Guess we'll have enough time to beat the D-1A / D-1AA topic to death. Here's some other food for thought if you'd like to discuss the Penguins from a perspective other than divisional classification ...
Game 1 - Youngstown State Penguins
Official YSU Athletic Site:
Football: New Defensive Coordinator Talks About Tasks For Unit in Spring 3/29/07
Football: Offensive Coordinator Brian Wright on the Penguin Challenges This Spring 3/29/07
Football: Offense Notes Entering Spring Drills 3/29/07
Football: Coach Heacock Addresses the Media Prior to Spring Practice 3/28/07
Football: Guins Draft-Eligible Players Strut Skills at Pro Day 3/27/07
Football: "Overtime" Community Outreach Program Allows Team to Thank the Valley 3/21/07
Football: Guins Hit Weight Room Hard, Ten School Marks Fall 3/20/07
Football: Jeff Mills Named Defensive Coordinator, Secondary Coach 3/6/07
Football: 25th Anniversary Campaign to Highlight 2007 Home Season 3/1/07
2007 Football Signees 2/7/07
Football: 2007 Slate Features Plenty of New Foes; Seven Home Contests 1/25/07
2007 Spring Numerical Roster
MAHONING VALLEY FOOTBALL Area breeds toughness, tradition 3/30/07
From players, coaches, officials and owners, the area has been well-represented in the NFL.
By JOHN BASSETTI and JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN ? The sport of football, whether at the high school, college or pro level, has been the centerpiece of the area's athletic tradition because of progressiveness and toughness, two area football veterans believe.
Those two factors have created a long tradition of successful football teams on the high school, college and semi-professional levels to help lay the groundwork for Youngstown's first indoor professional football team ? the Mahoning Valley Thunder ? which opens its first season tonight against the Tri-Cities (Wash.) Fever at 7:05 at the Chevrolet Centre.
For example, Carmen Julius of Campbell, a member of the first Youngstown College football team in 1938, said that progressive thinking by Howard Jones, who then was president of Youngstown College, brought football to the college.
"It was [Jones'] idea to start football at the school," said Julius, noting that Jones recruited Dwight "Dike" Beede to become the school's first football coach in 1938.
"Jones and Beede, who was the Geneva coach at the time, were good friends, and Jones asked Beede if he would come to Youngstown to coach the team."
Julius, a retired teacher and football coach, said Jones also had a good relationship with the Youngstown business community and industrialists, especially the leaders of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., "and they also wanted football at Youngstown, and they were influential in getting all of [the players] jobs at the A&P Warehouse."
In fact, "They were all friends," said Julius. "There was a lot of money and influence there. [The team] got their support from the S&T, and they helped to get us jobs."
Bucci cites toughness, discipline
Meanwhile, Don Bucci, who served as Cardinal Mooney's head coach for 34 years and led the Cardinals to four state championships, credits Youngstown's Steelworkers, blue-collar population and strong family ties for helping to create tough and disciplined people who fit right into the football mold.
"If you look throughout the country, you will see that the blue collar areas and counties and towns around the country really excelled in football more so than any other sport," said Bucci, who believes that's exactly what happened in Youngstown.
"It happened because of the people who worked in Youngstown. They were the Steelworkers and hard-working families, and they encouraged their kids to participate in sports, especially football.
"So football started out to be king going back to the [19]40s and '50s," added Bucci. "The hard-working families helped to develop hard-hitting football players. We have built a tradition because of the toughness of people of Youngstown."
Bucci also credits much of his success at Mooney to the fact that "parochial schools had a strong discipline and created an ideal situation on the football field. The students came from one discipline in the classroom to another discipline on the football field. Because of the disciplined atmosphere, it was much easier to coach these kids."
And Dick Angle, former Ursuline coach who now guides the Howland football team, called football "the great equalizer" because "football brought equality to the field. It made no difference if you were Catholic or Protestant. No one cared about what you were."
Deep roots
Football took root here first with The Rayen School, then later with South, in the early decades of the last century.
Sandlot competition helped sprout teams at other levels, including the Youngstown Patricians who started a semi-pro variety in the Mahoning Valley in 1914.
As far-fetched as it sounds, the Patricians laid claim to the title of "World Champs" after beating the Washington Vigilants in 1915.
Legendary athlete and Olympian Jim Thorpe even played here in 1917 with the Canton Bulldogs.
Youngstown College first put a team on the field in 1938, then Youngstown University and Youngstown State continued the school's athletic growth.
That's the kind of individual apex reached by former Chaney High standout Frank Sinkwich, who went on to the University of Georgia and won college football's premiere award in 1942.
Sinkwich later played for the Detroit Lions and was the National Football League MVP in 1944.
Steve Belichick moved with his family from Monessen, Pa., to Struthers in 1924, when he was 5. With the Chicago Bears during the 1941-42 season, Belichick played shoulder-to-shoulder with Supreme Court associate Justice Byron White. Belichick later became the Naval Academy's football coach. His son is current New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
More Youngstown success
YSU has four national I-AA championships to its credit under Jim Tressel in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997.
Tressel was a 15-year coach at YSU before leaving for Ohio State in 2001. The Penguins also had several successful campaigns in NCAA Division II.
Following Sinkwich, there's no lack of acclaim with names like Boardman High's Bernie Kosar (Browns), Warren's Paul Warfield (Browns, Dolphins), Champion's Randy Gradishar (Broncos), Brookfield's Bobby Jones (Jets), Marcus Marek (Ohio State), East High's Jim Snowden (Redskins), Campbell's Bob Babich (Chargers), Sharon's Randy Holloway (Vikings), Chaney's Mike DeNiro who played at Alabama under Bear Bryant, Chaney quarterback Matt Cavanaugh (Patriots), North High's Sherman Smith (Seahawks), former YSU quarterback Ron Jaworski (Eagles), Girard's Mel Triplett (Giants), University of Michigan lineman Ed Muransky, Warren Western Reserve's Browner brothers ? including Joey and Ross (Bengals), Niles' Bo Rein (Ohio State), Warren Reserve's Korey Stringer (Vikings), YSU quarterback Cliff Stoudt (Steelers) and Warren Harding's Maurice Clarett (Broncos).
Hubbard's Anthony Smith (Steelers), Chaney's Brad Smith (Jets), Fitch's Jeff Wilkins (Rams), and Sharon's Marlin Jackson (Colts) currently play in the NFL.
Austintown's Mike Trgovac, an All-American noseman at Michigan, went on to coach in the NFL and has been the Carolina Panthers' defensive coordinator the past several years.
Penalty flag from Beede
YSU coach Dike Beede gave us the penalty flag, and home-grown Bob Stoops brought a collegiate national championship to the University of Oklahoma during the 2000 season.
In the pro ownership department, the San Francisco 49ers own five Super Bowl titles under Ed DeBartolo Jr., starting with Super Bowl XVI in the 1982 season. The 49ers added world championships in 1984, 1988, 1989 and 1994.
Chaney product Jerry Angelo is currently the Chicago Bears' general manager, and Ursuline High's Paul Maguire is a network and cable TV and radio broadcaster.
The Youngstown area has also contributed NFL officials Dick Creed and "Bud" Fiffick.
The area's high school success is in the upper echelons, too. Most recently, Cardinal Mooney won its sixth state title and second in three years.
In December, Mount Union College won its ninth NCAA Div. III national championship in 10 trips to the final.
The Youngstown Hardhats' semi-pro existence in the 1970s had an impact in several ways.
One, it made the area rethink football's fall-only mentality.
By coming on the scene, the Hardhats were an impetus for private businesses and organizations seeking their share of the local football entertainment dollar.
Until then, it was the domain of schools and other public educational institutions.
Fast forward to 2007: The same trailblazing attempted by the Hardhats is what the Thunder is doing, but only in the spring and indoors, a luxury not available 30 years ago.
Backfield is a concern for Penguins 3/28/07
By JOE SIMON Tribune Chronicle
YOUNGSTOWN ? The initial offensive concern for Youngstown State coach Jon Heacock and offensive coordinator Brian Wright as the Penguins enter spring practices is simple.
??We?ve got a new center,?? said Wright Tuesday at the Penguins? first news conference since their Division I-AA semifinal game in Appalachian State. ??So, we?ve got to make sure we can get the quarterback-center exchange down.??
While Wright wasn?t exactly laughing when he made that statement, the slight grin on his face made it apparent he and Heacock have more pressing issues after losing their top three running backs to graduation ? including Gateway Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Marcus Mason.
The potential replacements at running back don?t exactly have a ton of experience. Wright indicated three players as candidates for the position: junior Brandon Nicholson, sophomore Jabari Scott, and redshirt freshman Jordan Edwards.
Spring practices begin Thursday, so Heacock and Wright still have time to add to the list.
??We?ve got a couple other guys that we don?t know much about yet that we?ll see back there (in the backfield),?? Wright said. ??But those would probably be the first three right now.??
Since Nicholson is the only player of the three to see the field last year, Wright said he couldn?t label the different running styles of the trio. Nicholson, a 5-foot-7, 200-pound transfer from Charleston, W.Va., had 22 carries for 83 yards and one catch for a 33-yard touchdown last season. Scott played in 2005 before being redshirted last season. He rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries in 2005.
??We?ve got some guys there, we?ve just got to see who (the starter) is,?? Heacock said. ?? If they?re competitors, they?ll be excited (in spring practices).??
The three have some big shoes to fill. Mason was third in the nation in yards per game in 2006 (153.6), and he led the conference with 1,847 yards and added 23 touchdowns.
??We had some good players back there (last season),?? Wright said. ??But I?m excited, now a little bit more than anything else, to see what these guys can do.??
With the unknown factor of how the running backs will respond to more playing time during the season, Wright said the Penguins may look to place more of an emphasis on the passing game and three-year starting quarterback Tom Zetts.
??We?re going to try and take advantage of what (Zetts) does well,?? Wright said. ??We?ve got a few guys at tight end that we feel good about, a couple receivers we feel good about, and some linemen coming back. So we?re going to try and do what those guys are good at doing, and maybe, when you think of that, take a little of the heat off of the young running back group.??
The competition heats up starting 2:30 on Thursday.
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Tressel speaks in Lorain, gearing up for spring 3/15/07
By ERIC STOESSEL, Morning Journal Sports Editor
LORAIN -- Football coach Jim Tressel spoke in Lorain for the first time since aking over at Ohio State and he brought the enemy
Tressel was in town to speak at a Lorain Rotary luncheon at Deluca's Place in the Park to celebrate the service organizaton's 100th anniversary. Sitting at the center table with Tressel were Youngstown State athletic director Ron Strollo and football coach Jon Heacock.
Usually two of his best friends, Strollo and Heacock will be the enemy for at last one Saturday afternoon next September, when the Buckeyes host the Division I-AA Penguins in the season opener.
''I'm excited but nervous,'' said Tressel at a press conference before the event. ''When we were at Youngstown State we always wanted to play Ohio State.''
Tressel joked that he had hoped to give the crowd of over 500 a scouting report on the 2007 team, but would have to make something up since Strollo and Heacock were in attendance.
Tressel said he was excited about the upcoming year and that he was looking forward to the start of spring practice. He said this time of year is nice because recruiting is over and the coaches can spend time planning for the upcoming season.
That's not to say Tressel's forgotten the end of last season.
''I don't know that you ever get over something that disappointing,'' Tressel said of the 41-14 loss to Florida in the BCS National Championship game in Arizona. ''But you better not let it affect you in any way. It needs to motivate and I think our guys will handle it well.''
Spring practice begins March 29 and the Buckeyes' annual spring game is April 21.
Instead of thinking about a football title this year, Tressel wanted to talk basketball.
''We've got two great teams on our campus,'' he said about the men's and women's teams playing in the NCAA tournament this weekend. ''I was at the their practice on Tuesday and there's a bounce in their step. It will be exciting. It's a fun time of year.''
Fun for basketball, but not for football.
''To me the fun of all college sports is they all have different venues and they all take on a different stature,'' Tressel said. ''You have March Madness, the World Series in Omaha and bowl games are three weeks of focus on football. We have a lot to offer with different venues.''
After speaking for nearly 45 minutes, Lorain Rotary honored Tressel as a Paul Harris Fellow, its highest honor, for being a guest speaker. Harris founded the organization in Chicago in 1905.
Lorain Rotary member Rob Levit, of Levit Jewelers, presented Tressel with a sub-surface engraved 100 percent crystal he made to honor the century mark. Lorain Rotary had been working on scheduling Tressel for the past two years.
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Don't shoot the messanger.