Bio Blast: Youngstown State Penguins

It’s FCS week in the Bluegrass. In the first noon kickoff of the season, Kentucky will welcome FCS Youngstown State to Kroger Field.

Everyone knows that the town near the Ohio/Pennsylvania border is where Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow hail from, but now is the time to start learning more about their football program.

Let’s dive into the Penguins.

Winning tradition

Youngstown State is a very proud program with a strong history. The Penguins have made the FCS playoffs 13 times and have a very impressive 29-9 overall record in the postseason. Most of that success came under Jim Tressel.

The man known for wearing sweater vests at Ohio State and overseeing a program that got in hot water for free tattoos (that seems so silly now) first made a name for himself as an FCS head coach in Youngstown. Tressel roamed the sidelines for 11 seasons with the Guins and won four national championships (1991, 1993, 1994, and 1997). Before leaving for Ohio State, Tressel finished his career at YSU with a 135-57-2 overall record.

Tressel is now the president of Youngstown State University while the football program is looking to return to its winning roots under third-year head coach Doug Phillips.

Some big names have coached at YSU in the past. Current Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock roamed the sidelines for nine years. Alabama offensive line coach Eric Wolford spent five seasons as the man in charge. Bo Pelini roamed the sidelines for five years as well leading the team to a national runner-up finish in 2016.

However, the program has made the FCS playoffs just twice in the last 20 years out of the Missouri Valley Conference. Phillips is looking to change that in 2022.

Star tailback

On offense, play-caller Troy Rothenbuhler has a clear star to utilize when building out weekly game plans. Tailback Jaleel McLaughlin (5-9, 183, Super) is back with YSU after earning third-team All-American honors last season.

The North Carolina native rushed for 1,139 yards and 12 touchdowns on 6.5 yards per attempt last season. The veteran has seen that production continue in 2022. McLaughlin has rushed for 332 yards and four touchdowns through two games while averaging a robust 10.1 yards per attempt as the Penguins are averaging 40 points per game.

JALEEL MCLAUGHLIN 🤯 pic.twitter.com/R5U2VEoWHa

— The Bluebloods (@The__Bluebloods) September 3, 2022

The former Division II transfer is now in year three at YSU and is a flat-out stud who can also be a threat in the passing game. Kentucky’s defense must get No. 3 on the ground in this matchup.

Rebuilding defense under a new play-caller

The numbers were ugly for Youngstown State’s defense in 2021. Like near worst in the FCS bad.

• Scoring: 35.4 (No. 108 overall in FCS)
• Yards Per Play: 7.2 (No. 123 overall in FCS, last place)
• Yards Per Rush: 6.5 (No. 123 overall in FCS, last place)
• Yards Per Attempt: 7.9 (No. 110 overall in FCS)
• Takeaways: 15 (T-82 overall in FCS)

A change had to be made at coordinator. Division II Lenor-Rhyne play-caller Jahmal Brown decided to make the move up and take on the challenge with YSU. So far, this group looks much improved.

The Penguins are allowing 15 points per game and only 4.0 yards per play through eight quarters this season after easy home wins over Duquesne and Dayton to begin the season. The run defense has specifically stood out as foes are averaging just 1.8 yards per rush against the Guins.

It’s hard to tell at the moment how much this defense has improved, but it’s clear that this is no longer a unit that will finish towards the bottom of the FCS. Creating tackles for loss appears to be a huge part of Brown’s recipe as a play-caller after the unit logged 18 stops behind the line of scrimmage through eight quarters.

Familiar face at wide receiver

Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard wide receiver Bryce Oliver (6-1, 212, RSr.) signed with Kentucky in the class of 2018 and would spend three seasons in Lexington. During that time, the former low three-star recruit recorded eight receptions for 125 yards but battled injuries and could never find a consistent role in Kentucky’s offense.

The receiver is now in year two at Youngstown State and that has been a great fit for both parties.

After recording 24 receptions for 266 yards and an ultra-productive eight touchdowns, the veteran seems to be leveling up in year five. Through two games, Oliver has 10 receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns as he’s emerging as one of the top FCS wideouts early in 2022.