Posts Tagged ‘Youngstown State University’

In the grand scheme of football, an opening day performance can make or break a team’s entire season.  The past four opening day losses YSU has suffered against Pitt, Penn State, and Ohio State twice left the Penguins scratching their heads.  Walking away with not a single touchdown in those four contests leaves everyone guessing how good a team really is, regardless of the quality or size of the opponent.

The 2009 YSU Penguins football team seems different in so many ways.  Skill position players are experienced and healthy, Coach Heacock has options, the players are hungry, and most importantly, no one cares about those other four openers.  It’s a new season and the positive vibe and authentic yearning to play makes me feel that this game can be alot closer than people will give it a chance to be.

Pitt is fast and has the Big East in their sights.  Their main weapon is their experienced QB, Bill Stull (6’3″, 215, SR).  Stull threw for 2356 yards last season and Coach Heacock respects his abilities.  “He is a veteran, and anytime you are dealing with Senior veterans, they are special guys.  I would be surprised if he doesn’t play a great football game,” said Heacock of Stull.

Pitt will also unveil true Freshman RB Dion Lewis.  Lewis is only 5’8″ but has another gear.  Pitt Coach Dave Wannstedt said that Lewis could touch the ball 30 times per game.

Heacock feels that if a team is going to play to win that they have to enter the contest with the notion that winning is an option.   “It’s a great opportunity for our guys, playing in those venues, but you have to keep things in perspective because of the numbers that those teams have.”

For YSU to be successful they will have to try their best to keep the Panthers defense off balance.  At Monday’s press conference Heacock used deductive reasoning to justify the matchup.  “Like most of the FBS teams, Pitt has talent that runs fast and plays fast, but we feel that we have some folks that can run fast and play fast also.”

The YSU backfield will see a rotation of two, if not three backs with Kevin Smith and Jabari Scott getting most of the carries.  Brandon Summers hopes he can pick up where he left off last season.  Summers will be looking for Donald Jones, Dominique Barnes, and Aaron Pitts to get into open space and make some catches.

Defensively, this Penguins team is so much different than last year.  Mychal Savage is a beast and he’s not hurt.  Crispin Fernandez is an all-conference DT and Mooney’s Taylor Hill transferred back from Michigan to start for YSU.  The talent is there, the timing seems to be there, and if there is one thing that I have not found yet, it’s nerves.

So all of you national sports geniuses and Pitt fans can laugh it up at my expense if I am dead wrong about Saturday.  I am not saying that YSU will win the game, but I refuse to declare they will lose either.  In 2005, I am aware of a 41-0 beating.  This is a new year.  Teams witnessed Appalachian State beating Michigan and know that these wins are possible.  Look for the Penguins to do more than score a TD and break that dry spell against FBS teams.

Mahoning Valley Thunder Coach Chris MacKeown insists that Tom Zetts is now with the team because he is a player, not because he is a local guy to promote as a ticket selling scheme.  Zetts enjoyed a very successful career at Boardman High School and later with Youngstown State University.

As a member of the Penguins, Zetts recorded school bests for pass attempts (1,094), completions (654), touchdowns (51), yardage (7,643), 200-yard games (13) and completion percentage (59.8). His 8,277 total offensive yards are also tops in Penguins history.

Zetts spent the 2008 season with the Parma Panthers of the Italian-American Football League.  In his only season at the controls he guided his Italian Panthers team to the EFAF Cup Championship.  At season’s end, Zetts returned to the area and coached at Duquesne.

The Thunder contacted Zetts in the Spring to be a part of the team, but Zetts is very devoted to his job at Boardman High where he teaches a couple of levels of algebra.  His involvement in Spartans extra-curricular activities limited his time.  With three weeks left in the Thunder season, he wanted to take the time to see what he could do while still young and in good physical condition. 

Zetts told me he is thrilled to be a part of the Thunder and maybe getting the chance to play in front of family and friends.  Because of his familiarity with the area, a few of Zetts’ new co-workers have tried to make him tour guide for Youngstown nightlife and places to meet a pretty girl.  A chuckling Zetts replied that he is happy and that with a great girlfriend he doesn’t do too much solo nightlife activity.

Zetts said he didn’t hear much about the Steve McNair tragedy other than the fact that he was dead.  He was in San Diego enjoying a visit with his brother. 

Tom likes to watch Two And A Half Men and Sportscenter.  He is a Cleveland Browns and Cavaliers fan, but credits the emergence of cable television and TBS for his liking of the Atlanta Braves.

Zetts told me all of the places he has been, nobody has the selection of good pizza like Youngstown.  His favorite place is Belleria, but said he enjoys pizza from many places in the area.

Tom is a country music fan.  His favorite artist is Pat Green.

Zetts, like every other Thunder player likes video games.  He has a PS3 and is currently playing Call of Duty 4.  He also enjoys tinkering with some sports games.

Tom Zetts is a welcome addition to this team.  He knows his role and says he is not here to take Brad Roach’s job.  Coack MacKeown says that the person who plays will be the person who puts the team in the best position to win.  I like both Zetts and Roach and would not want to make that decision. 

Mahoning Valley Thunder Coach Chris MacKeown knows that when players have a bye week, that the first day back can be sluggish and that the lazy relaxed feelings need to go away.  With just two road games and a home finale against Green Bay on July 25, the moves come late in the season.

The Thunder added Youngstown State’s Tom Zetts to the roster.  Coach MacKeown likes what Zetts brings to the team and says that Zetts and YSU’s former kicker, Brian Palmer, were not brought in just because they are from the area.  “I don’t care where guys come from, I have had guys from Japan on my teams.  As long as they help us win, I don’t care where a player comes from.  Are people gonna come because there are local guys?  Do you sacrifice wins?  He [Zetts] would have been here sooner, but he is so commited to his school.  Tom Zetts and Brian Palmer were not signed because they are local guys, they were signed because they can play.”

I asked Coach MacKeown what he would do with both Zetts and Brad Roach at quarterback.  “We will play the guy that gives this team the best chance to win.  The best guy is gonna play.  Brad has an advantage because he has some game experience.  Tom’s first day was better than Brad’s first day, Tom will tell you, he has a lot of learning.  I’m excited because I think we have two quarterbacks that can get it done.  With Brad we scored 53 points, and if we kick half of the PAT’s against Wilkes-Barre, we score 50 points again.”

MacKeown also stressed that there are two ways to put people in the seats, by winning or by loading up a roster with local talent.  “When I was at Louisville, there were local guys up and down the roster and they would draw 14,000 a game but lose.  When I was brought in to win, there were hardly any locals left, and the attendance dropped a bit, but we won and went deep into the playoffs.  Unfortunately, here we didn’t have the winning or the locals, so the formula to put bodies in seats is still untested.”

WR Quorey Payne who leads the team in almost every offensive and special teams category was not in practice.  He is dealing with a knee injury and will be re-evaluated by Thursday.