Happy Hobo Week! The Jackrabbits host the Penguins of Youngstown State on Saturday in what should be a beautiful fall day for football. The Penguins are rebuilding this year after a number of high profile graduations and transfers really turned over the roster; especially on the defense. YSU is 2-4 on the season and is coming off of it’s best defensive performance of the year against Indiana State. I still am a believer in Doug Phillips as the head coach but he cannot afford another off season like last year. He has to start retaining talent or YSU will be completely rebuilding year after year. That constant rebuild (vs. reloading) leads to losing seasons which eventually gets a coach canned.
Offense
At first glance it appears the offense has not been the problem. They are averaging 28.3 ppg but that is really supported by a 59 point effort vs. Pioneer League member Valparaiso. Take out that game and they are averaging almost a touchdown less per game (22.2 ppg). As usual, their strength is in rushing the ball where they average 211 yards per game (5.1 ypc). They are also passing for 170 ypg. They are very efficient on 3rd down, converting on 51% of their opportunities and in the redzone they have scored on 16/20 attempts with 13 being touchdowns. This combination of rushing and 3rd down efficiency means they dominate time of possession controlling the ball for 36 mins and 36 seconds per game! They have allowed 7 sacks, tossed 7 interceptions, and lost 2 fumbles.
The new starting QB for YSU this year is Ohio native #12 Beau Brungard (6-0, 210). He is the teams leading passer and rusher and has over 1,500 all-purpose yardage. He completed 65.5% of his passes for 1,013 yards and 6 TDs BUT he has tossed 6 INTs too. On the ground he has 473 net yards (7.4 ypc average) and 6 more TDs. YSU fans have been frustrated with him because of some inconsistency and obviously the turnovers. He has only hit 200+ passing yards once this season (Pitt) and has had a couple of rushing performances that were clunkers. The next man up is #7 Max Blanc (6-5, 225) and he has only attempted 2 passes on the season.
YSU brought back one of the best backs in the MVFC in #10 Tyshon King (5-11, 210) but he has struggled to get going in 2024. He has 254 yards on 69 carries (3.7 ypc) and 4 TDs with a long of just 15 yards. In the passing game he has 7 receptions for 63 yards. He seems to have been somewhat displaced by #2 Ethan Wright (6-1, 208), a Cincinnati transfer, has 393 rushing yards on 71 attempts (5.5 ypc) and 4 TDs. He has also been a threat in the passing game and is the teams 3rd leading receiver with 11 receptions for 63 yards. #24 Da’Shuan Whatley (5-9, 180) is a change of pace back and has 56 yards (3.3 ypc).
The wide receiver corp has a true number one in #4 Max Tomczak (6-0, 195) and he has racked up 28 receptions for 392 yards and 2 TD with a long of 73 yards. Tomczak is a crafty route runner with sure hands. He also brings some toughness and an attitude to the offense. A new name to learn is #18 Cyrus Traugh (6-0, 180) and has had a strong redshirt freshman season with 19 receptions for 248 yards and 3 TD. Traugh’s resume is pretty impressive as he was named the Randy Moss Award recipient as the top wide receiver in the state of West Virginia in 2022. #1 Latrell Fordham (6-3, 195) has been a player that Penguin fans have been waiting to breakout for a few years. So far this season he has just 10 receptions for 81 yards and 1 TD. Outside of these three, #14 Jawon Hall (6-1, 185), a slippery Rock transfer, is the only other guy with much production and he has 4 receptions for 43 yards.
At tight end/H-Back, #15 Brandan Serrano (6-0, 250) is back in a starting role and he has just 2 receptions for 9 yards. However, he is a very good lead blocker. The TE that is more of a threat in the passing game is #89 Colt Sechrest (6-4, 255) who has 6 receptions for 33 yards.
The offensive line is led by #54 Jaison Williams (6-4, 320) and #56 Aidan Parker (6-2, 300) who are multi year starters. Williams is also a 2x MVFC All-Conference honoree. Parker has started at all three interior positions in his 5 seasons with the ‘guins. Their other three starters are all sophomores. From left to right they go:
- #78 Desmeal Leigh (6-7, 325, SO)
- #56 Aidan Parker (6-2, 300, SR)
- #67 Van Keen (6-4, 305, SO)
- #62 Shane Keenan (6-5, 305, SO)
- #54 Jaison Williams (6-4, 320, SR)
Defense
The Penguins play a 4-3 defense and it has been up and down. The numbers are certainly skewed because Pitt put up 73 points on them. Outside of the Pitt game they are allowing just 25.8 ppg. At times they have done well against the run and have been stingy against the pass but they just haven’t been super consistent from week to week. On the average they allow 202 yards per game on the ground and 206 through the air. Opponents convert on 43% of their 3rd down opportunities and score on 16 of 18 trips into the red-zone, scoring TDs on 14 of those trips. They only have 1 INT, 2 fumble recoveries but have 15 sacks!
Up front they some really good size and two guys return who played last year. At defensive end, #93 Hunter Allen (6-5, 255) has 13 total tackles, 4 TFL, and 5 sacks along with 4 more quarterback hits. He has always been an active player but he appears to have turned it up a notch this year. Across from him is #42 Michael Voitus (6-1, 240) and he has 10 tackles, 4 TFL, and 3 sacks along with another QBH. #91 Dawan Martin (6-4, 230), #22 DaShawn Carter (6-3, 240), and #90 Ebony Curry Jr. are a trio of reserves who have combined for 8 tackles and 3 sacks. On the interior, big number #88 Jaelen Crider (6-3, 310) has 9 stops and 4 sacks! The former Toledo transfer has been super productive for a big d tackle. Valpo transfer #97 Tyler Bukur (6-2, 275) has 7 tackles, 2.5 TFL, and 1 sack. #44 Nehemiah Dukes (6-2, 280) has just 1 tackle this season and Northern Colorado transfer #99 Joe Brown (6-5, 315) has 5 tackles and 1 sack.
The linebacker are performing well and are led by #33 Preston Zandier (6-0, 225) who has 24 total tackles, 2 TFL, 1 PBU, and 2 QBH. He is flanked by #45 Devin Johnson (6-0, 215) at SAM and Marshall transfer #4 Kerion Martin (6-1, 210) at WILL. Johnson has 23 tackles, 1.5 TFL, and 1 PBU. Martin has 19 tackles, 1 TFL, and 2 QBH. Like so many other teams, Martin is actually a safety so in many situations #8 Mike Wells (6-3, 250) comes in to play the run. He has 13 total tackles, 2 TFL, 1 QBH, and a forced fumble. Outside of Wells, there is not much depth at the position. #34 Logan Pasco (6-0, 225) is a captain but has just 3 tackles on the year.
#3 Jaylen Castleberry (6-0, 190) is back as a starting corner for the Penguins. He has 19 total tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, and 2 PBU. Opposite of him is Indiana State transfer #20 Payton Edwards (6-0, 185) who has 8 tackles and 1 PBU. #0 Isaiah Crozier (6-0, 175) and #10 Jordan Rudolph have combined for just 9 total tackles and no other statistics this season. The safeties for YSU appear to be pretty solid with redshirt freshman #6 Makai Shahid (6-0, 190) leading the team in tackles with 27. He has added 1 PBU, and forced 1 fumble as well. Next to him is #1 Stephon Hall (6-2, 190) who is 4th on the team in total tackles with 23. He has 2 PBUs and a 1 TFL to his credit. Reserve safety #9 Jeremiah Robinson (6-0, 190) has 1 tackle and the Penguins lone INT on the season. The other reserve, #21 DJ Harris (5-11, 185) has 20 total tackles and a PBU.
Special Teams
The return game for YSU appears solid and will put the excellent Jackrabbit coverage units to the test. #18 Cyrus Traugh (6-0, 180) has 6 punt returns for 40 yards (6.7 per return) but his long of 22 yards certainly skews things. #1 Latrell Fordham, #14 Jawon Hall (6-2, 185) and #23 Jaden Gilbert (5-10, 180) appear to be the primary kick returns. Hall has a 21.8 yard average on 8 returns, Hall, 18.8 on 4, and Gilbert 20.3 on 3 returns. For what it is worth, Gilbert and Hall were listed as the “starters” against Indiana State and handled the attempts.
#24 Andrew Lastovka is the man in the place kicking game and he has gone 21 for 21 on his extra points and 5/6 on his field goal attempts. His lone miss was last week against Indiana State from 39 yards. #30 Josh Wilkins handled the kickoff duties and he has a 59.3 yard average on 7 attempts. Lastovka has a 58.7 yard average on 26 attempts. Not sure why they made a switch last week. Opponents have just a 20 yard return average on 21 attempts with a long of 50. The punter is #40 Brendon Kilpatrick and he has a 46.3 yard average on 20 attempts with a long of 65 yards. He has boomed 9, 50+ yards and has no touchbacks. On 3 returns, opponents have a 12.3 yard average and a long of 17 yards.
Prediction
Hobo Day is always a tough game to predict and I think YSU is certainly playing for their season and to show that these new faces are up to the task. Upsetting the #1 team in the country on their homecoming should provide all the motivation they need. If YSU plays the same way they did against Villanova in week 1, they have a chance. However, if the team that shows up is the one that played against Pitt, Duquesne and Indiana State… then it could be a really long day for YSU. I think the Jackrabbits will be riding high after a big game against UNI where they seemed more balanced and I don’t anticipate the SDSU give up much to this run heavy YSU offense. The wild card is probably their QB and how much his legs can impact this game. With the way YSU possesses the ball, SDSU will need to be efficient and score when they have the ball as possessions could be limited.
Jackrabbits 45-Penguins 10
Go Jacks!
Matt
