playing in both guard spots.
“He’s an intelligent football player. He takes a lot of pride in what he does,” Peterson said. “He’s had a very consistent spring.”
As well as Zinni has played this spring, he may not be the center in fall. The team’s returning linemen are well aware of the arrival of Hubbard native and West Virginia transfer Matt Jones and the possibility of somebody having to make way for him. He’s expected to join the team in the fall after graduating from WVU. Nonetheless, they’re going to welcome him with open arms.
“He’s a great guy and you can already tell he’s going to have a great dynamic with us,” Wilson said. “He’s going to fit in with the group. He loves to joke around. I love watching film on that guy and he’s going to be a great addition to that offensive line.”
By the time fall camp starts in August, Peterson could be trotting out a different offensive line than what has been present this spring, but his guys will be prepared to move around.
“Right now, it’s still competition. Whoever is starting now, that doesn’t mean that’s where they’re going to start,” Peterson said. “The goal is to have competition to create guys that can play multiple positions.
“Any time a lineman can learn multiple positions and still understand schemes, the better off they’ll be. The more knowledge they have, the more valuable they’ll be.”
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Lotsssss of work to be done.
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Spring game is today.
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what time
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Justus Reed gets 2 years of eligibility per Dana Balash .
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Joe and Mark looked pretty good throwing the ball today. WR worries me. So does O-Line. We'll see what happens when Jones comes in for the fall. Craycraft is more athletic than I thought he was. Just hope that Mays isn't just given the starting job when fall camp comes.
Like Ray Anderson at LB. Looked good out there.
Bo says a couple transfers coming in before fall so we'll see what happens.
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Article from today's Warren Tribune on the Spring Game :
Hope springs eternal for Penguins
YSU excited about upcoming season
YSU SPORTS
MAR 31, 2019
JOE SIMON
Sports Reporter
jsimon@tribtoday.com
Tribune Chronicle / Joe Simon Youngstown State University football coach Bo Pelini talks to the team during a break Saturday at the Penguins’ final scrimmage of spring practice. Pelini believes YSU will bounce back from a 4-7 season and contend for a national title.
YOUNGSTOWN — As the Youngstown State University football team finished spring practices on Saturday, coach Bo Pelini made sure hope sprung eternal before he stepped away from his team for a few months.
Coming of a dismal 4-7 campaign in which YSU looked uninspired at times throughout the season, Pelini said the Penguins are reinvigorated and ready to bounce back.
“There are two goals: Win the conference first, and then go win the national championship,” he said. “That’s what the coaches’ mindset is, that’s what the fans’ mindset is, hopefully, and that’s what our goals are. Anything short of that, and we failed. That’s where our mindset is at. That’s how we’ve approached this whole offseason, and I think we’re well on our way.”
If the final scrimmage of spring practices was any indication, the renewed sense of urgency seems to be trickling down to the team.
The Penguins displayed non-stop enthusiasm — something that was severing lacking in 2018 — and also executed quite well on each side of the ball. Still, there are major question marks lingering, and one of the biggest is at quarterback.
Tribune Chronicle / Joe Simon Youngstown State quarterback Joe Craycraft (5) looks to the sideline for a call on Saturday. Craycraft is one of at least three players battling to be the Penguins’ starting quarterback.
There appears to be two — possibly three — candidates for the starting job following the loss of incumbent starter Montgomery VanGorder. Redshirt sophomore Joe Craycraft played with the No. 1 offense on Saturday, and the 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback out of Marion Pleasant High School looked sharp. He led a pair of touchdown drives, including tossing a perfectly placed pass to wide receiver Natavious Payne on the first series.
Craycraft has essentially no collegiate experience aside from playing a handful of snaps last year in a blowout victory over Valparaiso, but his mobility and powerful arm make him a viable candidate for the job.
“Joe is a guy who is extremely athletic,” Pelini said. “He can run, (and) he’s throwing the football with a lot of confidence right now. He’s understanding the offense even better, and he had a heck of a spring.”
Maybe the favorite to earn the nod because of experience is senior Nathan Mays.
The 6-3, 220-pound dual-threat QB started five games as a sophomore and shared time with VanGorder at the end of last season before injuries caught up to him. He was held out of Saturday’s scrimmage because there was full contact on the quarterbacks, and with Mays’ injury history (he’s still not 100 percent following a leg injury), Pelini said, “we don’t want to have a setback.”
That could lead to Craycraft entering fall camp as the favorite following a strong spring.
“I think so,” responded Craycraft when asked if he thought he did enough to show he could be the starter. “I just tried to show the coaches what I got, and ultimately, I’m just doing what I can for this team to be successful. I felt good about today.”
Mays being out left the door open for the highly touted true freshman out of Girard, Mark Waid, who graduated early so he could participate in the spring. He made the most of his opportunities.
After a slow start working with the second-team offense, he tossed a long TD of about 65 yards to fellow Trumbull County product Jacob Coates of John F. Kennedy.
Another dual threat QB with a strong arm, Waid may have an uphill battle to earn the starting nod because of his youth, but Pelini was impressed.
“Mark Waid showed me this spring that he’s going to be a pretty special player,” he said. “For a young kid, he handled himself extremely well. He’s seeing a lot more defense than he’s ever seen and a little different offense, but he’s confident. I like our quarterback position. … We have a good problem. There’s a lot of talent at that position right now.”
It’s not the only problem, as the Penguins have some holes to fill on defense, mainly in the secondary, but Saturday was a step in the right direction for a team looking for a major turnaround.
Players on both sides of the ball were relentless and energetic on every play. Even those on the sidelines were engaged and focused from start to finish.
Pelini, whose new contract to remain as YSU’s head coach is still a mystery, said he intends to “add some pieces” over the next few months through transfers to shore up any deficiencies. He believes by the time fall camp opens, YSU will have a team ready to compete for a title in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
“I have high expectations for this football team this year,” he said. “We have the chance to be a damn good football team.”
The season starts sooner than years past as YSU takes part in the 2019 FCS Kickoff, opening the FCS season with an Aug. 24 matchup with Samford that takes place on a neutral field in Montgomery, Alabama.
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Watched first 90 minutes of scrimmage. Agree on Craycraft had an impressive day and spring. But, why has he not been given the chance in the past? Do the coaches think Mays is that much better.
Very hard to evaluate playing against each other, coming out of summer camp last year, coaches were raving about the new tight ends and how good we were going to be, and the season was a disaster.
Joe Alessi is the one I can't figure, every time he gets an opportunity he shines, but Pelini has been hesitant to give him a real shot. Says something about the young man to hang in there, even though he hasn't played much. Now a senior, you would think he gets a shot.
Agree with chief, O-line is shaky. Not convinced either that these linebackers are Missouri Valley Conference type LBs. We will see.