Ohio State offensive lineman Billy Price plays against Michigan State on Nov. 11, 2017 in Columbus. (AP File Photo/Jay LaPrete)

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown area has a long and dedicated history of excellence when it comes to producing college-caliber and even professional football talent.

“I’ve been having that conversation with people that aren’t from Youngstown for the last 30 years,” Youngstown East head coach Devlin Culliver said. “Our reputation is that it’s a football town. It’s nationwide. I got buddies in California that know about Youngstown football.”

In the 1930s, Bob Dove was an all-city standout at Youngstown South, before going on to play at Notre Dame and in the NFL.

Fast forward a few decades to the 1970s, and many remember watching Ted Bell run wild as he helped lead Cardinal Mooney to its first state championship before an injury at Michigan State cut his playing career short. Around that same time, Chaney star Matt Cavanagh found success at Pitt and went on to win two Super Bowls.

Bernie Kosar then burst onto the scene at Boardman in the early ’80s and eventually went on to win a national championship at Miami and become a fan favorite with the Cleveland Browns.

Crossing into the new millennium, the likes of Brad Smith (Chaney), Daryll Clark (Ursuline), Fitzgerald Toussaint (Liberty) and Billy Price (Austintown Fitch) parlayed their high school success into stardom at the college and professional ranks.

“You put Northeast Ohio football up against anyone in the nation and it will compete,” Canfield head coach Joe Ignazio said.

That list doesn’t even include the list of names that come from just up the road in Warren.

In more recent years, the trend has continued. In 2023, the area saw Chaney’s Jason Hewlett and DJ Waller end up at Michigan, Fitch’s Cam Smith landed at Iowa State and West Branch’s Dru DeShields went to Kent State, among others.

Then this fall, Canfield’s Danny Inglis will begin his first season at Iowa State, while Fitch’s Davion Pritchard will begin his Pitt career.

Each year, the cycle continues — a number of local players will get the opportunity to sign on the dotted line to play at the Division I level.

WHY YOUNGSTOWN?

Local high school coaches are almost unanimous in why the area has the football reputation that it does — toughness.

“I think it’s just the mentality of the town,” Boardman head coach DJ Dota said.

“It’s just tough, hard-nosed kids,” Ignazio added.

According to area coaches, it’s part of an ethos that stems from the Mahoning Valley’s deep-rooted blue collar steel industry history.

“I think it goes back to just the grit, the streets, the steel mills and just growing up tough,” Culliver said. “I think that part of Youngstown is still intact where our kids still love the game. They’re just tough kids from a tough city. Wherever we go, we represent Youngstown at whatever college they may go to or in the NFL — we take it with us.”

Growing up in Youngstown, Culliver played at Cardinal Mooney and coached in the Cleveland area for years before returning to the Mahoning Valley to take over at East last year.

Just like the players do at the college and professional level, he took that Youngstown-type of toughness at each of his coaching stops. Now that he’s back in the area, he still sees the same mentality that existed before he left Youngstown.

“I was in Cleveland for 30 years, but I always had that Youngstown-style of coaching, and I think that’s why I was so successful,” Culliver said. “A lot of coaches up that way don’t coach with that same toughness and grit. It’s just different. We just come from a different type of background. So when I got back here, I was glad that attitude and hard work is still intact.”

High school football, and just football in general, has an added significance in Youngstown. Visit any of the towns and neighborhoods around the area, and it’s clear to see that Friday nights are a community affair.

“You go to any stadium, the whole community is there,” Ursuline head coach Dan Reardon said. “It’s an event. It’s important to the communities and the kids. The kids understand that and it’s in their blood.”

WHAT IT TAKES

College coaches value the grit and toughness that Youngstown-area players have.

But achieving the opportunity to play football at the next level is not easy.

Just over a million kids played high school football in 2022-23, and only about 7.5% will go on to play college football at any level, according to an NCAA study. An even smaller percentage — 3% — gets to the coveted Division I level.

“The reality is, no matter what school you’re at, the vast majority of kids are not Division I athletes,” Reardon said.

Only the best of the best get to the next level. It starts with that toughness, but college coaches are looking for a variety of different things from prospects and recruits.

Academics are always a factor.

“There’s academic measurables and every school has a different profile. There’s an academic profile that fits every school,” Reardon said. “So they have to find the right academic fit and that goes both ways — for the kids and the schools.”

Then there’s the physical measurables that include things like an athlete’s speed, strength, athleticism and agility.

“Ohio State is going to recruit a different offensive lineman than Ashland University,” Reardon said. “If you’re a 6-foot lineman, you might be the best lineman in the world, but it’s hard to get recruited at the highest level.”

Of course game film and potential come into consideration as well, according to Reardon.

All those factors combine to come into play in the recruiting process.

STAYING LOCAL

Youngstown State has long been a beneficiary of the Mahoning Valley’s decorated football factory.

Each of the Penguins’ national championship teams from the 1990s were littered with local talent.

But, as a former Division I-AA and now FCS program, YSU can’t necessarily compete with the resources that some Group of 5 or Power 4 schools have and can offer high school players.

But as a self-described, “developmental program,” the Penguins still make do with some of the area’s top talent to find success on the gridiron.

“Usually we’re going to come in later in the recruiting process if they get an offer from an FBS,” YSU head coach Doug Phillips said. “We have 63 scholarships, they have 85. So there’s rarely a true freshman coming in that gets a full ride. Our full ride guys are the ones you see playing on Saturdays.”

The “toughness” that local players have, Phillips said he wants that in his program.

“They can react to adversity and they know how to handle success. That’s the thing we lean on even in our program,” Phillips said. “They work hard, they raise the standard of your program. Any time you get a player from this area, that comes along with them.”

Many local players in YSU’s program start off as walk-ons. But then they work their way up the depth chart to become a primary contributor.

Former Penguins quarterback Mitch Davidson is a perfect example. A Salem product, Davidson began his YSU career as a walk-on. But he eventually climbed his way up the depth chart to earn the starting job during the 2022 season. And in 2023, he helped lead an explosive Penguins offense to its first FCS playoff bid since 2016, all while breaking many of the school’s passing records in the process.

“When I look at the local guys, a lot of them were walk-ons,” Phillips said. “A lot of them came in maybe on a 50% (scholarship) and now they’re on a full (scholarship) if they’re playing”

Maintaining relationships is also important for athletes and schools. Even if an athlete doesn’t land at YSU out of high school, with the transfer portal, there’s always the possibility that things could change down the line.

“In recruiting, you always keep a good (relationship),” Phillips said. “Someone says they’re committing somewhere else, I’m like, ‘I wish you luck.’ We’ll always be here, if you want to come back.”

A player might want more playing time, a change of scenery, or they might just want to come home. Junior receiver Matt Reardon and junior defensive back Isaiah Hackett followed that path.

Hackett finished up his high school career at Youngstown East and played several years at junior colleges before ending up at UNLV. Then this past offseason, he transferred home to play for the Penguins.

Matt went to Miami (OH) after playing most of his high school career at Ursuline. Like Hackett, Matt transferred this offseason and wound up at YSU.

Others, like Struthers alum Brandan Serrano, Springfield grad Beau Brungard or East product Dawan Martin, opt to stay local for their college careers after high school.

However, regardless of a player’s path, it all started in the same place — right here in Youngstown.

Have an interesting story? Contact Neel Madhavan by email at nmadhavan@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NeelMadhavan.