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BEAVER TOWNSHIP -- With their spring football game and practices now a fading memory, YSU defensive coordinator Jahmal Brown and the entire Penguin coaching staff will now shift their attention to the offseason in preparation for the upcoming college football season.
The red squad defeated their white counterparts in Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage, 37-13, with Brown and his staff this spring looking for the defense to pick up where they left off at the end of last season.
"Coming into this spring, the biggest thing we wanted to accomplish was to start taking that next step, grow a little more and become more consistent with our execution," Brown told the Curbstone Coaches during Monday's weekly meeting at Avion Banquet Center. "I thought we had a pretty good season last year defensively, obviously there are things you want to continue to improve on but we wanted to keep building on that.
"We finished the year in good shape in multiple areas but the next phase is to develop consistency. We know guys are going to play hard but how can we develop these guys in a way that they can go out and perform, align, assign and do all that on a consistent basis."
Meshing young talent with returnees was the goal.
"It has been an overall effort all spring and at all three levels, the defensive line, linebackers and secondary," Brown added. "We have multiple players back who played a lot of football for us last year so it was just seeing all three levels continue to grow and execute. This spring, we've done a great job of getting those goals accomplished.
"Consistency is the key. We have a few young guys on defense that we want to see grow. Obviously, we have older guys at those positions but we want to develop the younger players as well. Going into summer will be a great opportunity for us to do that."
The Penguins went 7-4 last season -- they were 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference -- with the defense playing an integral part in the team's seven-game turnaround.
"The defensive line was our strongest position last year," Brown stated. "Dylan Wudke and Chris Fitzgerald were guys who have stood out. Devin Lee played, started some games at tackle, has had a huge spring and is starting to separate," Brown noted.
"Last year, he was always consistent, being where he was supposed to be and did exactly what he needed to do. This spring he has taken steps forward, but he's also making a lot more plays. He has been the guy this spring that I have been most impressed with upfront.
"At linebacker, Alex Howard and Greg Benton have both been great. Alex is taking steps forward, didn't start last year at the beginning but finished that way and has grown a lot just from a maturity and leadership standpoint. He is playing fast and physical while the third guy is Devin Johnson at weak outside linebacker.
Brown said Johnson is a guy who can start on a lot of teams, but he's done a great job of executing, understanding his weaknesses and where he needs to grow.
Youngstown State's defensive leader also added that the secondary has had a nice spring season as well.
"When you look at the secondary, we've seen great things from Amarian Robinson while Jordan Trowers has also had a nice spring," Brown said. "The one guy, however, who has grown and stood out in that corner room is Ezekiel Blake. Zeke didn't start many games last year but played a good amount. He is big, physical and can run pretty much with anybody. He is someone I have been super proud of and impressed with because he is still learning that corner position yet brings plenty of physicality."
Finally, Brown said that Quincy Lenton and Tyjon Jones have been consistent through the spring.
Next Monday, the organization will honor the YSU men's basketball team, this past year's Horizon League regular season champions.