The Youngstown State football team returns sophomore quarterback Kurt Hess and a stable of tailbacks led by junior Jamaine Cook. However, there will be plenty of opportunities for the Penguins to step up at many positions when spring drills start on Wednesday.
Hess had an impressive first year as the Penguins' signal caller. In 11 games, he threw for 2,117 yards and 12 touchdowns as he completed 179-of-304 attempts. He was selected as the Missouri Valley Football Conference's Freshman of the Year. He was the first freshman quarterback to start all 11 games of a season since Tom Zetts in 2004.
Also at quarterback, senior Marc Kanetsky, sophomore Najee Tyler and redshirt freshman Patrick Angle all look to get reps during the spring session.
Cook rushed for 1,276 yards on 241 attempts with 11 touchdowns on the year and had 973 yards on 199 attempts and scored eight touchdowns in eight league games. Sophomore Adaris Bellamy tied Cook for the lead in touchdowns and tied the school mark for TD rushes by a freshman with 11. Bellamy had 545 yards on 110 carries after joining the lineup last year.
Other tailbacks who can step in are sophomores Allen Jones, Torrian Pace and Jordan Thompson. Thompson had 144 yards on 36 carries and scored four touchdowns. Jones had 85 yards on eight rushes and a TD while Pace added 13 carries for 53 yards.
At tight end, senior David Rogers and sophomore Carson Sharbaugh will see the bulk of the action along with redshirt freshman Nate Adams. Sharbaugh caught 10 passes in 2010 while Rogers had seven.
YSU will have one senior on the offensive line this spring, however Andy Colegrove has not played the position since his freshman year. Leading the way are junior left tackle Andrew Radakovich, who started all 11 games in 2010, junior right tackle D.J. Main, who started the first seven of the season before being sidelined with a broken foot, and sophomore Chris Elkins, who came on to start the final four at right guard.
Brought in to help in January were linemen Lamar Mady and Mark Pratt. Mady is slated to play left guard while Pratt will take over at center. In the spring, junior Marc Stevens, sophomores Zach Larson and Andrew Sinko as well as redshirt freshmen Stephen Page and J.P. May will get their opportunity to crack the starting five. Fred Herdman transitions from defensive line to offensive line and will be given a chance to find a spot as well.
At wide receiver, the Guins lost first-team all-league performer and security-blanket Dominique Barnes. Barnes had 37 percent (67-of-180) of the team's total receptions and four of the 12 TD catches. On the flip side, that means - with the exception of all but two by Kyle Banna - 111 of the receptions and eight touchdowns from last year return. But further numbers crunching shows that 38 were receptions by tailbacks and 17 came from tight ends.
The top returning receiver entering the spring is senior Ely Ducatel. Ducatel had a breakout year with 27 catches for 336 yards and two touchdowns last season. The second most by a receiver was 12 by Juilian Harrell, followed by Kevin Watts' 11 and three each by Andre Barboza and Josh Lee.
The Guins lost Jelani Berassa early in fall camp and look to have him back as a major contributor in 2011. Senior Pat White, senior Dionte Snow and redshirt freshman Jake Dragovich will be looking for opportunities this spring as well.
On defense, senior linebacker and 2010's leading tackler John Sasson will spearhead the unit. Last year, 21 different players started at some point on defense and 13 of them are back this season.
On the defensive line, seniors Obinna Ekweremuba and Andrew Johnson return with the most experience up front combining to start 14 contests. YSU will be without 11-game starters from last year in Torrance Nicholson and Luke Matelan, but that will open opportunities for others.
Senior Daniel Stewart and sophomore D.J. Moss started a game each in 2010. Sophomore Kyle Sirl, redshirt freshman Brandon Green will push for action in the spring. Junior college newcomers Nick DeKraker (tackle) and Josh Fenderson (end) joined the team in January following strong junior-college careers.
At linebacker, Sasson started all 11 games last season finishing with 89 total tackles, including 44 solo stops. Senior Deonta Tate returns following a 52-tackle campaign while sophomore Dom Rich had 15 starting the final three games. Junior Will Shaw moves from the safety slot to linebacker after recording 48 tackles.
A hungry group of underclassmen will get their shot this spring. Sophomores Ali Cheaib, Thomas Sprague and Mark Brandenstein all were special-teams contributors in 2010 along with junior Ethan Slark. Sophomore Taylor Hill returns after redshirting in 2010. Hill was a major contributor in 2009 being named to the league's all-newcomer squad. Redshirts Kevin Johnson and Danny Fernback and transfer Chuck Lengyel also will get looks in the spring. Lengyel impressed in the fall after transferring from Mount Union.
In the secondary, YSU has five seniors with cornerback Randy Louis leading the way. Louis had 32 tackles in eight starts last year. The other seniors are Grant Mayes, Scott Sentner, Deionte Williams and Lee, who is converting from wide receiver.
Sophomores Jamarious Boatwright and Donald D'Alesio combined to start 10 games as true freshmen last year. D'Alesio ranked second on the team in tackles with 69. Sophomores Josh Garner, Matt Romeo and Gannon Hulea will also be looking for an opportunity this spring.
At punter, Nick Liste - an all-newcomer team and honorable-mention All-MVFC pick - returns after a freshman campaign in which he averaged 41.4 yards a kick and had six boots of 50 yards or more. At placekicker, junior-college transfer David Brown steps in for Stephen Blose. Brown joined the program in January and takes over after Blose made 12-of-14 FGs and 38-of-40 PAT tries.
Barnes had 11 of the team's 15 punt returns with Boatwright returning the other four. Cook and Boatwright combined for 37 kickoff returns. Kanetsky returns as holder and senior Nate Schkurko returns as the squad's holder.
Drills, which start on Wednesday, conclude on Saturday, April 16, when the Penguins will hold their annual Red-White Spring Game at Stambaugh Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12:05 p.m.
2011 Youngstown State Spring Football Roster
No. Name Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
1 Najee Tyler Quarterback So. 6-5 240 Queens, N.Y./Xaverian
3 Grant Mayes Cornerback Sr. 5-10 195 Roselle, N.J./Seton Hall Prep
4 Jamarious Boatwright Cornerback So. 5-11 190 Largo, Fla./Largo
5 Adaris Bellamy Tailback So. 5-10 215 Dunedin, Fla./Dunedin
5 Randy Louis Cornerback Sr. 5-9 175 Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard
6 Jelani Berassa Wide Receiver So. 6-3 200 Miami, Fla./Miami Killian
6 Deonta Tate Linebacker Sr. 6-1 225 Palmetto, Fla./Palmetto
7 Ely Ducatel Wide Receiver Sr. 6-1 195 Naples, Fla./Lely
8 Donald D'Alesio Cornerback So. 5-11 180 Youngstown, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney
9 Will Shaw Safety Jr. 6-2 220 Baltimore, Md./Highland
10 Josh Lee Wide Receiver Sr. 5-9 190 Lutz, Fla./Freedom
11 Kevin Watts Wide Receiver So. 6-0 220 Middletown, Ohio/Middletown
12 Kurt Hess Quarterback So. 6-3 220 Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne
14 Patrick Angle Quarterback RFr. 6-2 205 Logan, Ohio/Logan
15 Juilian Harrell Wide Receiver Jr. 6-2 210 Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt
16 Gannon Hulea Free Safety So. 6-0 200 Poland, Ohio/Poland
17 Dionte Snow Wide Receiver Sr. 6-2 190 Toledo, Ohio/Scott
19 Marc Kanetsky Quarterback Sr. 6-0 185 Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard
20 Dom Rich Linebacker So. 6-1 215 Canfield, Ohio/Canfield
21 Josh Garner Safety So. 6-1 190 Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne
24 Scott Sentner Free Safety Sr. 6-2 200 McDonald, Ohio/McDonald
25 Torrian Pace Tailback So. 5-10 230 Chantilly, Va./Chantilly
27 Justin Austin Free Safety So. 5-11 215 Hubbard, Ohio/Ursuline
28 Allen Jones Tailback So. 5-10 205 Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline
31 Matt Romeo Cornerback So. 5-9 155 Boardman, Ohio/Boardman
32 Jordan Thompson Tailback So. 6-1 220 Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota West
33 Deionte Williams Free Safety Sr. 6-2 185 Miami, Fla./Northwestern
34 Thomas Sprague Linebacker So. 6-1 215 Gainesville, Ga./Gainesville
35 Jamaine Cook Tailback Jr. 5-9 195 Cleveland, Ohio/Midpark
36 Mark Brandenstein Linebacker So. 5-11 210 Boardman, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney
39 Daniel Stewart Defensive End Sr. 6-0 240 Long Beach, Calif./Bellflower
42 Nate Adams Tight End So. 6-5 240 Newark, Ohio/Newark Catholic
44 Andrew Johnson Defensive Tackle Sr. 6-3 265 Detroit, Mich./Southeastern
48 Ethan Slark Linebacker Jr. 6-0 200 Springfield, Ohio/South
50 Taylor Hill Linebacker So. 6-2 210 Youngstown, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney
51 Ali Cheaib Linebacker So. 6-2 215 Dunedin, Fla./Dunedin
53 John Sasson Linebacker Sr. 6-2 240 Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel
54 Danny Fernback Linebacker RFr. 6-1 205 Boardman, Ohio/Boardman
55 Lamar Mady Offensive Line Jr. 6-4 325 Topeka, Kan./Topeka
56 Zach Larson Offensive Guard So. 6-3 300 Youngstown, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney
57 Andy Colegrove Offensive Guard Sr. 6-4 260 Ironton, Ohio/Ironton
59 Chuck Lengyel Defensive End Jr. 6-1 230 Columbiana, Ohio/South Range
60 Kevin Johnson Defensive End RFr. 6-3 210 Boardman, Ohio/Boardman
65 Stephen Page Offensive Guard RFr. 6-4 270 Newton Falls, Ohio/Newton Falls
66 Chris Elkins Offensive Guard So. 6-5 270 Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls
69 Marc Stevens Center Jr. 6-5 300 Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington
72 Andrew Radakovich Offensive Tackle Jr. 6-6 305 Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville
74 Andrew Sinko Offensive Tackle So. 6-5 280 Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville
76 Mark Pratt Center Jr. 6-3 325 Tooele, Utah/Tooele
77 D.J. Main Offensive Tackle Jr. 6-6 285 Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville
78 J.P. May Offensive Tackle RFr. 6-6 280 Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington
80 David Rogers Tight End Sr. 6-3 250 Kent, Ohio/Roosevelt
81 Nick Liste Punter So. 5-10 180 Niles, Ohio/Niles McKinley
82 David Brown Placekicker Jr. 5-10 170 Ojai, Calif./Nordoff
83 Andre Barboza Wide Receiver Sr. 6-2 210 Hyannis, Mass./Barnstable
84 Pat White Wide Receiver Sr. 6-6 220 Warren, Ohio/Harding
85 Nate Schkurko Long Snapper Sr. 6-2 190 Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg
86 Carson Sharbaugh Tight End So. 6-5 250 New Wilmington, Pa./New Wilmington
87 Kyle Sirl Defensive End So. 6-4 250 Westfield, Ohio/Cloverleaf
88 Jake Dragovich Wide Receiver RFr. 6-2 195 Canfield, Ohio/Ursuline
90 Obinna Ekweremuba Defensive End Sr. 6-3 250 Orlu, Nigeria/A-2 International
92 Fred Herdman Offensive Guard So. 6-5 240 Scottsdale, Ariz./Pinnacle
96 Brandon Green Defensive Tackle RFr. 6-3 250 Tampa, Fla./Tampa Catholic
98 D.J. Moss Defensive Tackle So. 5-11 270 Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch
99 Josh Fenderson Defensive Line Jr. 6-2 250 Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford
Timote Taumoepeau Linebacker RFr. 6-0 245 Boardman, Ohio/Boardman
Spring Football Schedule
Date Event Time Links
Mar 23, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Mar 25, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Mar 26, 2011 Spring Practice 10 a.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Mar 28, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Mar 30, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Apr 1, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Apr 2, 2011 Spring Practice 10 a.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Apr 4, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Apr 6, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Apr 8, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Apr 9, 2011 Spring Practice 10 a.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Apr 11, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Apr 13, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Apr 15, 2011 Spring Practice 4 p.m.
Stambaugh Stadium
Apr 15, 2011 Spring Practice 6:30 p.m.
DeBartolo Stadium Club
Apr 16, 2011 Red-White Spring Game Noon
Stambaugh Stadium
