College commitment: Elyria Catholic's Jack Kenneally well-positioned for future success at Youngstown State

It was the running backs coach who contacted Elyria Catholic wideout and defensive back Jack Kenneally, who also played some outside linebacker during the preseason this year, and he believes he may end up playing inside receiver … or tight end. No matter how many positions were involved in the recruiting process, Kenneally finally decided that Youngstown State was the school for him as the senior committed to the Division I FCS program this week. "(EC) Coach (Brian) Fox was telling me to go to camps this summer," Kenneally said. "The (YSU) running backs coach (Louie Matsakis) hit me up on Twitter and said, 'Hey, come out to one of our camps.' So I went out to the one on June 9 and did really good, showed out, and the next day the wide receivers coach called me and offered me a full ride. "The thing that caught my eye was the coaches. The coaches really liked me and they called me at least twice a week. They stay engaged with me, asked me about school and football this season. I went for a visit and really loved the campus, so that all really blew me away." Kenneally spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Holy Name before transferring to Elyria Catholic. As a junior, he had 13 catches for 258 yards — 19.8 yards per catch — and a pair of touchdowns in five games. He also had 11 tackles and four pass breakups as a defensive back. While the first thing colleges probably noticed about Kenneally was his size — he's 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds — Fox said his greatest strength is his physicality while in the air. "Size is huge, but he's a ball-winner and he has great balance in the air," Fox said. "You look at him and he's got a frame where he can add weight. I know they see him as a tight end and he's a very physical player and a willing blocker. "We put him at the outside backer spot for one of our scrimmages and he has these giant arms and once he gets that physical mindset to him, you're like, 'Wow, this kid is way more than just a receiver.' I think that's what really excites people about him." Kenneally said winning the ball in the air was an approach that was developed during Panthers practices. "That's one thing my wide receivers coach says — ball's up in the air, go get it, don't let it come down to you," he said. "So every time it's up in the air and I have a corner or safety on me, I'm going into them with my body and I'm catching it over them. I'm making sure nobody else catches it but me, so I make that an emphasis for sure." Kenneally said the Penguins like him as an inside receiver but could eventually move him to the end of the offensive line. "They told me it all depends on what I do this spring and summer," he said. "They bring in people early, so it's really big for me this spring and summer to put on weight and if I can do that they'll move me to tight end. "I like to play inside receiver and tight end. I think my blocking's got much better so I believe inside I can get around a safety but if I can block and release for a pass, I think I'm good there, too." Kenneally emphasized his eagerness for the dual roles by saying he'd like to lead the Panthers in receiving and pancake blocks this season. "Coach Fox calls us eligible offensive linemen, he doesn't call us skill guys, so he emphasizes that the first thing we should do is block," Kenneally said. Fox said Kenneally, like all high school players, had a challenging recruitment because of the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but the coach was excited when Youngstown State came calling. "I've been a big fan of Youngstown State's head coach, Doug Phillips," Fox said. "He recruited Branson (Taylor) when (Phillips) was at Cincinnati and every time I've met with him he's seemed like such a genuinely good person. You send these kids off and, yeah, you want them to play good football but more than anything else you want them to be happy, you want them to be taken care of, you want them to be supported and pushed to be the best person they can be … and it feels like Doug Phillips is that kind of guy." Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @ShaunBennettct on Twitter.