In a crucial and much-needed performance, the Marshall defense put together its best Pro Football Focus mark of the 2022 campaign, posting an outstanding 88.7 PFF grade en route to a triumphant 26-12 victory over the previously ranked James Madison Dukes Saturday at Bridgeforth Stadium.
A PFF overview of the dominant performance, including that of Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week Owen Porter, is below!
DEFENSIVE LINE:
Following his career performance against James Madison, all eyes were squarely focused on Owen Porter -- and rightfully so.
Porter, who was absolutely relentless and disruptive in his pursuit all game, helped Marshall rally from an early 12-2 deficit by getting an astounding 17 pressures on 50 snaps. Of those 17 pressures, PFF had Porter dropping James Madison quarterback Billy Allen five times and adding in nine additional quarterback hurries to go along with nine total tackles and a pass deflection.
Not surprisingly, Porter's grade of 93.6 was the highest PFF mark of the entire defensive unit.
Immanuel Bush and TyQaze Leggs also posted strong PFF grades, with Bush collecting a 89.1 overall PFF grade and notching two sacks along with three pressures in just 28 snaps overall and Leggs collecting seven tackles from his defensive tackle position en route to an 83.7 overall PFF grade as Porter, Bush and Leggs notched the three highest overall PFF grades on the entire defense.
Anthony Watts (78 PFF), Isaiah Gibson (70.2 PFF), Sam Burton (66.2 PFF) and Koby Cumberlander (65.4 PFF) combined for seven total pressures, two tackles and two sacks while Elijah Alston (63.8 PFF), Emmanuel Balogun (60.9 PFF), Damion Barber (60.7 PFF) and Esaias Carpenter (59.7 PFF) rounded out the defensive front -- with Barber posting three quarterback hurries to compete a strong group effort from the defensive front.
LINEBACKERS:
Star linebacker Abraham Beauplan (64.4 PFF) only played 14 snaps in the contest and Jace Bobo posted the lowest grade on the defense at 41.5, but the workmanlike efforts of Charlie Gray and Eli Neal allowed the linebacking core to remain solid throughout the affair as Gray's 82.2 PFF and Neal's 78.3 PFF headed up the backers.
In all, Neal was listed as having nine tackles by PFF while Gray added in another seven himself. The pair also did well in coverage, allowing six receptions in eight targets but only allowing those completions to go for 27 yards total en route to holding the JMU offense to just 4.5 yards per completion on routes that the pair defended.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
While not producing its best PFF grade as a unit, the defensive secondary for Marshall was effective as the Thundering Herd got good efforts, in particular from Andre Sam and Steven Gilmore.
Sam, who posted the highest grade of all players in the secondary at a 74.5 PFF grade, made eight tackles (all solo) and allowed just two receptions in six targets for 18 yards while picking off a pass, while Gilmore, who posted a 70.3 PFF grade and has consistently been the highest graded corner all season long, didn't allow a reception in five targets. Both players played all 73 snaps in the contest.
E.J. Jackson, who played 44 snaps, made a pair of tackles and didn't allow a reception his way en route to a 67.9 PFF grade, while Kerion Martin (63.7 PFF), Isaiah Norman (61.9 PFF, five tackles), and Micah Abraham (60.2 PFF) all played well with Abraham being the only one of the group to allow a reception his direction (Abraham allowed four catches in eight targets for 104 yards).
A PFF overview of the dominant performance, including that of Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week Owen Porter, is below!
DEFENSIVE LINE:
Following his career performance against James Madison, all eyes were squarely focused on Owen Porter -- and rightfully so.
Porter, who was absolutely relentless and disruptive in his pursuit all game, helped Marshall rally from an early 12-2 deficit by getting an astounding 17 pressures on 50 snaps. Of those 17 pressures, PFF had Porter dropping James Madison quarterback Billy Allen five times and adding in nine additional quarterback hurries to go along with nine total tackles and a pass deflection.
Not surprisingly, Porter's grade of 93.6 was the highest PFF mark of the entire defensive unit.
Immanuel Bush and TyQaze Leggs also posted strong PFF grades, with Bush collecting a 89.1 overall PFF grade and notching two sacks along with three pressures in just 28 snaps overall and Leggs collecting seven tackles from his defensive tackle position en route to an 83.7 overall PFF grade as Porter, Bush and Leggs notched the three highest overall PFF grades on the entire defense.
Anthony Watts (78 PFF), Isaiah Gibson (70.2 PFF), Sam Burton (66.2 PFF) and Koby Cumberlander (65.4 PFF) combined for seven total pressures, two tackles and two sacks while Elijah Alston (63.8 PFF), Emmanuel Balogun (60.9 PFF), Damion Barber (60.7 PFF) and Esaias Carpenter (59.7 PFF) rounded out the defensive front -- with Barber posting three quarterback hurries to compete a strong group effort from the defensive front.
LINEBACKERS:
Star linebacker Abraham Beauplan (64.4 PFF) only played 14 snaps in the contest and Jace Bobo posted the lowest grade on the defense at 41.5, but the workmanlike efforts of Charlie Gray and Eli Neal allowed the linebacking core to remain solid throughout the affair as Gray's 82.2 PFF and Neal's 78.3 PFF headed up the backers.
In all, Neal was listed as having nine tackles by PFF while Gray added in another seven himself. The pair also did well in coverage, allowing six receptions in eight targets but only allowing those completions to go for 27 yards total en route to holding the JMU offense to just 4.5 yards per completion on routes that the pair defended.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
While not producing its best PFF grade as a unit, the defensive secondary for Marshall was effective as the Thundering Herd got good efforts, in particular from Andre Sam and Steven Gilmore.
Sam, who posted the highest grade of all players in the secondary at a 74.5 PFF grade, made eight tackles (all solo) and allowed just two receptions in six targets for 18 yards while picking off a pass, while Gilmore, who posted a 70.3 PFF grade and has consistently been the highest graded corner all season long, didn't allow a reception in five targets. Both players played all 73 snaps in the contest.
E.J. Jackson, who played 44 snaps, made a pair of tackles and didn't allow a reception his way en route to a 67.9 PFF grade, while Kerion Martin (63.7 PFF), Isaiah Norman (61.9 PFF, five tackles), and Micah Abraham (60.2 PFF) all played well with Abraham being the only one of the group to allow a reception his direction (Abraham allowed four catches in eight targets for 104 yards).
| Defense | Run Defense | Tackle | Pass Rush | Coverage |
| 88.7 | 83.2 | 77.6 | 91.5 | 75.0 |
| Player | Total Def. Grade | Run Defense | Tackle | Pass Rush | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owen Porter | 93.6 | 71.6 | 81.3 | 92.9 | 60.0 |
| Immanuel Bush | 89.1 | 74.5 | 73.2 | 86.0 | No Grade |
| TyQaze Leggs | 83.7 | 84.8 | 80.6 | 66.8 | 60.0 |
| Charlie Gray | 82.2 | 78.8 | 63.0 | 72.0 | 73.0 |
| Eli Neal | 78.3 | 69.5 | 65.0 | 67.4 | 75.4 |
| Anthony Watts | 78.0 | 73.7 | 72.4 | 70.8 | No Grade |
| Andre Sam | 74.5 | 74.6 | 69.8 | 81.1 | 68.9 |
| Steven Gilmore | 70.3 | 64.1 | 74.2 | No Grade | 70.2 |
| Isaiah Gibson | 70.2 | 75.0 | 72.2 | 60.4 | 59.2 |
| E.J. Jackson | 67.9 | 64.5 | 78.6 | No Grade | 67.3 |
| Sam Burton | 66.2 | 68.8 | 75.7 | 69.2 | No Grade |
| Koby Cumberlander | 65.4 | 51.3 | No Grade | 72.4 | 60.9 |
| Abraham Beauplan | 64.4 | 62.1 | No Grade | No Grade | 62.8 |
| Elijah Alston | 63.8 | 60.6 | No Grade | 63.2 | 60.5 |
| Kerion Martin | 63.7 | 60.0 | No Grade | No Grade | 63.4 |
| Isaiah Norman | 61.9 | 60.9 | 82.1 | 60.0 | 61.9 |
| Emmanuel Balogun | 60.9 | 61.4 | 73.0 | 57.8 | No Grade |
| Damion Barber | 60.7 | 51.8 | 16.6 | 68.1 | No Grade |
| Micah Abraham | 60.2 | 64.4 | 80.1 | No Grade | 59.0 |
| Esisas Carpenter | 59.7 | 61.4 | No Grade | 57.1 | No Grade |
| Jace Bobo | 41.5 | 39.8 | 33.1 | 77.0 | 46.2 |
