Pelini: It’s ‘50-50’ that Daniel joins YSU
By Joe Scalzo
scalzo@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State football coach Bo Pelini believes he can build a culture that can handle a player like former Auburn defensive lineman Elijah Daniel.
But, he stressed, Daniel isn’t here yet.
Despite several national reports that Daniel is planning to enroll at YSU after being kicked off Auburn’s football team, Pelini said Monday that it’s “50-50 at best” that Daniel will join the Penguins this fall. He is not yet listed on YSU’s roster.
“There’s a lot that has to happen yet,” he said.
Daniel was arrested and charged on four counts of burglary and four counts of theft in April following several burglaries in an Auburn residence hall in March, according to AL.com. Tigers coach Gus Malzahn kicked him off the team on May 2.
Daniel (6-2, 260) played all 27 games the past two years with the Tigers and had 15 tackles and one sack last season.
“I knew some people down there and did our due diligence and brought him onto campus and talked to a lot of people down there that what happened and what’s going to happen going forward,” Pelini said. “I can’t get into real specifics because there’s still some things being talked about. But
met the young man and got a chance to sit down and talk to him and find out where he is and talk to him about what happened in the incident that you’re referring to.
“I feel like if you put him in the right culture and get him around the right people and give him a second chance to make things right [he’ll be a good addition]. I think he has it in him to do that. But the key is to surround him with good people and a good support system.”
Daniel would be the second controversial defensive lineman to join the team under Pelini. Former Nebraska defensive end Avery Moss joined the team in January after he was kicked off Nebraska’s team following a public indecency charge.
“We’ve got good kids on our football team and they understand that we’re not gonna bring in somebody that we haven’t researched or done our due diligence with,” Pelini said.
Powell eyes safety
Former Michigan State safety/linebacker Jalyn Powell, a Warren Harding High graduate, will join the Penguins this fall after two years with the Spartans. Powell was moved from safety to linebacker during the Spartans’ bowl practice in December. He appeared in nine games and finished with five tackles last season after redshirting in 2013.
Pelini said Powell’s decision was driven by two factors: his desire to play safety and to play close to home.
“He kind of played a lot of nickel, almost like an outside linebacker type position for those guys. Coach [Mark] Dantonio reached out to me and, obviously Jalyn and his family, and the big part of it was getting a chance to come back home and get an opportunity to play at the safety position. And just, really, a comfort level not only in football but as far as his life as a student-athlete.
“Obviously I haven’t had a chance to work with Jalyn but I’m looking forward to that and seeing how he can compete with a position that I think is pretty talented right now.”
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