In what was Marshall’s most comfortable win of the season – a 37-3 trouncing of Southern Miss – 28 different offensive players saw the field for the Thundering Herd, with Bryan Robinson receiving the top PFF grade at 79.4. Robinson had three receptions for 52 yards in the win.
Quarterbacks:
While Braylon Braxton has cemented himself as the leader of the offense, Stone Earle and Cole Pennington also earned playing time against the Golden Eagles. Braxton was 14 of 21 passing for 220 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran 13 times for 59 yards and a touchdown, earning a PFF grade of 75.6. Earle was two of four passing for 39 yards and graded 68.2, while Pennington ran once for six yards and received a grade of 68.0.
Running Backs:
Despite only playing six snaps and having three carries for 27 yards, AJ Turner led the way among Marshall’s backfield with a PFF grade of 82.7. Ethan Payne amassed 104 yards rushing and one touchdown on his way to grading 72.0, while Jordan Houston had 11 carries for 40 yards and graded 56.1. Mosey Gray also saw action for the Thundering Herd and received a grade of 44.2 (five carries, 17 yards).
Wide Receivers:
As noted in the opening, Bryan Robinson led the wide receiver room with a grade of 79.4. Robinson was followed by Christian Fitzpatrick, who had two catches for 78 yards, receiving a grade of 73.9, and Carl Chester, who totaled two catches for 45 yards and graded 63.0. Other grades of note: Antwaan Mays: 60.1; Bralon Brown: 57.9; DeMarcus Harris: 56.2; Tychaun Chapman: 54.9; Chuck Montgomery: 54.1.
Tight Ends:
Toby Payne scored his fourth touchdown of the season as he had two receptions for 34 yards in route to a PFF grade of 73.7. Despite not recording a stat, Justin Holmes graded 61.7, while Cade Conley earned a 50.3.
Offensive Line:
With several offensive lineman seeing the field against Southern Miss, let’s first focus on the starting unit. Jeremy Jones played 65 snaps and graded 70.8 (59.5 pass block, 70.6 run block). Jones was followed by Logan Osburn and Jaylen Slappy who received grades of 61.9 (81.8 pass block, 58.0 run block) and 61.8 (70.3 pass block, 63.9 run block). Rounding out the starters were Bryce Ramsey and Elijah Ellis grading 52.7 (75.9 pass block, 49.0 run block) and 52.2 (48.0 pass block, 52.9 run block). Other grades of note: ShunMarkus Adams: 70.9; Tariq Montgomery: 70.3; Eric Meeks: 64.7; Christian Richter: 61.4; Isaac Clary: 58.6.