Depth making impact for Penguins in MVFC play
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YOUNGSTOWN -- This past weekend, a handful of unfamiliar names played significant snaps on defense for the Youngstown State football team.
The Penguins were without a starting linebacker, four of their key defensive linemen and rotated between four different cornerbacks. Yet, despite the personnel losses, YSU's defense didn't miss a beat, holding South Dakota to its second-lowest yardage total and point output of the season.
After cultivating and developing it for years, the Penguins' depth made a noticeable impact, stepping into the lineup to fill the void left by the players who were injured.
"That's what you built, you try to build that over time," YSU head coach Doug Phillips said. "To know that we played four corners Saturday, probably nobody sees that and sees that those guys all got equal reps just getting everyone ready to play. Same thing on the defensive line, we played a lot of defensive linemen. We're always pressing to play more, just because you need a lot of them.
"As the leader of a program, it's the next man up. We have 117 players, and I feel great about our roster -- I'm talking top to bottom. ... It's the work that you do. We say winning is evidence. The evidence is if you prepare [Monday through Friday], and you play with great discipline, great fundamentals, great execution -- if you do those things, then you have a great shot of winning football games."
With starting linebacker Carston Marshall and defensive lineman Thomas Jolly both out against the Coyotes, Lemondte Chambers and Michael Wright Jr. each earned their first career starts at those respective positions.
The pair combined for seven tackles, while others like Bilal Tucker and Justin Thomas helped spell the absences of Connor Johannesen, Conlan Greene and D'Shawn Kirby on the defensive line.
Then on the back end, Darvens Tunis, Dev Holman, Brandon Chambers Jr. and Dominic Julius each rotated in at cornerback.
"Every day we talk about next man up," YSU junior defensive lineman Jordan Pritchard-Sewell said. "We had a couple guys go down, but that gives our younger guys the opportunity, and they showed up and they showed out. I'm proud of those young guys, and once we get those [injured] guys back, we'll have more depth going forward."
Over the course of a long season, it certainly won't be the last time YSU needs those depth pieces to step up.
"I said this in the summer, that at one point, you're going to have to rely on depth," Phillips said. "If we didn't retain fifth-year seniors, we would have a very young football team. So keeping fifth-year seniors, continuing to develop those first-, second- and third-year players, then you don't have to throw them into the fire. But they've been repping, they've been playing."
Fresh off the win over USD, the Penguins will face their third straight ranked opponent on Saturday at 5 p.m. (ESPN+/570 WKBN), as they head to Carbondale, Ill., in search of their first road win of the season at No. 21 Southern Illinois.
The two teams have had some chaotic matchups in recent years. In 2024, YSU jumped out to a 28-0 lead, but the Salukis roared back to win 37-33. Then last year, SIU took an early 24-7 advantage, before the Penguins rallied for the 48-38 victory.
"This game's been a little crazy when it comes to [comebacks]," Phillips said. "So it's not all about just starting the game fast, it's about who can play for 60 minutes the hardest, who can play for 60 minutes with the best execution, physicality, limit your mistakes and take care of the football. All those things come into question. It's emphasized even more when you go on the road."
YSU's defense will again have its hands full with Salukis quarterback DJ Williams, who is back for SIU after missing one-and-a-half games at the start of the season with an injury.
"He's a dual threat from what they've told us," Pritchard-Sewell said. "But like Coach [Phillips] said, it's a faceless opponent. So we gotta come in this week, focus on ourselves, focus on getting better, doing what we gotta do and we can handle whatever is in front of us."