By Steve wilaj

swilaj@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

David Rivers never really gets a good read on his position leader, Youngstown State defensive backs coach Richard McNutt.

“You can’t ever tell if he’s having a bad day or night, because he smiles every day,” the Penguins junior cornerback said earlier this season.

Behind that grin though, McNutt certainly has a good read on his defensive backs. Eight games into his first season with the Penguins, the former Ohio State corner who won a national championship under Jim Tressel is leading a YSU secondary that has transformed from one of the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s worst in recent years to one of the FCS’s best in 2015.

“He brings the most juice to the team,” Rivers said. “He’s always hyped, he comes in ready to work and perfects his craft. ...Coach McNutt and the whole defensive staff is doing a good job of putting more pressure on the secondary — and we’ve been holding.”

Heading into Saturday’s home matchup with Missouri State (0-7, 1-5), YSU ranks second in the FCS in pass defense by surrendering a conference-low 122.9 pass yards per game (South Dakota State is second in the MVFC at 151.6). That’s the fewest yards surrendered by a YSU pass defense since 1996, when the Penguins allowed 118.2 per game.

Meanwhile, the Penguins (4-4, 2-3) have allowed just 62 completions — good for the lowest mark in the FCS — at a 40.8 percent completion-percentage.

These impressive stats follow five years where, in total pass defense, YSU ranked sixth in the MVFC in 2014 and ‘11, last in ‘12 and ‘13, and eighth in ‘10. So you can bet the Penguins’ secondary — which held Western Illinois quarterback Trenton Norvell to 8-of-29 for 154 yards and an interception in Saturday’s 23-21 win — notices it accomplishments.

“It’s something that we do take pride in,” McNutt said of the rankings. “Those guys back there, we talk about it because they want to be the standard. And to be the standard, they have to go out there and earn it every week. They’ve been doing that.”

The YSU secondary consists of starting corners Kenneth Durden and Nate Dortch, starting safeties Jameel Smith (one interception) and LeRoy Alexander (team-high three interceptions) and starting nickel back Eric Thompson (team-high six deflected passes). All are juniors except for the senior Durden. Also, juniors Kenny Bishop, Deion Hall and Rivers — as well as senior Tre’ Moore and sophomore D.J. Thomas — contribute in backup roles.

And Norvell wasn’t the first QB they terrorized this season.

Pittsburgh quarterback Chad Voytik had just just 72 yards and an interception against YSU, Zack Drayer (Saint Francis) and Matthew Barr (Robert Morris) combined to go 3 for 23 for 26 yards, South Dakota’s Ryan Saeger went 9 for 25 and top-MVFC passer Mark Ionnatti (Southern Illinois) completed just 14 of 27 passes.

“Our guys played very well up front [vs. WIU] and that allows you to do some different things coverage-wise,” YSU head coach Bo Pelini said. “Overall, we really competed on the outside — and [WIU] had been throwing the ball for a lot of yards at a pretty high percentage — so that’s been one of the strengths of our defense.”

Leading the revitalization, McNutt has been around since playing for Tressel and the Buckeyes from 2000-02. After serving as a student assistant at OSU through 2003, he assisted at the Division III and FCS levels, spent three seasons in the MAC (Toledo, Kent State and Northern Illinois), a year with the Cleveland Browns (2008) and another with North Carolina State (2013).

While he’s had success at mostly all of his stops, it appears he found it again with his YSU secondary.

“This is a real good group of guys,” McNutt said. “They work hard and want to be good. They really work at their technique and the understanding of the game as a whole. That’s helping them go out and compete at a high level.”