California’s Stafford picks Youngstown State

By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
California’s Jelani Stafford had lifelong dreams of playing Division I football.
He wasn’t your prototypical running back. A beast of a player, he’s 6-2 and weighs in right at 280 pounds. And he can run.
He finished with more than 1,000 yards rushing this season for the Trojans and led them to a share of the Tri-County South Conference championship, impressive considering they started the season 1-4. Head coach Darrin Dillow admitted the turnaround started when Stafford began carrying the ball more.
But to see his dream come true, Stafford made a switch to defense tackle, a position he never played before this season.
He put in the time and work, and now he’s seen his dream come true.
Stafford signed his national letter of intent Thursday to continue his football career at Youngstown State University.
“I really wanted to wait until I had taken all of my official visits,” Stafford said. “But when I got there, Youngstown State felt like home, and I pulled the trigger.

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