Spring 2021 Preview: YSU

The Youngstown State Penguins come to Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium with an 0-3 record, a new head coach, and a lot of new players.  Head Coach Doug Phillips arrives after the Bo Pelini firing.  He has taken an interesting path to becoming a head coach.  He was a grad assistant under Jim Tressel when he was the YSU headcoach, became an assistant and position coach in the MAC for a number of years and then eventually left coaching and was a high school principal for a number of years.  Three years he got back into coaching at Cincinnati and worked there for three years before becoming the YSU head coach.  So far, his season is off to a rough start but it is clear what he is trying to build; run first with a stout defense.  Gone are the days when YSU will rely on transfers to build their roster.  This is a hungry team and a hungry team is a dangerous team.

Offense

The Penguins have struggled to gain their footing on offense through three weeks. They have scored 7, 0, and 22 points against NDSU, UNI, and SIU which is good for 9.7 points per game.  They are passing for 92.7 yards per game and running for 108.3.  Last week against SIU, they had just over 30 yards passing before the final drive as they tried to mount a comeback when they had 60+ yards.  They have allowed seven sacks and convert on 3rd down 42% of the time but are 5/6 on 4th down conversions.

The QB for YSU was #7 Mark Waid (6-2, 220) last last week.  Previously, He had split time with #5 Joe Craycraft.  Waid is a really interesting player.  He was the 2018 Columbus Quarterback Club Player of the Year, which is given to the top HS player in Ohio.  He passed for 11,658 yards in his prep career including 4,376 yards passing and 1,776 yards rushing with 74 total touchdowns over 15 games his senior season.  What is interesting is that so far in his career at YSU, the Penguins have used him as a run first type of player.  He is currently YSU's second leading rusher with 136 yards and 1 TD.  He has passed the ball for 202 yards and 1 TD on 26-43 passing with a long of 33 yards.

At running back the Penguins have added 2x Harlan Hill (top Division 2 player) finalist #8 Jaleel McLaughlin (5-9, 175) to the running back room.  He leads the team with 181 yards and 2 TD on 42 attempts (4.3 ypc avg).  He is a shifty back that looks like he has explosive potential but his long run on the year is just 12 yards.  Also in the running back groom is #9 London Pearson (5-11, 200) who has 19 attempts for 18 yards.  Another player that I'm interested in is #20 Christian Turner (5-10, 200).  He was on the MVFC All-Newcomer Team in 2017 when he put up 997 all-purpose yards but has just struggled to find more of a role in the offense.  He has made plenty of moves in the past and I would expect him to make some noise before the end of this season.  He has just three carries this spring but has 5 receptions for 39 yards. 

The wide receiver room is a bit of a mystery right now.  Against SIU #3 Natavious Payne (5-10, 160) and #11 Malick Mbodj (6-4, 210) earned the start. Payne has 6 receptions for 61 yards while Mbodj has 4 for 19 yards.  #10 Jake Coates (5-10, 180), has the lone receiving TD for the Penguins and 2 receptions for 15 yards. 

YSU starts two tight ends and both have been pretty productive this season.  #82 Jake Benio (6-3, 250) is the leading receiver for YSU and #81 Andrew Ogletree (6-7, 250) is the third leading receiver.   Benio has 7 receptions for 64 yards and Ogeltree has 4 receptions for 50 yards.  Ogletree is transfer from Findlay where he caught 54 passes for 785 yards and 10 TDs.  

The offensive line has started six different player through 3 games #54 Jaison Williams (6-2, 310), #50 Derek Hite (6-3, 285), #56 Aidan Parker (6-2, 280), #77 Dan Becker (6-5, 295), #59 Henry Yoboue (6-8, 320), and #76 Mike McAllister (6-3, 305).  Williams, Hite, and Parker (true freshman) are seeing their first significant action of their careers.  Becker was All-MVFC HM in 2019,  Yoboue was a transfer from ASA College and has played significantly in two years, while McAllister served in a reserve role in 2019.  

Defense

The YSU defense is full of new faces but like most YSU teams appears to be physical.  They are allowing 25.3 ppg and opponents are moving the ball on the ground 212 yards per game and 130.3 yards per game through the air.  So far they have struggled getting to the passer with no sacks and only 5 quarterback hits.  They have forced 2 interceptions.  This season they are running a 4-2-5 defense.

The defensive front for YSU is led by the active #54 Vinny Gentile (6-2 270) who is third on the team with 16 tackles.  He is joined by ends #8 James Jackson (6-2, 230) #9 Antoine Cook (6-4, 255).  Jackson has 10 tackles and leads the team with 2 QBH while Cook has 5 tackles and a QBH to his credit. #0 Ty Eddington (6-3, 325), #55 Craig DeMarko (6-0, 280), and #96 Dylan Wudke (6-4, 245) have all started along the line this season. Eddington, a grad transfer from Eastern Michigan, has 4 stops this season as does Wudke.

YSU starts two good linebackers in #41 Grant Dixon (6-3, 225) who has 25 stops and 1 QBH.  #48 Griffin Hoak (6-1, 220) has 24 tackles and 1 QBH.  Dixon is a grad transfer from Marist where he started 24 games accumulating 183 tackles, 20 TFLs and 8.4 sacks.  Hoak started two games as a redshirt freshman in 2019.

In the secondary, #1 Zaire Jones (6-1, 195) is the leader of this group at safety.  The former Vanderbilt transfer was an MVFC HM performer in 2019 and has 10 tackles so far this year.  Next two him is #33 Patrick Minenok (5-11, 210), a former Slippery Rock transfer who played mainly special teams in 2019 but has 13 tackles so far this season. #7 D'Marco Augustin (6-1, 195),  #21 Keyon Martin (5-11, 160),  #24 Troy Jakubec (6-1, 174) are the starting corners.  Martin is a true freshman while Augustin and Jakubec are redshirt freshmen.   Jakubec has 13 tackles and an INT, while Martin has 11 stops and an INT, while Augustin has made 4 tackles. #5 Jaelin Madison (6-0, 195) has made 9 tackles as he started the first two game of the season. #4 Quincy Lenton (6-0, 200), a Florida grad transfer, has 6 tackles as a reserve safety.  

Special Teams

The YSU special teams are just okay.  Solid but unspectacular.  #29 Paddy Lynch (6-2, 190) has handled the punting duties and has 12 punts for 38.3 yards.  He does have a long of 55 but has only forced 3 fair catches and just just 3 inside the 20.  #19 Colt McFadden (6-0, 200) has 7 kickoffs for 382 yards for a 54.6 yard average and 4 touchbacks.  

The kick return duties have been handled by Jaleel McLaughlin, 6 returns for 92 yards.  Punt return belongs to Jake Coates who has a 3.7 yard average on just 3 returns.  He did have a nice a solid 2019 when he was an All-MVFC selection as a returner with 353 yards on 32 attempts.

Prediction

Jacks 27-7 YSU  

Where to Watch

In person and on ESPN+

Go Jacks!

Matt