Season kickoff: Three questions YSU faces as Penguins open fall practice
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YOUNGSTOWN -- Another offseason has come and gone.
Youngstown State will open its fall camp today, exactly one month ahead of its season opener against Valparaiso on Thursday, Aug. 31.
Coming off of a step forward a season ago -- the Penguins went 7-4 and were in contention for an at-large FCS playoff berth after going 3-7 a season before -- the stakes have been raised at Stambaugh Stadium.
With significant starting experience returning on both sides of the ball, the Penguins have plenty of reason to be optimistic in their quest for the program's first postseason bid since finishing runner-up to James Madison in 2016.
Here are some of the key questions YSU will have to answer if it's to break through as the program enters Doug Phillips' fourth season as head coach.
How to replace Jaleel McLaughlin's production?
The short answer, of course, is that you don't just replace the NCAA's all-time leading rusher.
After rushing for 3,424 yards and 30 touchdowns in his three-season YSU career, Jaleel McLaughlin leaves a sizable hole to fill at running back.
Liberty grad Dra Rushton is the heir apparent to take over RB1 duties after serving as McLaughlin's reserve last season. In 2022, he ran for 329 yards and two touchdowns on 71 carries. Rushton features as a more traditional between-the-tackles runner vs. McLaughlin's lightning bolt speed.
Then, too, keep an eye on Tyshon King. The senior transfer from Division II Northern Michigan ran for 984 yards on 182 carries, an average of 89 yards per game. He also added 442 receiving yards on 35 receptions, and led NMU in total yardage at 1,426 and touchdowns at 13.
Those two aside, only one other senior -- Steubenville grad Caleb Mitchell -- is rostered. Three freshmen and two sophomores pepper the lineup, but it's not impossible to see a talented youngster like Cephus Harris breaking through to get meaningful snaps.
The other question is how this group of running backs will factor into YSU's offensive identity, and how YSU changes its own looks to match it. Will this offense be a more traditional between-the-tackles look? Will YSU, which brings back its starting quarterback and all of his receivers, look to pass in order to set up the run more?
Can the defense stay stout?
Out of all the improvements Youngstown State made in 2022, the defense arguably made the biggest.
In 2021, YSU was in the bottom of the Missouri Valley in both scoring and total defense, 10th and 11th (dead last), respectively. In 2022, their first season under defensive coordinator Jahmal Brown, the Penguins found themselves in the top half of the rugged league in both, sitting at fourth in scoring and fifth in total defense. That came in huge part due to a staunch run defense that ranked third.
Can YSU replicate -- or improve upon, in fact -- that 2022 performance? It's certainly fair to think so.
A significant chunk of starters return in 2023, beginning up front with Dylan Wudke, a Second Team All-MVFC selection a season ago, who may very well find himself on the preseason first team when it's released Tuesday. YSU also welcomes back plenty of his cohorts in the trenches, including Chris Fitzgerald and Andres Lehrmann.
At linebacker, Greg Benton and Keon Freeman return, but the Penguins do need to replace Griffin Hoak. In the secondary, nearly all pieces are back, including key safeties Quincy Lenton and Marcus Hooker as well as defensive backs Jordan Trowers and Troy Jakubec.
Will the Penguins break through to the postseason?
This one's the golden question.
It's been since YSU's magical run to Frisco in 2016 that the Penguins have been to the postseason. They were close a year ago, but a narrow home loss to North Dakota and a road loss to Missouri State proved to be their undoing. The former would've vaulted the Penguins over UND for the Valley's third -- and final -- postseason spot, while the latter proved to be too much of an albatross to overcome, even as YSU finished 5-1 over its final six games.
If it's to happen this year, YSU will need to learn from its 2022 sins. That starts with a Sept. 30 trip to what's been the Penguins' House of Horrors -- Northern Iowa's UNI-Dome. Similar to last year's UND game, this is probably YSU's best chance at beating a comparable, playoff-worthy program and adding a critical victory to the resume.
If that doesn't happen, it won't be time to panic, however. Southern Illinois visits the Ice Castle a week later, and then YSU heads to South Dakota after that. It's imperative the Penguins win both of those to enter the second half of the schedule with an at-worst 4-2 record. The other loss in that supposition is, obviously, Ohio State.
The second half of the season has YSU's three hardest remaining games -- Illinois State, Missouri State and reigning national champion South Dakota State -- at home. Mixed in are road trips to lowly Indiana State and MVFC newcomer Murray State, which by all accounts will struggle mightily in Year 1 in the Valley.
Youngstown State can afford to drop the SDSU game, as long as it takes care of business at home otherwise and doesn't fall into a road trap at USD, ISU or MSU and manages an 8-3 finish.
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com