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Throughout the offseason, Youngstown State has made it a priority to evaluate the proper talent and bring in personnel that fits the culture of the program. Not only looking to establish depth, the YSU coaching staff elected to recruit instant impact players via both the portal and high school. Aiming to make up for the departure of talented wideouts Latrell Fordham and Cyrus Traugh, a duo that combined for 567 total yards and 6 touchdowns in 2024, among others, YSU invested their resources in building consistency at a crucial skill position.
According to YSU's spring roster, there are a total of four new faces in the wide receiver room, two of them being transfers and the other two high school recruits. The transfers, Kylon Wilson (Slippery Rock) and Payton Bjork (Tarleton), come from completely different areas. Wilson is a Farrell Pennsylvania native and Bjork is a Santa Monica, California local, but have connections to the state of Ohio.
Wilson is directly tied to new wide receiver coach Chris Parry, who developed him at Slippery Rock in 2024 and decided to return to his home state this offseason. Bjork is the son of first-year Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork, who was previously the AD at Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and Western Kentucky.
The two high school recruits were both born in Ohio with Jeremiah Sanders being from Cincinnati and Jackson Wiley growing up in Columbus. Sanders and Wiley were highly pursued during the recruiting cycle as their resumes out of high school are highlighted by several stars from institutions like 247sports and Rivals. Sanders was rated as a two-star wide receiver by 247sports and received offers from Akron, Kent State, Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Kentucky, and Toledo. Wiley earned a three-star rating from 247 sports and held offers from Kentucky, Coastal Carolina, Ohio, and countless others.
As evident, there is a tremendous amount of talent flowing into the program at wide receiver — and remember, this doesn't even take into account the numerous high school athletes from the 2025 class who haven't yet joined the program. Meshing with the youth and portal players are returning veterans, such as Max Tomczak and Luke Hensley. Their experience and time spent with the Penguins will give them an edge over the new arrivals when it comes to the fight for a starting job. The quality depth and volume of talent at the wide receiver position has made for an intense and competitive spring.
In the midst of an influx in talent in the receiving corps, YSU head coach Doug Phillips had to make a decision on who his next wide receiver coach would be following the departure of Jelani Berassa, who left Youngstown to return to his home state of Florida and take the same position at Florida International.
Making a quick decision, Doug Phillips hired a former colleague, Chris Parry, to take over. The selection process appeared to be relatively smooth, as Parry had built a strong resume since leaving YSU in 2022, spending time with Pitt in a defensive role (2022) then taking an opportunity to be Thiel's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator (2023).
In his lone season in Greenville, PA., Parry developed All-Presidents' Athletic Conference wideout Chase Lawler and also served a crucial role in helping the program reach its highest win total in the last seven years. He was responsible for recruiting in Ohio, Michigan, Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
Parry took the job as Slippery Rock's wide receivers coach in 2024. With The Rock, he advanced the game of WR Kylon Wilson, who is now at YSU, and assisted in the production of his top three receivers, who combined for 2,171 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. Parry's coaching style doesn't differ all that much from Berassa, which consists of prioritizing the recruitment of top tier talent and placing an emphasis on developing student-athletes into the best version of themselves.
Prior to his coaching career, Parry enjoyed a stint at West Virginia, where he played wide receiver from 2014-2017. He attended Niles McKinley High School, where he played three sports and was a recipient of the Bo Rein Memorial Award, which is given to the top multi-sport student-athlete at McKinley.
Tomczak and Hensley have both been incredibly loyal to YSU throughout their entire careers and have worked hard to secure a starting spot. Tomczak is a phenomenal route runner who possesses basically every skill that you would want out of a wide receiver. He has steady hands, versatility, the ability to stretch defenses, and many more defining traits. He is a deadly force in the slot as he is capable of spreading a defense out and then manipulating them with sharp cuts and subtle movements, creating separation and making it easy on the quarterback to deliver crisp passes. In 2024, Tomczak was a First-team All-MVFC selection, tallying 904 yards and four touchdowns.
Hensley boasts a big stature at 6-2, 195, and is primed to break out in 2025 after dealing with an injury before the start of last season. He utilizes his height well on the outside, physically dominating defensive backs and allowing his reliable hands to do the rest of the work. What has impressed me the most about Hensley is his elite concentration levels and unbelievable focus when going up for 50/50 balls. No matter what is transpiring around him, Hensley is able to maintain his keys and worry only about the location of the ball.
Known for his time spent at Medina High School with Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, Hensley has fallen short of his expectations at YSU, totaling 392 yards in four seasons with the program. Embarking on his senior campaign, Hensley is in a position to man the WR2 job and have his most impactful year since arriving in 2021.
I didn't have much trouble implementing Farthing and Wilson into the starting lineup due to the amount of talent both of them have and their distinct play styles. Farthing, like Hensley, relies on his massive frame to bully smaller defenders. What separates him from the rest of the players in the wide receiver room is that he is also a freak athlete, complementing his large make up of 6-4, 200 pounds.
As a redshirt freshman, Farthing hauled in nine passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns. He had standout performances against USD and Villanova, totaling 138 yards and three touchdowns. The Dover HS grad has the potential to turn into one of YSU's most lethal downfield passing threats in recent memory if he is able to remain healthy.
Wilson's style of play contrasts significantly to that of Farthing, relying on speed and extremely fast bursts to maneuver around defenders. While he can be effective in the deep passing game as well, splitting the safeties down the middle of the field, that certainly isn't the only element of his game and is something that doesn't define him as a player. At Slippery Rock, Wilson thrived in his roles as receiver and kickoff returner, booking 1,524 all-purpose yards in 2024. YSU fans should expect him to contribute on special teams along with the offense.
I think Wilson and Tomczak will have the best showings among the wideouts during the spring game. Wilson's explosiveness off the snap and ability to burn defensive backs will give him plenty of opportunities. Tomczak will continue to shine and provide the YSU community with plenty to be optimistic about.
