By: Josh Stowers
The Marshall football team concluded their eighth practice of the spring Thursday afternoon inside Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Today’s practice had a much different tone than what we’ve seen through the first seven practices as the defense owned the day. Yes, that’s right, I said the defense OWNED the day. “Yeah I don’t know. I thought the defense won at times and I thought the offense won at times. Any time you get in the red-zone situation you’re always going to be a winner-loser deal. If you get the first down you win, if not then you’ll lose. Hopefully they (defense) won more today because that’s where you should be in the spring,” said Head Coach Doc Holliday. We’ve been seeing flashes from the defense in practices six and seven, but today it was a brand new animal. I’ll cover that and more in the Spring Practice: Day Eight report.
MIA
Nothing new here really other than a few additions. Nate Devers and Jordan Dowrey continue to sit out this spring recovering from off-season issues. Devontre’a Tyler, Keion Davis, Antavis Rowe, and Sandley Jean-Felix all worked out with trainers on the sideline. Deon-Tay McManus and Tiquan Lang sported red (no contact) jerseys again, but both saw time in all drills. Emanuel Byrd went through individual drills, but sat out most of the team sessions. Also, per Tony Pittman’s social media, the red-shirt junior had surgery on Wednesday to repair a “football injury.” Pittman’s status is uncertain for the remainder of spring practice.
“Herd” Drill
Red-shirt sophomore defensive tackle Nyquan “Big Money” Harris saw the most activity during this drill going against senior Michael Selby on two occasions and Alex Locklear later on. Harris and Selby each bested one another and Harris was evenly matched by Locklear. The toughness that both interiors are showing is something we haven’t seen around here for a while. Red-shirt sophomore offensive tackle Fred Binot displayed the same “nastiness” that we’ve been seeing from him all spring. He planted defensive ends Blake Keller and Damien Dozier. Unless Jean-Felix really steps up his play for the remainder of spring, I think it’s going to be really hard for him to regain his starting position from Binot. Other players showing up in this drill were Tomell One (beat Cody Collins) and Ty Tyler (beat Locklear).
Offense
As I stated above, the offense saw their first real test of the spring today, and I have to be honest, they struggled. I’m not sure what or if the defense was doing something different today, but each quarterback struggled. The offense saw their most success during the seven-on-seven portion of practice. Both Chase Litton and Michael Birdsong threw touchdowns during his session. Litton found McManus (who beat Chocolate Wilson) in the corner for a seven-yard touchdown and later hit Josh Knight (who beat Kendall Gant with a double move) across the middle for a five-yard score. Birdsong, just like Litton, hooked up with McManus in the end-zone with Chris Jackson draped all over him for a 7-yard score and later hit Knight on a five-yard slant in front of Gant for another score.
In the 11-on-11 portion of practice each quarterback hooked up for big plays, but consistency was an issue. Under pressure from the defense all day, I doubt either quarterback completed over 50 percent of their passes. With that said, the trio of Justin Hunt, Raylen Elzy, and Michael Clark all turned in big plays for the offense. On the first play from scrimmage, Litton hit Hunt down the sidelines with a beautiful over the shoulder throw for 34 yards. Later on, Birdsong would find Elzy for a 33-yard gain and Clark on a 38-yard pass when Clark just completely outjumped defensive back TJ Griffin. The play happened right in front of New England Patriot and former Marshall receiver Aaron Dobson, who attended practice today. Clark continues to put together a surprisingly solid spring. The Marshall defense has yet to walk a defensive back out there that can consistently lock him down.
During the goal line session of practice, Litton utilized his backfield partner Hyleck Foster in the running game. Litton, using the zone-read, handed the ball off to Foster for gains of seven, eight, and eventually a 15-yard score. Birdsong took the aerial route throwing a seven-yard score to Clark (who “bulldogged” Michael Johnson into the end-zone) and a two-yard score to Nick Matthews in front of Corey Neely.
Defense
I’ve been waiting all spring to be able to talk about this defense and today they gave me a reason. The Thundering Herd defense totaled six sacks (Keller, Dozier, T.Tyler – two, Gary Thompson, and an unidentified player) and five pass break-ups. The front-seven of the defense kept heat on the quarterbacks all day and the defensive backs played their coverage much tighter than what we’ve seen early on this spring. Red-shirt junior cornerback Rodney Allen had his best practice of the spring (in my opinion) locking down his side of field in each session. He looked exceptionally good during the one-on-one drills. Linebackers Shawn Petty and Frankie Hernandez both had pass break-ups in the end-zone. Petty actually should’ve had an interception (in zone coverage) and Hernandez broke up a throw to Ryan Yurachek in man-coverage. Speaking of coverage, I didn’t really keep track of this, but I’m guessing at least two or three of Marshall’s six sacks were due to coverage. The defensive backfield had a great day.
One thing is certain about the defensive front, it’s that depth is not an issue on the outside. “I think we’ll be as good or better that we were a year ago on the defensive front. We have our ends back and the three young guys on the inside are talented and they love football,” Holliday said. Of course Thundering Herd fans know what they’ll get from Thompson, Ryan Bee, and Keller, but it’s the younger guys like Tyler, Dozier, and Milan Lanier that they need to acquaint themselves with. These kids are going to play. I’d say we’ll see a normal rotation of four guys, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see them go six deep on the edge.
The biggest play of the day came from walk-on safety Malik Gant, who absolutely laid out fellow walk-on tight end Kyle Camacho. Birdsong threw the ball high and when Camacho went up to get it, Gant met him in air with a bone-jarring hit.
Special Teams
It was basically the same story, but different day situation here. It’s no secret that the kicking game is an uphill battle. Juniors Nick Smith and Amoreto Curraj each finished the day imperfect. Although they both only missed one kick apiece, it still just doesn’t look smooth. “I was just disappointed there. They’ve been pretty good all spring, but we put that in at the end of practice today and neither one was ready. After they got in there for a few kicks, I thought the last 4 or 6 reps were pretty good,” Holliday said.
Somebody Looking Down
You can call it luck or whatever you want to call it for defensive lineman Jason Smith, but I think the “75” were watching out for him on Monday. Smith, who was traveling south on Interstate-79 lost control of his car and flipped six times. “God works in mysterious ways. There’s no way I should’ve survived,” Smith said of his wreck. Smith came away basically unscathed with only a few bumps and bruises to show. The crazy thing was, Smith didn’t miss minute of practice this week. Defensive line Coach J.C. Price said it best. “He’s lucky and tough.” Moments like this remind me that football is just a game and there’s more to life than what happens on that field. Smith understands that and wants to make the most of his chance. “I’m blessed to be alive and I’m going to make the most of this second chance,” Smith said.
Notes
Marshall returns to the field Saturday morning for their first real “scrimmage” of the spring. The staff will be on the sideline and there will be a running play clock. “I’m just looking for guys. In a scrimmage situation I’m just going to turn them loose and let them play. We have to get off the field and see how they react without us out there,” Holliday said.
The scrimmage will begin at 9:00am and is ONLY open to Big Green members, season ticket holders, and students. BG members and students will be asked to provide valid identification to enter. The general public can sign up for the Big Green at the gate as well.
The Marshall football team concluded their eighth practice of the spring Thursday afternoon inside Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Today’s practice had a much different tone than what we’ve seen through the first seven practices as the defense owned the day. Yes, that’s right, I said the defense OWNED the day. “Yeah I don’t know. I thought the defense won at times and I thought the offense won at times. Any time you get in the red-zone situation you’re always going to be a winner-loser deal. If you get the first down you win, if not then you’ll lose. Hopefully they (defense) won more today because that’s where you should be in the spring,” said Head Coach Doc Holliday. We’ve been seeing flashes from the defense in practices six and seven, but today it was a brand new animal. I’ll cover that and more in the Spring Practice: Day Eight report.
MIA
Nothing new here really other than a few additions. Nate Devers and Jordan Dowrey continue to sit out this spring recovering from off-season issues. Devontre’a Tyler, Keion Davis, Antavis Rowe, and Sandley Jean-Felix all worked out with trainers on the sideline. Deon-Tay McManus and Tiquan Lang sported red (no contact) jerseys again, but both saw time in all drills. Emanuel Byrd went through individual drills, but sat out most of the team sessions. Also, per Tony Pittman’s social media, the red-shirt junior had surgery on Wednesday to repair a “football injury.” Pittman’s status is uncertain for the remainder of spring practice.
“Herd” Drill
Red-shirt sophomore defensive tackle Nyquan “Big Money” Harris saw the most activity during this drill going against senior Michael Selby on two occasions and Alex Locklear later on. Harris and Selby each bested one another and Harris was evenly matched by Locklear. The toughness that both interiors are showing is something we haven’t seen around here for a while. Red-shirt sophomore offensive tackle Fred Binot displayed the same “nastiness” that we’ve been seeing from him all spring. He planted defensive ends Blake Keller and Damien Dozier. Unless Jean-Felix really steps up his play for the remainder of spring, I think it’s going to be really hard for him to regain his starting position from Binot. Other players showing up in this drill were Tomell One (beat Cody Collins) and Ty Tyler (beat Locklear).
Offense
As I stated above, the offense saw their first real test of the spring today, and I have to be honest, they struggled. I’m not sure what or if the defense was doing something different today, but each quarterback struggled. The offense saw their most success during the seven-on-seven portion of practice. Both Chase Litton and Michael Birdsong threw touchdowns during his session. Litton found McManus (who beat Chocolate Wilson) in the corner for a seven-yard touchdown and later hit Josh Knight (who beat Kendall Gant with a double move) across the middle for a five-yard score. Birdsong, just like Litton, hooked up with McManus in the end-zone with Chris Jackson draped all over him for a 7-yard score and later hit Knight on a five-yard slant in front of Gant for another score.
In the 11-on-11 portion of practice each quarterback hooked up for big plays, but consistency was an issue. Under pressure from the defense all day, I doubt either quarterback completed over 50 percent of their passes. With that said, the trio of Justin Hunt, Raylen Elzy, and Michael Clark all turned in big plays for the offense. On the first play from scrimmage, Litton hit Hunt down the sidelines with a beautiful over the shoulder throw for 34 yards. Later on, Birdsong would find Elzy for a 33-yard gain and Clark on a 38-yard pass when Clark just completely outjumped defensive back TJ Griffin. The play happened right in front of New England Patriot and former Marshall receiver Aaron Dobson, who attended practice today. Clark continues to put together a surprisingly solid spring. The Marshall defense has yet to walk a defensive back out there that can consistently lock him down.
During the goal line session of practice, Litton utilized his backfield partner Hyleck Foster in the running game. Litton, using the zone-read, handed the ball off to Foster for gains of seven, eight, and eventually a 15-yard score. Birdsong took the aerial route throwing a seven-yard score to Clark (who “bulldogged” Michael Johnson into the end-zone) and a two-yard score to Nick Matthews in front of Corey Neely.
Defense
I’ve been waiting all spring to be able to talk about this defense and today they gave me a reason. The Thundering Herd defense totaled six sacks (Keller, Dozier, T.Tyler – two, Gary Thompson, and an unidentified player) and five pass break-ups. The front-seven of the defense kept heat on the quarterbacks all day and the defensive backs played their coverage much tighter than what we’ve seen early on this spring. Red-shirt junior cornerback Rodney Allen had his best practice of the spring (in my opinion) locking down his side of field in each session. He looked exceptionally good during the one-on-one drills. Linebackers Shawn Petty and Frankie Hernandez both had pass break-ups in the end-zone. Petty actually should’ve had an interception (in zone coverage) and Hernandez broke up a throw to Ryan Yurachek in man-coverage. Speaking of coverage, I didn’t really keep track of this, but I’m guessing at least two or three of Marshall’s six sacks were due to coverage. The defensive backfield had a great day.
One thing is certain about the defensive front, it’s that depth is not an issue on the outside. “I think we’ll be as good or better that we were a year ago on the defensive front. We have our ends back and the three young guys on the inside are talented and they love football,” Holliday said. Of course Thundering Herd fans know what they’ll get from Thompson, Ryan Bee, and Keller, but it’s the younger guys like Tyler, Dozier, and Milan Lanier that they need to acquaint themselves with. These kids are going to play. I’d say we’ll see a normal rotation of four guys, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see them go six deep on the edge.
The biggest play of the day came from walk-on safety Malik Gant, who absolutely laid out fellow walk-on tight end Kyle Camacho. Birdsong threw the ball high and when Camacho went up to get it, Gant met him in air with a bone-jarring hit.
Special Teams
It was basically the same story, but different day situation here. It’s no secret that the kicking game is an uphill battle. Juniors Nick Smith and Amoreto Curraj each finished the day imperfect. Although they both only missed one kick apiece, it still just doesn’t look smooth. “I was just disappointed there. They’ve been pretty good all spring, but we put that in at the end of practice today and neither one was ready. After they got in there for a few kicks, I thought the last 4 or 6 reps were pretty good,” Holliday said.
Somebody Looking Down
You can call it luck or whatever you want to call it for defensive lineman Jason Smith, but I think the “75” were watching out for him on Monday. Smith, who was traveling south on Interstate-79 lost control of his car and flipped six times. “God works in mysterious ways. There’s no way I should’ve survived,” Smith said of his wreck. Smith came away basically unscathed with only a few bumps and bruises to show. The crazy thing was, Smith didn’t miss minute of practice this week. Defensive line Coach J.C. Price said it best. “He’s lucky and tough.” Moments like this remind me that football is just a game and there’s more to life than what happens on that field. Smith understands that and wants to make the most of his chance. “I’m blessed to be alive and I’m going to make the most of this second chance,” Smith said.
Notes
Marshall returns to the field Saturday morning for their first real “scrimmage” of the spring. The staff will be on the sideline and there will be a running play clock. “I’m just looking for guys. In a scrimmage situation I’m just going to turn them loose and let them play. We have to get off the field and see how they react without us out there,” Holliday said.
The scrimmage will begin at 9:00am and is ONLY open to Big Green members, season ticket holders, and students. BG members and students will be asked to provide valid identification to enter. The general public can sign up for the Big Green at the gate as well.
