Coach Eric Wolford opened his second season as the Penguins' head coach on Wednesday as the Youngstown State football started Spring Drills with a two-and-a-half hour workout in helmets and shorts at Stambaugh Stadium.
Rain and cool weather greeted the Penguins for the first hour of the workout. YSU spent the second half of the first hour working in postion groups.
The Guins capped off the session with 30 minutes of offense against defense work.
Wolford said the first practice of his second season as head coach was a lot different from his first one in 2010.
"We're a year older and everyone is understanding what we expect," Wolford said. "I think it's important to them and that's a compliment to them.
"We had a good day today and the kids are working hard," Wolford said. "It was good to see some guys step up and make some plays. It's the first day, we don't have any pads on, we weren't doing any tackling there or anything like that, but it was good to see guys flying around and playing with intensity. It's good to see we're making some progress as far as we physically look better. Hopefully we can continue to get better."
The Penguins return 45 letterwinners (22 on offense, 21 on defense and two on special teams) from last year's squad and have a total of 47 lettermen on the roster with the additions of 2010 redshirts Taylor Hill and Jelani Berassa. YSU has 71 players on the current roster.
A total of 18 seniors are on the team with just seven on the offensive side of the ball. The Penguins lost 21 seniors from the 2010 squad. YSU returns eight redshirt freshman who were with the team in the fall.
The Guins return to the gridiron on Friday afternoon for their second practice of the spring. The practice is set to start at 4 p.m.
Upcoming Spring Schedule (All Practices at Stambaugh Stadium)
March 25 - Practice | 4 p.m.
March 26 - Practice | 10 a.m.
March 27 - Pizza Cookoff | 4-7 p.m.
March 28 - Practice | 4 p.m.
March 30 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 1 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 2 - Scrimmage | 10 a.m.
April 4 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 6 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 8 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 9 - Scrimmage | 10 a.m.
April 10 - FCA Banquet | 6 p.m.
April 11 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 12 - Bob Dove Luncheon | Noon
April 13 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 15 - Women's Coaching Clinic | 5:30 p.m.
April 15 - Practice | 6:30 p.m.
April 16 - Spring Game | 12:05 p.m.
April 17 - No Stone Unturned Pancake Breakfast at Mt. Carmel
May 6 - Football Alumni Reunion - Youngstown Country Club
For Season Ticket or Spring Game information contact the YSU Athletics Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978.
