Travis Tislaretz assumed the duties of coaching the YSU tight ends in 2018. He spent six years with the YSU football program after serving in an Offensive Quality Control role for four campaigns.
The tight ends improved throughout the season and by the end of the year, redshirt freshman Miles Joiner and Josh Burgett, were two of the top young talents in the MVFC. Joiner became a playmaker for the Penguins leading the way with four touchdown receptions. He had receptions of 50-plus yards in the final two games of the season and hauled in TD grabs vs. Butler, West Virginia, North Dakota State and Illinois State. For his efforts, Joiner was named to the MVFC's All-Newcomer Team and was an honorable-mention All-MVFC selection.
In 2019, Joiner was named honorable-mention All-MVFC for the second straight season. He caught 21 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns. Kierre Hawkins added three receptions, Jake Benio caught two passes as well while Josh Burgett caught his first career touchdown pass. As a unit, YSU had more than 377 yards of total offense and rushed for more than 173 yards on six occasions. The Penguins were also dominant with a time of possession of 32:13. YSU had a tremendously balanaced offense with 2,289 yards passing and 2,249 yards rushing for the campaign.
Tislaretz will also help coordinate YSU summer football camps during the offseason and recruit Pennsylvania, his home state.
Prior to taking over the tight ends in 2018, he helped the offense handling various duties for former Offensive Coordinator Shane Montgomery and former offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo for four seasons.
With a healthy unit in 2016, the Penguins' offensive line was a key reason the program returned to the postseason and eventually reached the National Championship Game.
Four of the five linemen started every game while the same group of five started the final 13 games together. Dylan Colucci, Gavin Wiggins, Vitas Hrynkiewcz and Justin Spencer started all 16 games while Brock Eisenhuth started the final 13. Eisenhuth was a first-team All-MVFC honoree, Spencer was a second-team recipient while Colucci was named honorable-mention. Hrynkiewcz was named to the all-newcomer squad.
YSU averaged 242.7 yards rushing per game to lead the Missouri Valley Football Conference while ranking 10th nationally. The Penguins had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers during the year and a first-team all-league tailback. Highlighting the campaign was a school-record 572-yard rushing performance at Missouri State. In the five-game playoff run, YSU had four 200-yard rushing performances and three 200-yard passing performances.
The Pennsylvania native is a graduate of Central Valley High School. He was a two-year starter at center for Central Valley High School. He was a first-team Class AAA Parkway selection as a senior by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2011.
Prior to coming to YSU he attended Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pa. He earned his degree from Youngstown State in 2015.
