Lets face it, nobody really cares about Football in the Valley, sure its nice to support the schools other teams, but unless they are doing well, people just dont care.
after reading some info and watching film, theres 4 freshman who i think will have an instant impact
6'5 Chavien Nolcox should take Davion Rogers spot on starting on D, he has fantastic read and react skills and always is around the ball, he is also a very solid tackler, always wraps up and goes untill the whistle
Dylan Colucci will probably be in the 2 deep at the start of the season somewhere on the OL, Kid is as strong as a Bull and runs through DL on blocks like a hot knife through butter. doesnt have the greatest foot work so probably a RT or RG guy, but will be fantastic to have on the goal line and short yard situations
Christian Wilson was the highest rated OT to sign with an FCS school, big body, also needs help with his foot work, more of a RT project but could be very good, should also be in the 2 deep
Anthony Szymczak a big DT, had a great wrestling career in PA and was honorable mention in football for his level (AAAA), very good run stuffing DT, at 6'3 315 we needed some big boys up the middle as we got gashed alot
next year i expect the offense to be even better, Hess is a year older, a year wiser, a year more developed. we had a pretty balanced offense but i feel like we will pass the ball more next year with Hess being in his 4th year now he knows the offense, he knows the talent at other schools.
our front 7 should also be better vs the run, we got 4 DTs 285+ up , we also had some solid LB last year and added a few more good ones
secondary is still in question as is pass rush from the DE, that depends on who our DC coach is next year
next year we start out with Pitt, which is probably a 50/50 toss up game, im not impressed with anybody on their coaching staff and they didnt seem too talent last year, but they still are a big BCS School
Valpo should be another blowout victory, Albany should be another easy win
then comes a test in Northern Iowa, the good news we have them at home, the bad news they are always good. this year we damn near beat them in their own place and if they had a 6'1 RB insted of 6'3-6'4 we win by a FG.
they lose their starting QB and also leading rusher #1 WR, #3 WR, best CB, and their top 4 out of 5 leading tacklers
it is UNI so they tend to rebuild, but will they be rebuild by the 4th game?
we have a bye in week 5
and NDSU who we upset and gave the NC their only loss of the year
ND loses their 2nd leading rusher, #1 WR, #1 TE, and their top 2 leading tacklers
NDSU looks to have been a fairley young team like YSU, they had more JR starters then us but about the same amount of seniors starting, will be an interesting game, but we have to play them at their place and they will definatley want payback
http://paneech.com/2011/12/2012-youngstown-state-football-schedule-announced/i think a realistic finish would be from 7-4 to 11-0 depending on the DC
if we finish 7-4, winning at least 2 out of 3 from Pitt, UNI and NDSU is key
if we go 1-3 or 0-3 kiss but still go 7-4 kiss playoffs goodbye