Devon Spalding is in his fourth season as a member of the Youngstown State coaching staff. Spalding coaches the running backs for Head Coach Doug Phillips.
In 2022, running back Jaleel McLaughlin was named the MVFC's Offensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which honors the FCS's top offensive player. McLaughlin rushed for 1,588 yards on the season and late in the year set the NCAA All-Division career rushing record. As a team, YSU averaged 202.6 yards per game marking the second consecutive year it averaged more than 200 per contest.
McLaughlin set a school record with five 200-yard rushing games in his career, four of which came in the 2022 campaign. In MVFC games, he had an eye-popping 1,220 yards on 184 attempts and nine scores. He averaged an impressive 152.5 yards in league play.Â
In his three years in Spalding's system, McLaughlin carried the ball 535 times for 3,418 yards and 34 scores. In 26 games played, he averaged 122.1 yards per contest.Â
Also in 2022, reserve Dra Rushton had the best season of his YSU tenure. Rushton had 329 yards on 71 carries and scored two touchdowns. He set career highs in all three categories during the year.
In the fall 2021, McLaughlin was named first-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference. McLaughlin rushed for 1,139 yards in 10 games and scored 12 touchdowns. He had six 100-yard games highlighted by a 242-yard effort against UIW in the season opener. McLaughlin had 17-or-more carries in five games. Veteran Christian Turner had a strong final season for the Penguins. Turner rushed for 209 yards while scoring a pair of touchdowns. Â
A new talent emerged for the Penguins in the spring 2021 season in McLaughlin, a Division II transfer. McLaughlin, who joined the program in January from the Division II ranks, earned second-team All-MVFC honors. In the final five games of the spring, McLaughlin rushed for 634 yards to be a huge addition for the Penguins. Turner added 102 yards and 11 receptions for 71 yards and a TD for the Guins.
Spalding was a graduate assistant at Cincinnati in 2019. The Bearcats posted an 11-3 overall mark that was capped with an impressive 38-6 victory over Boston College in the Birmingham Bowl. UC played in its first-ever American Athletic Conference Championship Game against Memphis. The Bearcats were 7-1 in conference play and had a nine-game winning streak during the season.
Prior to going to UC, Spalding was a running back/wide receiver at Central Michigan from 2014-18. His best campaign was in 2016 when he made 10 starts at running back rushing for 765 yards on 138 carries and six touchdowns.
In 2018, he played wide receiver appearing in 10 games and making five starts for the Chippewas. He caught 27 passes for 231 yards and earned CMUs Dustin Preston Leadership Award. For his career, he played in 41 games at CMU. He rushed for 1,457 yards on 307 carries and scored 13 touchdowns.
A native of Canton, Mich., he earned Division 1-2 All-State honors as a senior at John Glenn High School. As a two-year starter, he rushed for 1,761 yards on 190 carries and scored a school-record 27 touchdowns in 2013. He had the third-highest rushing game in Michigan history, running for 491 yards.
