EWU football notes: QB Hunter Wells, RB Jody Webb center of Youngstown State offense

Game planning just got a little easier for the Eastern Washington defensive coaches.

After spending most of the season with a two-headed monster at their two most important offensive positions, the Youngstown Penguins have settled on Hunter Wells at quarterback and Jody Webb at running back.

Wells, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound pocket passer and the starter last year, lost his job in fall camp and didn’t even suit up for several games. He even played on the scout team.

Now he has the Penguins (11-3) within a game of the FCS title game.

“People are willing to do stuff we’ve never done before,” Wells said. “That’s why we’re here. People have bought into the system.”

For Wells and the YSU offense, the system is tried-and-true: Establish the run and manage the game. Since Wells got his first start on Oct. 29 against Indiana State, the Penguins are 6-1.

He had a season-best three touchdown passes in last week’s win over Wofford. The previous week at No. 3 Jacksonville State, Wells went deep and completed passes of 85, 70, 50 and 38 yards.

“They have some very capable receivers and can make some explosive plays, like our receivers,” Schmedding said.

In seven games, Wells is 91-for-145 for 1,119 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions.

“I think he does great job of managing games and gets them in good situations,” EWU defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding said.

The rise of Webb came more abruptly. He and Martin Ruiz are both over 1,100 yards, but Ruiz was arrested last week on firearms charges and participated in just one play against Wofford due to a “coach’s decision.”

Webb is a cat-quick 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds and “as good as we’ve seen all season,” Schmedding said.

For the season, Webb has an even 1,200 yards in just 191 carries, for an average of 6.3 yards.

Penguins deal with distraction

Call it luck, but for the second week in a row, Eastern Washington will face an opponent who’s dealing with more than the usual set of distractions.

As Youngstown State prepares for Saturday’s FCS semifinal, the Penguins are dealing with final exams, the uncertainty of weather, and now a whopper: the possible suspensions of five players, including four starters.

The turmoil comes at the worst possible time for Youngstown, which hasn’t won a national title since 1997. The Penguins have won five straight going into the semifinals. Coach Bo Pelini questioned the sudden attention from the media.

“I just find it ironic that we’ve had guys in (my) two years miss games for multiple reasons, and it hasn’t been a story,” Pelini said. “Now all of the sudden, you’re having success, you’re in the playoffs and now it’s a story.”

The story came to light when an anonymous source said the players failed a routine drug test following the Jacksonville State playoff game on Dec. 3.

A YSU spokesperson said he could neither confirm nor deny the reports, but said the NCAA can randomly choose when to test student-athletes.

“For us, it’s business as usual. If there is discipline for whatever reason, I don’t talk about it,” Pelini said. “I protect our kids. That’s how we go about our business at YSU. It’s always been my policy. We’re not going to talk about it.”

Practice was closed Tuesday, and YSU’s Director of Athletics, Ron Strollo, would not confirm or deny the suspensions.

Baldwin praises MVC

More than most coaches, Baldwin has seen his share of games against teams against the Missouri Valley Conference.

Saturday’s game will be the third this season; EWU fell 50-44 at North Dakota State on Sept. 3 and beat Northern Iowa 34-30 a week later.

After eight games against the MVC as a head coach – Baldwin is 4-4 – he’s made a few observations.

“There’s an overall toughness in that conference that’s incredible,” Baldwin said. “A lot of the time they’re a run-first and defensive-minded conference, and that gives you a great chance in the playoffs.”

“More than anything, you see high effort, high motors and soundness in those teams,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin is 3-1 against the MVC in the postseason, beating North Dakota State in an epic quarterfinal in 2010 and topping Illinois State and South Dakota State in the quarterfinals in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

The lone loss also came in the quarterfinals two years ago against ISU.