Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU receiver Latrell Fordham hauls in a pass as defensive back Stephon Hall pursues during a fall camp practice on Aug. 19 at Stambaugh Stadium.

YOUNGSTOWN — For eight months, Youngstown State has lined up against itself.

Throughout spring practice and fall camp, the Penguins have hit each other and scrimmaged against themselves, but now they finally have someone different to set their sights on.

And it’s a familiar foe, as YSU opens 2024 on the road Thursday night at 6 p.m. (Flo Football, 570 WKBN) against the same team that ended its season last year in the FCS playoffs — No. 6 Villanova.

“We’re the only sport in America that doesn’t scrimmage against anyone else — even the NFL plays the preseason,” head coach Doug Phillips said Tuesday during his first weekly press conference of the season. “So for us, is there a sense of urgency? Yeah, you don’t go against anybody except your own guys, whether it’s spring or in the summer. At six o’clock on Thursday night, we’ll find out because we get to go against a different color that’s not wearing red or white.”

While last season was a significant step forward for YSU in Phillips’ tenure, as it returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, it was also a reminder that the Penguins still have work to do in order to be the program they want to be.

YSU learned from its 45-28 loss to the Wildcats in December, and it’s shown in how it has approached this offseason.

“You have to reflect back on what you could have done better, where you could have done better,” Phillips said. “So for me, we’ve done some different things since December within our program — with our strength and conditioning, on the practice field, how we practice, what we practice, who we recruit and how we try to build our team.”

A lot of YSU’s changes came on the defensive side of the ball.

In addition to the number of players leaving and arriving via the transfer portal, the Penguins overhauled the defensive coaching staff, as well.

After serving as co-defensive coordinator last season, linebackers coach John Haneline was elevated to solo defensive coordinator, and YSU also hired Pat Shepard as outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator, Trent Voss as safeties coach and Ray Hunter as defensive line coach.

Like Phillips said, team building and roster management have been a focus during the offseason, especially with a 12-game regular season with no bye weeks looming in 2024.

“It changed how we recruited. You look ahead in December and say you’re playing 12 straight games with no bye week in the most physical conference in the FCS, then you throw in Villanova and Pitt,” Phillips said. “So for us, we had to go out and find depth. We wanted to have depth at running back, quarterback, tight end — our offensive line has been layered over time because we’ve had consistency there. … Defensively, we always talk about how it takes 22 players on defense to be successful. So we knew recruiting, roster management, we needed to do that.”

YSU’s new defense will have its hands full against a Wildcats offense that returns starting quarterback Connor Watkins and deep-threat receiver Jaylan Sanchez.

Villanova led the nation in yards per completion in 2023, and will again be dangerous in the pass game with Watkins, Sanchez and NC Central transfer Devin Smith.

The Wildcats will have new names at running back, but are aided by four returners on the offensive line with starting experience.

“We know what their quarterback can do — he can beat you with his legs, he can beat you throwing the football,” Phillips said. “We know they got some explosive receivers and they have two great offensive tackles and a center.”

Meanwhile, Villanova returns seven players from a defense that led the CAA in total yards allowed, including All-American cornerback Isas Waxter and All-CAA linebackers Brendan Bell and Shane Hartzell.

“We gotta minimize mistakes that happen in game one. We gotta minimize pre-snap penalties and we gotta take care of the football,” Phillips said. “Our communication’s gotta be on in the back end. Then, when there’s opportunities, we gotta capitalize on it, whether it’s field position, whether it’s on special teams, whether it’s off a turnover, whether you’re in the red zone — in your early games, you gotta capitalize.

“I always believe the team playing fast and physical (will be successful), and the only way you play fast is if you know what you’re doing. Game one, sometimes you’re not playing as fast as you are in game five because kids are doing a lot of thinking. As much as we can, we gotta allow our kids to play as fast and physical as they can right from the get-go.”

It’s unusual circumstances, opening the season against the same team that YSU ended its previous season with, but even with all the changes and differences, there’s still a degree of familiarity with Villanova.

“We only got film from last year, so I can’t really say how different they are from last year,” running back Tyshon King said. “They lost some guys, they brought in some guys. But for the most part, as far as scheme, we feel like they probably are going to be the same team with them bringing back the same coordinators and the same core players — they won’t be that much different. It’s going to be wrinkles here and there, but we feel like it’ll be the same scheme for the most part.”

Have an interesting story? Contact Neel Madhavan by email at nmadhavan@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NeelMadhavan.