YSU’s Riemedio eyes challenge of facing former school
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YOUNGSTOWN -- When Ryan Riemedio took over Youngstown State's defensive coordinator job in January, he knew in the back of his mind what was awaiting him on Aug. 27.
After 14 years strolling the sidelines in Mercyhurst's green and blue colors at Saxon Stadium, Riemedio will find himself decked in red on the opposite sideline. He'll face his Lakers' counterparts for the first time when the Penguins open the season against Mercyhurst on Thursday night at Stambaugh Stadium.
"I'd be remiss if I say I hadn't thought about it," Riemedio said. "I don't think it's going to hit until gameday. I know the opponent, I know the kids, the coaching staff, all those things. ... I'm not going to say it's just another game because there is some history, right? I spent 14 years at a university, at an institution as an assistant coach and as a head coach. So I think once gameday hits, I think it'll hit then. But I just want to make sure we're prepared for whatever Mercyhurst gives to us."
Even though he's moved on, Mercyhurst still holds a special place in Riemedio's heart.
Save for a brief stint at Minot State in North Dakota during his playing career, Riemedio spent most of his life in the Monterey area in California. He grew up there, played football there and began his coaching career there.
However, Mercyhurst gave Riemedio his first major coaching opportunity. He started off as a graduate assistant and eventually worked his way up the ladder to become head coach. Just as Riemedio climbed the ranks, so did the Lakers, as he helped guide them from Division II to the FCS in Division I.
"When I put two feet in the coaching world, because it is very different than playing, it's been nothing but great things," Riemedio said back in the spring. "Football has taken me on a lot of different journeys. But I had the opportunity to grow at Mercyhurst, be there as a GA for Coach [Marty] Schaetzle, and then get to the point where I climbed the ladder to be head coach after 10 years. Now we're in a different boat as DC at one of the premier universities in the United States and one of the hardest conferences."
After spending most of his formative years on the west coast, the shores of Lake Erie became home for Riemedio and his family during his time at Mercyhurst, especially since it's where he met his wife, Morgan, and where they had two of their three kids.
The Lakers also have plenty of coaches and players that are still in the program from his time there. As a result, he's expecting Thursday's game to be an emotional one for him and his family.
"There will be some emotion. But when it hits, I couldn't tell you," Riemedio said. "My daughter grew up on campus and knows every hiding spot on campus. My wife worked at Mercyhurst. She was a student-athlete, then became an athletic trainer, then left the position she was in as the head associate athletic trainer. So there's a lot of history, family history."
The emotions may hit when they hit, but Riemedio is focused on the task at hand -- helping guide YSU's defense to stop the Lakers' offense.
"I'm going to try to stay level-headed like I do at practice and everywhere else, then let the emotions hit when they need to happen," Riemedio said. "I know at the end of the day, I need to stay cool, calm and collected with everything that we're doing. Get excited when we need to get excited, bring the defense up and down and work through the emotions and the rollercoaster there.
"In all reality, it's kind of like how it was when I was head coach at Mercyhurst, it's the same thing here defensively. It's a faceless opponent. We gotta go into it worried about us. We gotta go into it executing what we need to get done versus whatever sets, personnel, formations and things that any team runs at us."