Archive for the ‘YSU Football’ Category

Most men hate shaving. Marc Kanetsky showed up for camp with more than a full beard and has been getting double takes from everyone who has not seen him since last season.  Kanetsky, a senior from Hubbard, is standing out more than ever and has even gotten some black dye involved to add somewhat of an exclamation point.

“I started growing it out earlier in the Summer and it was coming in pretty good”, commented Kanetsky.  “I was talking to my brother who encouraged me that no matter what I did, not to shave it off.  As it was growing out, I figured I might as well dye it black, like Brian Wilson the baseball player.  I think it came out pretty good.  I’m not a Giants fan though, I remain a Tribe fan.”

Kanetsky, who is good friends with starter Kurt Hess and backup Patrick Angle, said he is preparing for the upcoming season.  ” I know Kurt is the guy, but I am going to be prepared every week in the event that I am called upon.  I am dying to get a chance, I have been waiting for three years to get in there and prove that I can play.”

Kanetsky’s father, Marty, commented on his sons facial hair experimentation.  “It’s a mans beard and I couldn’t grow one like that.  I tried, but I quit.  When he dyed it black, I thought it was awesome. Now what he has to do is dye the other half red and by the Michigan State game, he has a chance to be the lead-in for Sportscenter.”

Kanetsky is a 3.9 student attending YSU on academic scholarships that cover his housing and his books, he plays football because of a burning desire to compete and a sheer love of the game.

Youngstown State University hit the field for the first time in full pads on Wednesday.  With so many guys dressed and so few positions to be awarded, everyone was trying to make a good impression.  There was a definitive twinkle in Eric Wolford‘s eyes as guys were going all out on both sides of the ball and the word ‘competition’ was given extra significance.

In a seven-on-seven skeleton passing drill, Will Shaw had running back coverage from his linebacker post.  The running back, Jamaine Cook, got a step on Shaw.  To avoid giving up a touchdown, Shaw grabbed Cook to prevent a catch, which was obvious and blatant interference.  A little pushing and shoving ensued and the two would eventually be separated.  Shaw and Cook are teammates from last season and will surely work out their differences putting the team goals in front of personal gains at a practice.

Several more high intensity skirmishes broke out throughout practice.  Is this a bad thing?  Not if the Penguins can keep it on the field and understand that a unified team is a dangerous force to be reckoned with.  If anything, it was good.  Nobody was hurt and it gets everybody’s blood flowing.  Football is a full-contact sport and every single play is a car wreck.

“Some guys are combine guys and look good running around in shorts, but when you put the pads on, you find out who the real men are“, commented Coach Eric Wolford.  “I have a lot of confidence in these guys and I know that this is very important to them.  There is a lot of competition.  These guys compete just to get in the food line. They are competing for attention right now, and that is a good thing.  Some guys think it isn’t cool to ask the coaches questions, but not this group, they are competing for our attention.”

The defense looks much improved from last season and one of the returners from a year ago, DJ Moss, talked about the improvements so far.  “Last year we didn’t have as much depth and we were adjusting all year.  We understand the defense now, we are ready to hit.  We are getting into the swing of things and we understand the full spectrum of the defense.  Last year at this time we knew we were slanting to the A gap and that a linebacker was filling.  This year we understand where everyone is and who has what responsibilities.”

The Penguins open scrimmage play this Saturday at 9:45 on the shiny new turf of the Ice Castle.  The scrimmage is open to the public.

The Youngstown State Athletic Ticket Office is holding a one-day sale for current YSU students on Wednesday, August 10, who wish to purchase a ticket to the Penguins season opener at Michigan State on Sept. 2 in East Lansing. The ticket office opens at 9 a.m. on Wednesday and will sell tickets throughout the day until 5 p.m.

Those YSU student’s who wish to purchase a ticket need to bring a valid student ID to the YSU Athletic Ticket Office on Wednesday. Each ticket is $55, which includes a processing fee. It is a great opportunity to see YSU’s first-ever trip to Michigan State. The Spartans, who were Big Ten Conference champions in 2010, are coached by former Penguins assistant coach Mark Dantonio.

For more information contact the YSU Athletic Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978.

Season-ticket prices for the 2011 campaign are $84 for reserved seats and $60 for general admission. Individual game ticket prices for the season are $16 for reserved and $12 for general admission. Reserved seats are in sections two through six on the west stands and 14-18 in the east stands. General admission seats are located in sections 1 and 7 of the west stands.

Fans will be encouraged to purchase game tickets in advance. The cost for all reserved and general-admission tickets on gameday will increase by $2. Individual game tickets are on sale now.

The best seats in the stadium are in the chairback sections in three, four and five at midfield. The only way to purchase chairback seats is through membership in the YSU Penguin Club. Chairback seat availability starts at the $200 Royal Level of the Penguin Club. Penguin Club Memberships are available for as little as $75 and will allow fans to purchase tickets for the Michigan State game.

The 2011 home schedule will feature six hard-hitting games, with non-conference matchups against Valparaiso and Saint Francis (Pa.) and conference tilts versus Illinois State, South Dakota State, Western Illinois and Missouri State.

For Penguin Club information call  (330) 941-2351.

Turnover is usually a bad word in the game of football.  It signifies a loss of control and being on defense preventing points instead of having the ball and trying to score.  Youngstown State University Head Coach Eric Wolford has some major turnover issues to the tune of 46 new faces to learn.  In this case, turnover creates competition, and in this case, turnover is good.  Wolford kicked off football with a media press conference this week.

Wolford spoke highly of two transfers from Miami.  Redshirt freshman LB Travis Williams and redshirt freshman CB Devont’a Davis both came to YSU from a storied Hurricane program.  “Some of these kids transfer out because they get close to the coaches that recruit him”, remarked Wolford.  “We have a standard here, winning championships, that we plan on getting back to.  I don’t care where a guy is from, we have guys from many states, if he can help this football team win, follow the rules, and uphold the standards of the program he can play for us.”

Five of the 46 incoming players participated in Spring practice. With this influx of new talent, combined with the 36 new faces from last season, Wolford only has 23 players left from the Jon Heacock Era.  Wolford talked about what having a full year of recruiting does.  “Last season, I was hired in December and was very picky about picking a coaching staff.  There was not as much time spent as we were able to use this full year of recruiting.  We had camps that had over 900 campers, it is like test driving a car before you buy one.“

When asked if being picked to finish eighth in the conference this season would be used as motivation, Wolford was careful in saying, “I made the mistake last year of saying that we were better than we were picked.  Our guys will be motivated enough.”

Wolford credited Kurt Hess, Jamaine Cook, and Andrew Radakovich for taking steps this Summer to be leaders.  “Those guys have taken complete ownership of the team.  When a bunch of players in the program tell you, Wow, coach… ‘So-and-so can really play’, or the team doctor tells you that ‘we haven’t seen a guy like this around here, ever’.  And when someone else tells you that some of these guys don’t belong here, those are all good signs. When a whole bunch of people give you feedback like that, it makes you feel good.”

With only 29 practices until the Penguins venture North to take on Michigan State, the excitement is obvious, and the buzz is back.

Dominque Barnes has signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions.  The former Youngstown State Wide Receiver grew up in Michigan and will surely flourish in a system needing offense.  Barnes always told me he was going to get to the next level, no matter what, so congratulations Dominique Barnes, you made it!

In his career at Youngstown State, Barnes caught 168 passes for 2,062 yards and 15 touchdowns in 40 games played. His 168 receptions rank second in school history, his 15 touchdowns are fifth and his 2,062 yards are fifth as well.  Barnes set a school record with a reception in 34 consecutive games and became first player in school history to record more than 60 catches in consecutive years.

Ironically, Barnes could someday go against new divisional foe, and college teammate Brandian Ross, who is signed with Green Bay as a cornerback.  “Brandian and I are very close and I am really happy for him too.  He has been my biggest supporter.”

He also joins his friend Donald Jones in the NFL.  Jones, who signed with the Buffalo Bills last season, was someone that Barnes credited many times as being a great influence.  “Donald told me to be patient and good things will happen.”

Barnes has some studying to do as he already received a nice thick Lions playbook, but have faith, he is not only quick with his feet, he is also a quick learner.  Move over Barry Sanders, the little guy is loose in Motown!

“It’s a dream come true”, said Barnes via telephone.  “I have been living with this dream since I first started playing football.”

Former Youngstown State cornerback Brandian Ross (Richmond, Va.) has signed as an undrafted free agent with the World Champion Green Bay Packers. Ross is the first YSU defensive player to sign with an NFL franchise as an undrafted free agent since Russell Stuvaints in 2003.

Ross, a second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection in 2010, played in 45 games during his YSU career, starting in 33 of his final 34 games. He had 223 total tackles, seven interceptions, three fumble recorveries and two forced fumbles in his career from 2007-10. During his career, he played both safety and cornerback as well as seeing action on special-teams coverage units.

In 2010, he was credited with 60 total tackles, including 40 solo stops. He also had a team-high three interceptions. In 2009, He moved to cornerback from safety during the campaign because of injuries. For the year, he had 47 total tackles and two interceptions. In 2008, Ross was an honorable-mention all-conference selection. In 12 games, he posted a team-high 98 tackles. As a freshman in 2007, he finished with 18 tackles while appearing in every game on special teams and as a reserve in the secondary.

A four-year letterwinner, the 22-year-old Ross was a team captain during his senior season in 2010 and never redshirted.

The only other known Penguin to sign with the Packlers was defensive tackle Harry Deligianis.

If 2010 was any indication of what Jamiane Cook is capable of, then two very high preseason honors are predicting he will perform well again for Youngstown State in 2011.  Cook has been named to the Walter Payton Award preseason watch list.  The Walter Payton award honors the top Offensive Player at the FCS level.  The other notoriety shows that Cook has been tabbed a preseason third-team All-American by The Sports Network/Fathead.com.

He is one of just seven running backs on the preseason watch list for the Payton Award, which includes 11 quarterbacks and two wide receivers, and had a breakout campaign in 2010 as a sophomore. A second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection, he rushed for 1,276 yards on 241 carries and scored 11 touchdowns. In eight games of MVFC action, Cook had 973 yards on 199 attempts and scored eight touchdowns. He ranked 13th in the FCS in rushing yards per game (116.0 a game).

He was YSU’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Marcus Mason in 2006. Cook had six 100-yard rushing efforts highlighted by season-high 213-yard effort on 43 carries at Illinois State.

He also caught 25 passes for 219 yards and returned 21 kickoffs for 393 yards showing his all-purpose skills. For the season, he had 1,889 all-purpose yards, averaging 171.6 per game to lead the conference. He finished the campaign ranked ninth in the FCS.

The Payton Award will celebrate its 25th anniversary this season and be presented to the FCS’ outstanding player at the national awards banquet in Frisco, Texas.

Last year at this time, Kurt Hess was adapting.  The changes he was dealing with were a transition from high school to college, playing in a new system for a new coach, and learning what his teammates could and could not handle.  Hess was named the starting quarterback before the season started and played mature beyond his years.  He has earned the respect of his coaches, teammates, and fans, and will continue to work hard to improve.

Paneech: You have a year under your belt and know the system, are the expectations higher this season?

Hess: I got a lot of good experience last season and have a great working relationship with Coach Wolford and Coach Montgomery.  We work well together and we bounce ideas off of each other.  We kind of know what to expect now and need to refine things.  Coach Montgomery will sit in the film room with me and analyze different aspects and mechanics and question why I did or didn’t do something.  As much as they have helped me, you should see some results this year.

Paneech: During the Spring, there were problems with receivers dropping the ball.  Additionally, last year this team was about 50/50 on a run pass ratio.  Can we expect more running this season?

Hess: I don’t believe we will be one-dimensional.  We have a good enough running game that we probably could be one-dimensional, but our receivers are working really hard to get better.  We come in a couple of times a week and do some seven-on-seven drills and we usually throw every night to get the timing right.  With the new guys, there is a lot of raw talent.  I am developing more confidence with them and I can see a big improvement from the Spring already.  We are building chemistry and trust, and that is so important.  It is what Dominique [Barnes] and I had last season.

Paneech: What have you been doing in the offseason?

Hess: I try to find friends who have a pool, I really like swimming in the Summer.  I haven’t been to a Scrappers game yet, but I have made it to Cleveland to see the Indians.  I like going to Boardman and hitting the mall.  I am starting to get into my education classes and am really focusing on how to be a better role model and teacher for the kids.

Paneech: Last season you were immediately thrown into the fire at Penn State, and you guys played respectably.  This year it is off to Michigan State, what should we expect?

Hess: We need to have a good showing at Michigan State, and I think we will.  Last year it was a new era coming in at Youngstown State with a new coach.  We were thinking about at least scoring a touchdown and putting a few points on the board.  This year, we want to put more points on the board than they [Michigan State] do.  I think that is what we need to, and are going to do.

Paneech: One of the biggest areas of turnover was offensive line.  Eric Rodemoyers don’t grow on trees.  Do you feel like you might be scrambling a bit more this season?

Hess: We brought in some pretty big guys who have been working really hard and have increased their strength.  We have some veterans in D. J. Main and Andrew Radakovich who have been here for three or four years.  I still feel secure and have an automatic sense of trust for these guys.  Scrambling is part of the game, and although I don’t anticipate doing too much of it, I consider myself somewhat slippery.

Paneech: With all of the new arrivals, have the veteran members of the team set up events to get the rookies feeling like they are a part of everything?

Hess: It’s not really any one gathering or one function.  We go out to Quaker Steak And Lube on Tuesday nights for the all-you-can-eat wings and we make sure that the new linemen go and get fed.  We play some pool basketball and had a swimming workout last week.  We all live pretty close together, so we are always playing NCAA or watching a movie.  There is a lot of contact and they are getting familiar with all of us.  We recruited a lot of raw talent, and you need that to compete in this conference.  I have not seen any of the new guys get lazy or cut a corner on anything yet.

Paneech: What, if any, bad habits have you formed over the past year that you need to fix?

Hess: One area I need to get better at is being a better practice player.  There are a lot of times when practice is not going how we would like it to go, and someone needs to get a first down or make some plays.  As a quarterback, and a leader, I need to be the person who can step up and make those things happen.  Practice will run much better if I make the effort to execute better.  I need to be the guy in a game that can make a big play on a 3rd and 12, or have to be able to scramble.  Last year there were guys bailing me out.  Barnes did, [Adaris] Bellamy did, Jamaine [Cook] did, it goes on and on.  Coming back as a veteran, I need to make more plays.

Paneech: Does Coach Montgomery, as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, feel like you have a grasp on the offense?

Hess: Coach Montgomery is comfortable with me that I think he may give me more freedom than I had last season.  We are very comfortable with each other.  I trust his calls, as he trusts mine.  There will be things that change from week-to-week, but we do communicate well and we are both big Cincinnati Reds fans.

Paneech: The Reds are in trouble.

Hess: All we need is a solid month.

Paneech:  Scott Rolen is all banged up and your pitching is weak.  [Edinson] Volquez and [Johnny] Cueto are horrible, I don’t see it.  Not this year.  They will need to reincarnate Eric Davis and Barry Larkin to have a shot with that staff.

Hess: (laughs) No, you are wrong.

Paneech: Any tattoo shops around here that are going to get Wolf in trouble?  What is your take on the Ohio State fallout?

Hess: I think it is a tough situation.  There were things that did not fall into the NCAA guidelines and Coach Tressel may have been put in a bad situation.  In my opinion, he has always been a players coach and always took care of his players like they were his own kids.  It may go on other places, but that kind of stuff, like the tattoos, isn’t really an issue here, it doesn’t exist.  We have a great staff and advisors who communicate well with Coach Wolford.  We sign papers that say we are not going to do this, this, and this.  As far as I am concerned, nobody here has done anything.

The Youngstown State Football Alumni Club will hold their annual Debra L. Hinkle Football Alumni Bocce Tournament on Sunday, July 10 at Cassese’s MVR in Youngstown. The tournament starts at 12:30 p.m. with a social hour starting at 11:30 a.m. A buffet dinner will be served at 4 p.m. For more information contact the Penguin Club at (330) 941-2351. The deadline for registration is June 30.

The price to participate for an individual is $55 for non-members and $50 for members of the Football Alumni Group. For couples, the price is $100 for non-members and $95 for members.

Each participant will receive a t-shirt commemorating the annual tournament. Prizes will be awarded to the winning team, which are assigned or can be submitted prior to the event. All proceeds from the event benefit the Football Alumni Club’s mission to support the YSU Football Program.

A 2011-12 membership for the Football Alumni Group is also available for a cost of $50.

The YSU Football Alumni Club Bocce Tournament is sponsored in part by Cassese’s MVR and MS Consultants, Inc.

The Youngstown State University Football Camps have been drawing good numbers.  The above photo was taken on the new turf and shows some of the student athletes who attended.  Coach Eric Wolford and staff did a great job of thinning the groups and giving plenty of specialized, individual attention to all who attended.

“We had about 100 Saturday in the WATTS”, remarked Trevor Parks, YSU Sports Information Director, referring to the first camp.  These pictures are from Monday’s All-Positions camp, in which there were another 70 plus participants.

Wolford and this staff could probably make a living running camps.  It was impressive to see the organization and how well prepared the staff was.  Each group of position players worked with a YSU position coach at great lengths.  The players seemed to benefit greatly on improving technique and straight fundamentals.

Quarterback Coach / Offensive Coordinator Shane Montgomery was fun to watch work with the QB’s as he ran them through a plethora of passing drills, worked on drops and steps and passing accuracy drills.  Montgomery was working with about ten different quarterbacks and in the five minutes I watched his station, he said something to each one.