TE Louis Irizarry (official thread)

[Muck]

Looks like Guilford is playing football for El Camino College.

Wish I had known that I would have gone to watch him when they played Palomar. :)

 

[Buckskin86]

Irizarry breaks out with first big game in Penguins? victory

By JOE SIMON Tribune Chronicle

YOUNGSTOWN ? Junior tight end Louis Irizarry is beginning to play like the tight end many thought he could be coming out of Ursuline High School. And no one could be happier than quarterback Tom Zetts.

The two seem to be creating a connection on the field. Irizarry, considered one of the top five tight ends in the country coming out of high school, had two spectacular catches in the first half that kept drives alive.

He made a diving 28-yard catch on a third-and-13 play inside UC Davis territory and had another fully extended catch on a second-and-10 play that was also inside Aggie territory. Both catches led to touchdowns for YSU.

?It was only a matter of time before we found a big guy like that open,?? said Zetts of the 6-foot-5, 252-pound Irizarry. ?I just hope it?s a sign of more to come.??

Coach Jon Heacock said Irizarry adds another dimension to the offense.

??He?s a big, tall target, and he?s an athletic guy,?? Heacock said of Irizarry, adding that he also would have liked to see him hang on to a pass during the third quarter in which Irizarry was wide open on a third-and-5 play and dropped a pass that hit him in the chest. ??But he?s getting better every week. Give him credit, he was away from football for a while, and he?s getting back in it, and every week he?s getting a little better.??

Irizarry, a 2003 Ursuline graduate, initially went to Ohio State University. He caught 128 passes for 2,593 yards and 25 touchdowns in high school.

But some off-the-field issues eventually got him suspended indefinitely from Ohio State, and he enrolled at YSU in July of 2004 and joined the football team in the fall of 2005.

He earned his first start last week against Penn State when he caught three passes for 26 yards. He had three catches for 54 yards on Saturday.

He hasn?t spoken to the media since his transfer to YSU.

http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/Sports/articles.asp?articleID=9193

 

[tibor75]

Given his past and the Bengal need for a TE, you gotta think Marvin Lewis is looking at him for 2008.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Former Ohio State tight end Louis Irizarry had the best game in his brief career for Youngstown State last weekend, catching three passes for 54 yards in the Penquins? 38-24 win over UC Davis.

Irizarry was dismissed from the team in May 2004 after he was charged with felonious assault and robbery. He was convicted of the robbery charge and tried to return to team after he was released from prison in 2005. Once Ohio State coach Jim Tressel suggested that "he probably needs to go somewhere else," he enrolled at Youngstown State, where Tressel used to be coach and athletic director.
Irizarry is a junior, which means that he might get a chance to play against the Buckeyes next season when the Penguins visit Ohio Stadium.

 

[Smooth Olaf]

collegefootballnews.com

Offensive Recruiting Booms & Busts - 2003
By Richard Cirminiello
Posted Jan 30, 2007

Recruiting is an inexact science, to say the least. Often, sure-thing recruits stink and do nothing, while passed over prospects, like former Minnesota star Laurence Maroney, turn into superstars. Richard Cirminiello takes a look back on the recruiting class of four years ago to see which offensive players boomed and which busted.

Irizzary is the last name listed. The best part is that he's listed as a TSUN recruit. Heh...

 

[23Skidoo]

It just occured to me that he should be playing against us next year... should be interesting.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Irizarry finds home at YSU
By JOHN VARGO Tribune Chronicle

Louis Irizarry got into trouble as a freshman at Ohio State, but Youngstown State coach Jon Heacock gave the former Ursuline High School standout a chance to redeem himself with the Penguins

YOUNGSTOWN ? Second chances. Youngstown State has given many over the years to an assortment of players.

Ursuline graduate Louis Irizarry, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound senior tight end, knows he?s forever grateful to coach Jon Heacock for his opportunity.

As a true freshman at The Ohio State University, Irizarry was arrested on assault charges in October 2003 after a fight in a campus dormitory. He subsequently was put on probation.

He violated the terms of the probation in May 2004 when he and then-OSU running back Ira Guilford were arrested for robbing another student.

Both players were indefinitely suspended by coach Jim Tressel, leaving Irizarry without a college

Cont...

 

[Padraig]

I'll never understand what the hell happened with Louis. After hearing what a well spoken, intelligent, genuinely 'good kid' the recruiting gurus were claiming him to be I'm still just as perplexed today. But I hope he learned from his mistakes and does something with his second (third) chance.

It will be interesting to see what (if any) kind of reaction he gets in the 'Shoe this year.

 

[Buckskin86]

Irizarry becoming playmaker for YSU

By JOE SIMON Tribune Chronicle

??He?s going to have to understand that he?s going to have to be the guy,?? Heacock said. ??He?s going to have to be a wide out, per say ? him and Derrick (Bush) both. They?re going to be a big part of the passing game.??

Irizarry, 6 foot 5, 255 pounds, and Bush, 6-4, 270, will be hard targets to miss for a Penguins? passing game that will be more featured than last year.

Irizarry was third on the team in catches (25), receiving yards (304) and touchdowns (two) in 2006. While Bush, a junior, only had six catches, he has good hands and is a very athletic player for his size.

??Definitely,?? responded Irizarry when asked if he thought the tight ends would be a bigger part of the offense in 2007. ??Just the change that most of our plays have two tight ends on the field, it really helps us out. Either of us can split out, both of us can block well, so it?s really a weapon.??

WELCOME BACK: The Penguins? Sept. 1 season opener at Ohio State will be a homecoming of sorts for Irizarry, who played for the Buckeyes as a true freshman before off-the-field issues led to his dismissal from the team in 2004.

Irizarry didn?t directly comment on his return to Columbus, but he did say his emotions would be high.

??There?s a whole other level that you really can?t prepare for playing against each other,?? Irizarry said. ??The only thing we can do is keep grinding at camp and for the rest of two-a-days to get all the technical aspects down. The emotion will come on gameday.??

Irizarry said he?s more focused on the team?s improvement than on any personal achievements.

??I think every senior wants to go out on top,?? he said. ??So, if I can exceed what happened last year, when I was a junior, then that will sit with me well.

??And that means a national championship.??

Tribune-Chronicle

 

[Buckskin86]

Irizarry back at OSU, for YSU
Former Buckeye rejuvenates football career at hometown Youngstown State
Sunday, August 26, 2007 3:49 AM
By Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The football career of Louis Irizarry is not over, even if his former Ohio State teammates talk that way.

"He's a sad, sad case," offensive tackle Kirk Barton said. "He really could have been ... "

Barton caught himself.

"He might still be something special. But if he had stuck it out four years at Ohio State, who knows where he'd be right now."

"I'm excited to return to the Horseshoe," Irizarry said in a statement. He declined an interview request.

Bob Hannon is the radio play-by-play voice of the Penguins and has spoken with Irizarry recently.

"He has had this game marked on his calendar for a long time," Hannon said. "He's very thankful to coach Tressel for the opportunity he had."

Guilford cut a plea deal and testified against Irizarry, who served a few days short of six months in the Correctional Reception Center in Orient.

When he got out in the spring of 2005, he called Tressel about rejoining the team. Despite being sympathetic, Tressel told him that could not happen.

Economus said Irizarry suffered a stroke while in high school and wonders if that somehow affected his judgment. He said he has spoken with Irizarry about his crimes, "and he couldn't really express why he did what he did."

Tressel, too, has kept in touch with his former player and talked with him about the past.

"Many, many times," Tressel said. "I probably can't talk about it publicly because those were some very intimate discussions, but he's a great kid. He's playing in a great program, progressing in school.

"His progress is just what you would have hoped would happen, maybe minus having to play against him."

The Columbus Dispatch : Irizarry back at OSU, for YSU

 

[Buckskin86]

Published: Sunday, August 26, 2007

Irizarry returns to the 'Shoe YSU's senior tight end started his career with the...

By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN ? Louis Irizarry always knew that he would be starting someday as a tight end in the Horseshoe in Columbus.

But five years ago as a highly recruited high school senior out of Ursuline High School, Irizarry expected that start to be for the Ohio State Buckeyes, not against them.

Saturday the 6-foot-5, 255-pound senior will lead the Youngstown State football team into Columbus for the school's first football meeting with the Buckeyes and former YSU coach Jim Tressel.

Remained close to Tressel

Irizarry remained in close contact with Tressel, who was waiting to see what Ohio State's stand on the issue would be.

"His opinion meant a great deal and it still does," Irizarry added.

Vindy.com - Irizarry returns to the 'Shoe YSU's senior tight end started his career with the Buckeyes.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

ohio state notes
After prison term, tight end given second chance at Youngstown

http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/co...807osunotes.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=32#​

By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

COLUMBUS ? Youngstown State is accustomed to taking players from Division-I schools looking for a chance to revive their careers, but Louis Irizarry is probably the first to make the transition after a six-month prison term.
Considered one of the nation's premier tight-end prospects in high school, Irizarry saw action at Ohio State as a freshman in 2003 and appeared poised to become a starter as a sophomore.

Continued.....

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

YSU's Irizarry set to return to Ohio State
COLUMBUS ? Youngstown State tight end Louis Irizarry might not want to talk about it, but this is the way it was supposed to be, with him running across the field at Ohio Stadium in Saturday?s season opener.

However, everybody figured he?d be a star tight end for the Buckeyes, instead of taking the field for Youngstown State.

Two years after leaving Columbus, Irizarry returns to campus as a fifth-year senior tight end for the I-AA Penguins.

Irizarry had the whole package ? size (6-foot-5, 255 pounds), speed and hands ? when he signed with the Buckeyes out of Ursuline High School in the 2003 recruiting class.

Continued.....

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Ohio State could face major threat in YSU tight end Irizarry



Thursday, August 30, 2007 Doug Lesmerises

Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- Probably the most gifted tight end to play at Ohio State under Jim Tressel will take the field at Ohio Stadium wearing a Youngstown State uniform on Saturday, while that position for the Buckeyes may be ready for a rebirth.
Louis Irizarry, one of the stars of Ohio State's 2003 recruiting class, was kicked off Ohio State's team and spent nearly six months in prison after robbing an OSU student in 2004. He returns now as a fifth-year senior for the Penguins, as the Buckeyes can say they're fine without him.




Cont...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

Irizarry's luck has turned at Horseshoe

OSU dismissed tight end after a robbery conviction in 2004.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/co...ollege/osu/2007/09/02/ddn090207osuside2.html#​

By Michael Cooper
Staff Writer

Sunday, September 02, 2007

The last time tight end Louis Irizarry played at Ohio Stadium, he was a Buckeye.
On Saturday, Irizarry made his return to the Horseshoe, this time for Youngstown State.
"Any time you come out and see the fans, it's a great privilege to be there," Irizarry said. "It's exciting, and that proved to be true today for our team."

Continued.....