Posts Tagged ‘Donald jones’

This weeks YSU Football Profile Player is Kevin Smith.  Smith knows pressure, he replaced Reggie Bush at Helix High School in California.  Coming off of a 2008 injury in which he was redshirted, Smith wants to prove he is the playmaker everyone thinks he can be.  He is one of only 12 seniors this season and believes in this years Penguins squad.

Paneech: How tough was it to try to fill the shoes of Reggie Bush at Helix High School?

Smith: It was an uphill battle.  When Reggie played, he packed the stands and then when I played it wasn’t as full (laughs).  It was fun though, it gave me something to work for.  It was alot to live up to, but it was also a welcome challenge.

Paneech:  Why were you redshirted for 2008, and describe what the injury was.

Smith: I got injured.  I pulled, slash, tore my hamstring.  It looked pretty ugly when you seen it.  I kept trying to come back but couldn’t, so the coaches chose to redshirt me, so here I am.

Paneech:  As one of only 12 seniors, how much of a leadership role have you taken on?

Smith: I definitely tried to step it up.  I’m usually a pretty quiet dude and normally don’t say too much but rather let my playing do the talking.  Coach told us [the seniors] to step it up so I am trying to rally the troops.

When asked if it could be a breakout year, Smith said, “Man, I hope so.  I have worked real hard and will not allow myself not to be the best that I can”.  The September 5 opener at Pitt is something that keeps Kevin awake at night, “It’s all I think about, I dream about that at night, I think we have got the team to do it”.  It will be an opportunity to play on a bigger stage, and Smith thinks he and his mates are going to be ready to surprise some people in Pittsburgh on September 5. 

Part of communications as a major would be to speak or perform in front of large groups.  Smith is a communications major and is minoring in history at YSU.  Never wanting to hog the spotlight or be a distraction, if Smith has the kind of year on the field that he is capable of, he will surely have to deal with being pictured on the scoreboard with some prerecorded short dialogue (pictured).

Paneech: Who is your position coach and how do you like his style?

Smith: (laughing) Sam Eddy.  When I first got here, he was hard on me.  My JUCO (Junior College) coach was easy.  When I got here, Coach Eddy was rough, but then it got easier, I think he had to take some time to get to know me.  He’s just funny, I will watch late in the season when he starts falling asleep in meetings”.

Paneech:  How bad do you miss the beaches of California, or have you taken a new liking to the snow here in Youngstown?

Smith: You can never like this weather.  I think about that [California] all of the time.  I wanted to get home for a week before camp, and I’m thinking, man, I wanna go home so bad.  I don’t like snow.

Paneech:  Who is your favorite NFL team and player?

Smith:  All-time favorite player would probably be Barry Sanders.  My favorite team?  I gotta go with the hometown team, San Diego.  I love LT [LaDanian Tomlinson], I love so many different backs that bring something to the game.  Reggie Bush is up there, that’s my boy, but he needs to get back on the field, I ain’t gonna hype him up for no reason (laighing).

Paneech:  Talk with me about Michael Vick.

Smith:  Unless you know what it is like to do time in jail then you can’t judge.  As far as I know, two years in jail isn’t a joke.  He made a mistake, everyone makes mistake and nobody is perfect.  Presidents make mistakes, so why should he be treated any different.

Paneech:  What is it like to have a birthday (November 25th) that sometimes falls on Thanksgiving?

Smith:  I love it!  You sit down and get all this food and then on top of that you get presents.  I think that’s a better birthday than Christmas because your parents would try to play you like, okay, here are two presents, one is for your birthday, and one is for Christmas.  I get that early Christmas gift, and then I get Christmas gifts too. 

Paneech:  What other schools recruited you?

Smith:  The biggest school to recruit me was probably Utah.  There were alot of schools looking at me, some Big Sky, and alot of 1-AA schools.  I thought I was headed to Utah, but it was the same year that Urban Meyer left and went to Florida, and the man who recruited me also left, so that hurt my chances of playing there, so I decided on Junior College.

One Word Answers

Favorite College Basketball Team?   North Carolina

Favorite Fruit?  Bananas

Favorite Vegetable? Carrots

After a loss, I feel…  Mad

After a big win, I feel…  Let’s party

Favorite Musician:  Michael Jackson

Favorite Boxer:  Mike Tyson

Favorite Flavor of Ice Cream:  Chocolate

Kim Kardashian or Beyonce:  Beyonce

Favorite Play To Run:  Zone

Favorite Animal: Tiger

Favorite Holiday:  Thanksgiving

Other Than Myself, The Biggest Difference Maker On This Team Is…  Donald Jones

 

Kevin Smith is an asset to this team in more ways than one.  Not only is he providing leadership by doing rather than saying, but he knows his role and has put the team first.  He has a great personality and was very easy to speak with.  I have a feeling I will be speaking to him after he has a big game at some point in 2009, the question is not which one, but rather, how many.

Aaron Pitts is one of twelve Youngstown State University Seniors on the 2009 football team.  He has lettered the past two seasons and is looking forward to 2009.  The Marion Harding product is 6’3″ and weighs 195.  The thing that impressed me most about Pitts was his love of college.  If YSU Football pieced together an academic challenge team and I got to pick who would be on it, Pitts would probably be my first pick.  He is an accounting major.  In 2007, he received the Gateway Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award.  I got to talk with Pitts after a recent YSU practice.

Paneech: As a two-year letterman, you bring some experience to the team, what kind of expectations do you have for this year?

Pitts:  We had a disappointing season last year.  I got to go to the Final Four in 2006, and I want to go back and win a National Championship, definitely. 

Paneech:  Tell me what it is like to be one of only twelve seniors.

Pitts:  We are very outnumbered as far as how many of us [seniors] that there are, but sometimes they say it’s not the numbers but rather the type of people that you have who are the leaders.  I think we have a real tight-knit senior group and that we will be able to go out and surprise some people by winning games.

Paneech:  How does the enthusiasm compare from this year to other years in camp?

Pitts:  I think we’re pretty hungry this year.  We went 4-8 last year and alot of the guys were disappointed so we are out here trying to get it the best we can.

Paneech:  How excited are you guys for the Pitt game?

Pitts:  Really excited.  I was there in ’05, but I was redshirted so I didn’t get to play.  We’re trying to go in there and shock the world.

Paneech:  What other schools recruited you coming out of high school [Marion Harding]?

Pitts:  I had a few MAC schools interested, like Dayton.  When I came here on my visit, I just loved the atmosphere, I knew about the tradition that Youngstown had, and I wanted to play for a winning program.

Paneech:  What is it like playing for Coach Heacock?

Pitts:  I like it alot.  He definitely cares about his players.  Alot of coaches at other schools just see players as their guys.  Coach Heacock takes time out to meet you as a person and he definitely cares about us as people.

Paneech:  How about the rest of the staff?

Pitts:  The rest of the staff is great.  I have loved my time here and a part of that has been the coaches, they will try to help you out as much as they can.  My position coach is Coach Elliott, he is relaxed and isn’t a yeller or a screamer, but he expects us to go out there and do the best that we can.  We respect that, so we go out there and play for him.

Paneech:  In an average practice, how many times do you catch a football?

Pitts: Other when we do like perimeter and team, we do alot of ball drills as receivers.  I would say I catch anywhere between 50-100 balls a day.

Paneech:  Are you a possession type or a gamebreaker?

Pitts:  Right now I’m in the possession-type category, but if someone goes to sleep on me, I’ll definitely try to break it.  I like to run a post-corner, kind of giving a double-move, get ’em leaning one way and then go the other way.

Paneech:  Who is your best friend on this team?

Pitts:  I would have to say Donald Jones.  He is one of our other wide receivers.  We are roommates too, we have been best friends for over a year and we have been pretty close.

Paneech:  Have you ever seen the movie The Program  where a fumbler has to carry a ball everywhere, have you ever been that guy?

Pitts:  Actually, I have.  In middle school, I played QB, and every now and then when I ran the ball I would hold it like I was about to throw it, so my coach made me carry a ball around the middle school and everyone would try to knock it out of my hands.

One Word Answers

Favorite Meal?  Lunch, that’s when I eat the most.

Why Accounting As a Major?  Love numbers, it’s like a puzzle to put together.

Favorite NFL Receiver?  Chad Ochocinco

Favorite Team:  Cincinnati Bengals (and yes, he’s watching Hard Knocks on HBO)

Best Madden 2010 Secret?   Pass the ball every play

Favorite Area Restaurant?  Definitely the MVR Club, great Italian!

Scoring Avg. From High School Basketball Days?  18-20 PPG

Best Class Taken At YSU?  Advanced Acoounting

Favorite Television Show: SportsCenter

Could Keep One CD, What Would It Be?  It would be a mix of Gospel, Kanye West, John Legend

Pitts is a guy who would be tough to dislike.  He is engaging and articulate in his conversation and general demeanor.  He wants the best for his team above himself and is respectful and humble about where he is and the people that got him there.  He is the kind of athlete that people root for to do well because of his charisma and loyalty.  So when #83 pulls one in this season, clap a little louder, he deserves it.