they have a tough road schedule i think so it should be interesting
( 0 Votes )
After a season most Penguin fans would like to forget, Youngstown State is preparing for a return to the playoffs for the first time in three years. Last year the Penguins were plagued with dozens of injuries, which was one of the many factors that contributed to a dismal 4-8 season.
Looking back now, those injuries did help some of young players get some valuable experience for a number of games last year. That gameday experience, even if it was for two or three games, will help the Penguins out immensely this year.
The Penguins will rely heavilily on Senior QB Brandon Summers, who was the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2008. I guess you could say, as Summers goes, so goes the Penguins season. If Brandon Summers can manage to stay healthy this year, which he was not able to do last year, I believe the Penguins have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs and competing for the Missouri Valley Conference Title. If Summers gets hurt, the Penguins will struggle to move the ball on offense and in all likelihood fail to make the playoffs.
Never has a Penguin team relied so heavily on one player, but we have no other choice this year. We have great depth at the RB position and have a potential NFL player at WR in Donald Jones, one of the best to wide receivers ever to play at Stambaugh Stadium. I also believe our line will be improved after last season.
On the defensive side of the ball, another potential NFL player DT Mychal Savage has returned, thanks to a medical redshirt, after getting hurt at the Horseshoe in week 1 last season. I am also excited to see a kid I played against while at Ursuline, that being Taylor Hill from Cardinal Mooney. Hill, a Michigan transfer, will be playing LB this year and will be a force to mess with on defense. O yeah, how could I forget the biggest offseason story, Head Coach Jon Heacock is now the YSU Defensive Coordinator. For anyone that had the pleasure of watching the Tressel teams of the 90s, a major factor to their success was their defense, because of the phenomenal job of -then- DC Jon Heacock. He is a much better DC than anyone we've had since he became head coach in 2001. I expect a much improved defense this year.
I will predict our schedule in my next article of the Penguin Insider, but I guess you could say I am a bit more optimistic than some folks are. What do you think, will the 'guins be able to return to the playoffs in 2009? Vote in our new poll: [poll id="17"]
| January 29, 2010
<img class="alignleft" style="margin: 3px; border: 1px solid black;" src="http://mvred.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/ysuinsider.png" alt="" width="250" height="400" /><strong>The Penguin Insider is a new column written by me, Michael Metzinger. I plan on doing a weekly article on the status Youngstown State football and basketball. I hope you enjoy our coverage of the Penguins. I figure I will let my true colors come out on here, because I am a much bigger YSU fan than I am a political buff.</strong>After a season most Penguin fans would like to forget, Youngstown State is preparing for a return to the playoffs for the first time in three years. Last year the Penguins were plagued with dozens of injuries, which was one of the many factors that contributed to a dismal 4-8 season.
Looking back now, those injuries did help some of young players get some valuable experience for a number of games last year. That gameday experience, even if it was for two or three games, will help the Penguins out immensely this year.
The Penguins will rely heavilily on Senior QB Brandon Summers, who was the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2008. I guess you could say, as Summers goes, so goes the Penguins season. If Brandon Summers can manage to stay healthy this year, which he was not able to do last year, I believe the Penguins have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs and competing for the Missouri Valley Conference Title. If Summers gets hurt, the Penguins will struggle to move the ball on offense and in all likelihood fail to make the playoffs.
Never has a Penguin team relied so heavily on one player, but we have no other choice this year. We have great depth at the RB position and have a potential NFL player at WR in Donald Jones, one of the best to wide receivers ever to play at Stambaugh Stadium. I also believe our line will be improved after last season.
On the defensive side of the ball, another potential NFL player DT Mychal Savage has returned, thanks to a medical redshirt, after getting hurt at the Horseshoe in week 1 last season. I am also excited to see a kid I played against while at Ursuline, that being Taylor Hill from Cardinal Mooney. Hill, a Michigan transfer, will be playing LB this year and will be a force to mess with on defense. O yeah, how could I forget the biggest offseason story, Head Coach Jon Heacock is now the YSU Defensive Coordinator. For anyone that had the pleasure of watching the Tressel teams of the 90s, a major factor to their success was their defense, because of the phenomenal job of -then- DC Jon Heacock. He is a much better DC than anyone we've had since he became head coach in 2001. I expect a much improved defense this year.
I will predict our schedule in my next article of the Penguin Insider, but I guess you could say I am a bit more optimistic than some folks are. What do you think, will the 'guins be able to return to the playoffs in 2009? Vote in our new poll: [poll id="17"]
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