5 Other Penguins To Know Before Kentucky vs. Youngstown State

Reigning FCS Player of the Year Beau Brungard is the player to watch when Youngstown State comes into Kroger Field on Saturday. Brungard is the Penguins’ unanimous All-American quarterback who racked up 3,230 passing yards, 1,468 rushing yards, and 53 total touchdowns in 2025. Brungard chose to stay at Youngstown for another year, and Will Stein believes he is one of the best players in all of college football, not just FCS. “He’s an elite player,” said Stein. “Not just good, not just average. He’s elite.” But Brungard isn’t coming alone. Youngstown State has several other players who could give Kentucky problems, including an NFL prospect on the offensive line and a couple of defensive standouts. Here are five other Penguins to know before Saturday’s season opener. Sep 13, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Youngstown State running back Jaden Gilbert (7) runs for a touchdown against Michigan State in the second quarter at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images #7 Jaden Gilbert, RB Brungard was Youngstown’s leading rusher a year ago with nearly 1,500 yards as a quarterback. His running back, Jaden Gilbert, added more than 1,000 total yards alongside him. The dual-threat back is back this year, too. Last week, Gilbert carried the ball only five times against Mercyhurst. Still, the senior tailback tallied 89 yards and one touchdown on those five runs, plus another 31 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. Like Brungard, he’s a versatile weapon for the Penguins’ offense, which Will Stein called the best in FCS. #1 Lynn Wyche-El, WR Lynn Wyche-El is new to Youngstown after transferring in from Grand Valley State for his fifth year of college football. A Detroit native, Wyche-El is part of the major turnover at wide receiver, with Youngstown starting three new faces after losing several key players from a year ago. Last week, Wyche-El was the Penguins’ leading pass-catcher in the season opener, tallying six receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown. After one game, he’s our receiver to watch from the new bunch. #78 Desmeal Leigh, LT You may not know Youngstown left tackle Desmeal Leigh, but he could play for your favorite NFL team one day in the near future. At 6’7″, 325 pounds, he’s been called “an FCS mammoth with big-time NFL Draft potential” as well as First Team All-American FCS. Leigh has started in 39 straight games on Youngstown’s offensive line, and he is one of two FCS players on the Senior Bowl’s Top 300 list. Like Brungard, he’s one of the best players in all of FCS. #3 Mike Wells, EDGE/LB Mike Wells earned a shout-out from Will Stein in Stein’s game week press conference on Tuesday. Stein called Wells disruptive against both the run and pass as a boundary end, adding that Wells had 15 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks last season. In 2026, Wells is a preseason candidate for FCS Defensive Player of the Year, with four tackles and 2.5 TFLs against Mercyhurst. #5 Carston Marshall, LB Another player to watch on Youngstown’s defense is fifth-year Will linebacker Carston Marshall. He, too, earned a shout-out from Stein, who said of Marshall, “He’s a really good linebacker. He can play the run, play the pass, he’s very fast, can run sideline to sideline, makes tackles.” Marshall was all over the field last season, finishing second on the team with 71 tackles in 13 games. He led all Penguins with seven tackles in Week 0.