By Josh Stowers
Marshall returned outside for its fourth of fifteen practices this spring Tuesday afternoon in the nicest weather we've seen early in 2015. Unfortunately, the play on the field didn't match the beautiful weather and Coach Doc Holliday was pretty direct with his comments on how he felt about it. "That's not the standard of expectations for practice we have around here. To be honest, it was awful. There was no leadership and we did a poor job of coaching them up," Holliday said.
Practice opened up in typical fashion with some quick position work followed by warm-ups and special teams work. One thing that goes unnoticed during warm-ups is the effort made by the coaching staff. For instance, Coach Mike Furrey goes to each player during warm-ups and gives them either a hug, high five, or "game" slap. He's not the only coach that does this, so I think it goes to show what kind of staff we have here and their ability to interact and build relationships with players outside of their specific position.
One position that is open after the departure of senior Justin Haig is place kicker. Nick Smith and Amoreto Curraj are the front runners to replace Haig at this point. Smith is the more accurate of the two while Curraj possesses the strongest leg on the team. Smith finished the day hitting five of his six kicks while Curraj only hit four (one blocked and one missed) of six. At this point, I can't see anyone but Smith winning the job. Although Curraj has a rocket launcher equipped to his leg, he's just not consistent enough to win the job. Speaking of special teams, it's imperative that Doc and his staff find a long snapper to replace Matt Cincotta who is entering his senior season. The depth behind Cincotta is less than desirable at this point.
Coming off Saturday's practice that was filled with emotion and intensity, it would've been hard for the Thundering Herd to match it today. Early on, specifically during the Herd drill, the players seemed primed for another great practice, but when they broke into their position drills, practice just seemed to die. "That's just what we expect for our entire practice, but it just didn't happen today," Holliday said of the Herd drill.
Speaking of the fan favorite portion of practice, there were plenty of great battles during the one-on-one drill. Eric Ansley bested Blake Keller and AJ Leggett destroyed Justin Hunt. Ryan Yurachek dominated Marquis Couch.
Hunt later redeemed himself by handling Rodney Allen, and just like Saturday Raheim Huskey and newcomer Emanuel Byrd went at each other multiple times. In their first battle, Byrd picked up right where he left off Saturday by beating Huskey. In their second go around, Huskey dominated Byrd and destroyed the ball carrier. In their final match, neither Huskey nor Byrd got the better of the other. Speaking of Byrd, he and fellow tight end Kaleb Harris are bringing a new level of physicality to the position. I really like the potential of both players and the depth they bring behind Yurachek.
Oddly enough, the biggest hit of the day came during this drill, but that's not what was odd about it. The odd part was the hit came from Strength and Conditioning Coach Scott Sinclair. After Joe Woodrum and Eli Gates locked up in some "extra-curricular" activity, Sinclair stopped the scuffle by spearing them both to the ground by himself. It was absolutely awesome!
The biggest and most important battle of the spring is the competition to replace Rakeem Cato. Unfortunately, today wasn't a step in the right direction for any of the four quarterbacks.
The blame doesn't solely rest on their shoulders as the conditions inside of Joan C. Edwards were something right out of the movie "Twister." None of the four quarterbacks were able to hit passes for more than ten or twelve yards and the defensive backs picked up on that. They started sitting on the shorter routes and made life for the signal callers and their receivers miserable.
The defense forced numerous coverage sacks and Chase Hancock intercepted a Cole Garvin pass that would've been a "pick six." When asked if he thought any of the quarterbacks had separated themselves through the first four practices, Holliday had the following to say. "I'm not sure. You want to see somebody step up, and I think a couple of them have. We'll take a look at the tape and start narrowing things down to get those guys more reps."
One player on each side of the ball stood out to me today. Gator Green and Keith Baxter both had moments that showed their promise and playmaking ability.
In one-on-one's Green put multiple people on "skates" in the open field. If he can continue to progress and figure things out, he'll be a weapon. When asked about filling the hole left by Tommy Shuler's graduation, Holliday had the following to say. "It's not about potential around here. Potential will get you beat. Production wins games so we have to get guys out there who will produce."
Baxter, a fifth year senior, is finally starting to show the promise many thought he would. "Baxter is playing the best football he's played here and just like our seniors from the last two seasons we'll need that to be successful," Holliday said. Baxter broke up multiple passes today and stripped Deon-Tay McManus, but McManus was able to recover the fumble.
Notes: We reported Defensive Coordinator Chuck Heater had recommended that Rodney Allen have his red stripe removed after Saturday's practice, but that wasn't true. "It was actually Corey Tindal. He came to me after practice and asked me about it. It's kind of a player thing. Players see it and see a guy who is developing, competing, and trying really hard so it's just a credit to Rodney for his teammates seeing it," Heater said.
Marshall will return to practice Thursday afternoon at 3:30pm.
Marshall returned outside for its fourth of fifteen practices this spring Tuesday afternoon in the nicest weather we've seen early in 2015. Unfortunately, the play on the field didn't match the beautiful weather and Coach Doc Holliday was pretty direct with his comments on how he felt about it. "That's not the standard of expectations for practice we have around here. To be honest, it was awful. There was no leadership and we did a poor job of coaching them up," Holliday said.
Practice opened up in typical fashion with some quick position work followed by warm-ups and special teams work. One thing that goes unnoticed during warm-ups is the effort made by the coaching staff. For instance, Coach Mike Furrey goes to each player during warm-ups and gives them either a hug, high five, or "game" slap. He's not the only coach that does this, so I think it goes to show what kind of staff we have here and their ability to interact and build relationships with players outside of their specific position.
One position that is open after the departure of senior Justin Haig is place kicker. Nick Smith and Amoreto Curraj are the front runners to replace Haig at this point. Smith is the more accurate of the two while Curraj possesses the strongest leg on the team. Smith finished the day hitting five of his six kicks while Curraj only hit four (one blocked and one missed) of six. At this point, I can't see anyone but Smith winning the job. Although Curraj has a rocket launcher equipped to his leg, he's just not consistent enough to win the job. Speaking of special teams, it's imperative that Doc and his staff find a long snapper to replace Matt Cincotta who is entering his senior season. The depth behind Cincotta is less than desirable at this point.
Coming off Saturday's practice that was filled with emotion and intensity, it would've been hard for the Thundering Herd to match it today. Early on, specifically during the Herd drill, the players seemed primed for another great practice, but when they broke into their position drills, practice just seemed to die. "That's just what we expect for our entire practice, but it just didn't happen today," Holliday said of the Herd drill.
Speaking of the fan favorite portion of practice, there were plenty of great battles during the one-on-one drill. Eric Ansley bested Blake Keller and AJ Leggett destroyed Justin Hunt. Ryan Yurachek dominated Marquis Couch.
Hunt later redeemed himself by handling Rodney Allen, and just like Saturday Raheim Huskey and newcomer Emanuel Byrd went at each other multiple times. In their first battle, Byrd picked up right where he left off Saturday by beating Huskey. In their second go around, Huskey dominated Byrd and destroyed the ball carrier. In their final match, neither Huskey nor Byrd got the better of the other. Speaking of Byrd, he and fellow tight end Kaleb Harris are bringing a new level of physicality to the position. I really like the potential of both players and the depth they bring behind Yurachek.
Oddly enough, the biggest hit of the day came during this drill, but that's not what was odd about it. The odd part was the hit came from Strength and Conditioning Coach Scott Sinclair. After Joe Woodrum and Eli Gates locked up in some "extra-curricular" activity, Sinclair stopped the scuffle by spearing them both to the ground by himself. It was absolutely awesome!
The biggest and most important battle of the spring is the competition to replace Rakeem Cato. Unfortunately, today wasn't a step in the right direction for any of the four quarterbacks.
The blame doesn't solely rest on their shoulders as the conditions inside of Joan C. Edwards were something right out of the movie "Twister." None of the four quarterbacks were able to hit passes for more than ten or twelve yards and the defensive backs picked up on that. They started sitting on the shorter routes and made life for the signal callers and their receivers miserable.
The defense forced numerous coverage sacks and Chase Hancock intercepted a Cole Garvin pass that would've been a "pick six." When asked if he thought any of the quarterbacks had separated themselves through the first four practices, Holliday had the following to say. "I'm not sure. You want to see somebody step up, and I think a couple of them have. We'll take a look at the tape and start narrowing things down to get those guys more reps."
One player on each side of the ball stood out to me today. Gator Green and Keith Baxter both had moments that showed their promise and playmaking ability.
In one-on-one's Green put multiple people on "skates" in the open field. If he can continue to progress and figure things out, he'll be a weapon. When asked about filling the hole left by Tommy Shuler's graduation, Holliday had the following to say. "It's not about potential around here. Potential will get you beat. Production wins games so we have to get guys out there who will produce."
Baxter, a fifth year senior, is finally starting to show the promise many thought he would. "Baxter is playing the best football he's played here and just like our seniors from the last two seasons we'll need that to be successful," Holliday said. Baxter broke up multiple passes today and stripped Deon-Tay McManus, but McManus was able to recover the fumble.
Notes: We reported Defensive Coordinator Chuck Heater had recommended that Rodney Allen have his red stripe removed after Saturday's practice, but that wasn't true. "It was actually Corey Tindal. He came to me after practice and asked me about it. It's kind of a player thing. Players see it and see a guy who is developing, competing, and trying really hard so it's just a credit to Rodney for his teammates seeing it," Heater said.
Marshall will return to practice Thursday afternoon at 3:30pm.
