Wolford excited about 2010 recruiting class

With National Signing Day in the books, Youngstown State University head football coach Eric Wolford said he's excited with the recruits he was able to land in his very short stint with the program. Dominated by local talent from high schools such as Ursuline and Cardinal Mooney, Wolford's first recruiting class consists of 19 players, 17 of whom are freshman, while two are transfers from FBS schools.

Wolford said he wanted to redefine the way that Ohio was recruited, and among his 19 players, 13 are from the Buckeye State.


Wolford added he's very happy with this class and he expects everyone to step in immediately and compete for playing time.


"I feel like this class is going to make an immediate impact," Wolford said. "If a young guy and an upperclassman are competing for a starting spot, I'm going to give it to a younger guy because he is going to be around longer. If an upperclassman can't beat out a freshman, it's their fault," he said.

Wolford's first recruiting class includes three players from the undefeated Division III State Champions, the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals: defensive back Donald D'Alesio and offensive linemen Eric Franklin and Zach Larson.

Another local recruit that may sound familiar is Ursuline running back Allen Jones. Jones was the Ohio Division V Offensive player of the Year, first team All-Ohio selection, and Division V All-Northeast Inland District Player of the Year.

As a senior, Jones rushed for 2,379 yards on 283 attempts. That ranks him second in Ursuline history. Jones finished his high school career with 4,393 yards and 64 touchdowns.

Rounding out the local players is defensive end Stephen Page of Newton Falls. Wolford described Page as untapped raw talent that still has some filling out to do in terms of his body.


Wolford is labeled as a top recruiter, and in the past five seasons he has helped programs rank in the top 20 nationally in recruiting according to http://www.scout.com. In 2008, http://www.rivals.com labeled him a top-20 national recruiter.

Wolford compares his love of recruiting to that of another sport.


"When you look at recruiting, you want to get the best player you can, you aren't going to go out and win the Daytona 500 driving a tractor," Wolford said.

Wolford said he is excited over his recruiting class, but said that there wasn't one individual player that he would gush over.

"I'm not going to alienate any one specific player, but I will say that I feel like this class is going help our football team. Each one of these players is unique in their own way on and off of the football field," Wolford said.

While recruiting was the main focus of Wolford's press conference, one comment Wolford continued to refer to was changing the perception of Youngstown. Wolford said changing an image of a city seen over the last 30 years would directly affect the level of recruiting at YSU.


"People view Youngstown as a tough town; I think we need to do a better job to show people our school and what we have to offer. Some families come down here for visits and tell us our sport facilities are better then some big schools they've been too," Wolford said.