By Josh Stowers
For the first time in over a week, Coach Doc Holliday was able to practice his team in the elements or lack thereof I guess. Thursday afternoon was sunny, warm, and a good change of scenery for the Thundering Herd. "It was good to get outside. We can basically do everything inside except punt so it was good to get outside," Holliday said.
Today's practice had somewhat of a different format than what usually takes place. Today was much more situational for the most part. For example, during one session they started at the 25 yard line going into the end-zone and worked on securing field goal range before rushing the kicker on for a "last second" kick. Although Nick Smith has locked down the place kicking job, I thought Amoreto Curraj looked very good today from various distances and angles.
The weather wasn't the only thing turning up the heat today.
Coach Chuck Heater and his defensive staff turned up the heat on the offense during each team session. "The defense has a lot of stuff going in right now with some three down looks and blitzes. To be honest with you, at this point in spring if the defense isn't dominating the offense then there's a pretty good chance you're not very good," Holliday said.
With the new looks and multiple blitzes, not one of the quarterbacks were effective. If I had to choose one quarterback on the day, it would probably be Gunnar Holcombe.
Holcombe connected mostly on short-to-intermediate routes, but did manage to find Justin Hunt on a 20 yard touchdown over top of Chocolate Wilson.
Speaking of Wilson, who has sported a "no contact" red jersey the last two practices, he showed some tight coverage today.
Michael Birdsong, who has been the better of the quarterbacks, struggled today in each session. Birdsong was intercepted twice on the day. The first interception came at the hands of Rodney Allen on a deep ball in which he beat Deon-Tay McManus.
Birdsong's timing was off on the play though due to a low snap from Michael Selby. Speaking of Selby, he has struggled all spring long with low snaps so that'll be something to watch going forward.
The second interception was just a great play from Antavis Rowe who broke on the ball in front of slot man Hyleck Foster. One huge positive from Birdsong today was his ability to avoid the rush and keep the play alive.
It should come as no surprise to Herd fans, but Stew Butler showed his big play ability on a couple occasions today.
Butler broke loose for gains of 30 and 20 against the defense after making one cut and running away from defenders. Butler, who is running with the first team due to Devon Johnson's absence, is taking advantage of the extra reps.
Speaking of Johnson, he told me today that he's looking to drop weight. "Last season I played around 245 pounds, but I'm down to 240 now. My goal is to get down to 235 and stay there this coming season. I already feel so much faster so maybe next year I can just run away from guys instead of running over them," he said.
Johnson assured me that his surgically repaired shoulder was close to 100 percent and he'll be ready to go this fall. "He's getting close. He's getting all the individual work he needs here. He needs to provide the leadership and things we need to get better as an offense," Holliday said of his star runningback.
This spring there have been two players on the defensive side of the ball that have jumped off the page. Steve Cotton, the Voice of the Thundering Herd, said, "Every time I watch practice Damien Dozier is doing something good."
Dozier didn't disappoint Cotton today as he looked on, gathering a couple sacks at the expense of Tyler Combs.
Another player that has continued to make his mark on the Herd defense this spring is Chase Hancock. Hancock, who came to Marshall as a walk-on safety, has moved up to linebacker and has shined. Hancock leads the defense in interceptions this spring pulling in four or five. Today he snagged a Cole Garvin pass out of the air after Cody Carter tipped it away from the receiver.
One player that has made a couple of changes this spring is Angelo Jean-Louis.
First Jean-Louis changed jersey numbers from #1 to #81 and now he's switched from the "Z" receiver to the "Y" receiver (better known as the slot). I've said since Jean-Louis stepped foot on campus that the slot position would fit him best due to his versatility and now we might see it. Grant you, he'll be splitting time with Foster, but the idea of going four-wide with McManus, Davonte Allen, Foster, and Jean-Louis on the field at the same time would be a nightmare for opposing defenses. Ever since Jean-Louis's let down last week, he's rebounded nicely by showing the attitude needed to see the field under Holliday.
The Thundering Herd won't see the field again in Huntington until next Tuesday as they travel to the Greenbrier Resort this weekend to practice at the Advocare Sports Performance Center.
This weekend will be the first of three official scrimmages for the Marshall Football team. "We'll probably try to get the kids around 40 snaps a piece. There will be a lot of situational things and we'll do some kicking stuff, but it'll mainly be a situational scrimmage," Holliday said.
As reported on Tuesday, Greg Schiano attended Marshall's practice as part of his collegiate tour and he came away impressed.
"Greg told me he's been to 30 or more schools in the last two seasons attending their practices. He said he's been to Alabama, Ohio State, etc and two schools stood out in the way they practiced. He said the best practice he's attended throughout his journey was at the hands of last year's national champion Ohio State and the second best was ours on Tuesday," Holliday said.
Just let what Schiano said marinate in you for a few minutes. Alabama, from the almighty South Eastern Conference, doesn't practice as hard or as efficiently as the Thundering Herd.
Fellas, I know you all know this by now, but we truly are blessed to have Doc Holliday as our head coach.
We'll have full coverage of Saturday's scrimmage at The Greenbrier so if you're traveling to Lewisburg this weekend, be careful and let's show the classiest place in the state of West Virginia how classy Marshall fans truly are. Go Herd or go home!!!
For the first time in over a week, Coach Doc Holliday was able to practice his team in the elements or lack thereof I guess. Thursday afternoon was sunny, warm, and a good change of scenery for the Thundering Herd. "It was good to get outside. We can basically do everything inside except punt so it was good to get outside," Holliday said.
Today's practice had somewhat of a different format than what usually takes place. Today was much more situational for the most part. For example, during one session they started at the 25 yard line going into the end-zone and worked on securing field goal range before rushing the kicker on for a "last second" kick. Although Nick Smith has locked down the place kicking job, I thought Amoreto Curraj looked very good today from various distances and angles.
The weather wasn't the only thing turning up the heat today.
Coach Chuck Heater and his defensive staff turned up the heat on the offense during each team session. "The defense has a lot of stuff going in right now with some three down looks and blitzes. To be honest with you, at this point in spring if the defense isn't dominating the offense then there's a pretty good chance you're not very good," Holliday said.
With the new looks and multiple blitzes, not one of the quarterbacks were effective. If I had to choose one quarterback on the day, it would probably be Gunnar Holcombe.
Holcombe connected mostly on short-to-intermediate routes, but did manage to find Justin Hunt on a 20 yard touchdown over top of Chocolate Wilson.
Speaking of Wilson, who has sported a "no contact" red jersey the last two practices, he showed some tight coverage today.
Michael Birdsong, who has been the better of the quarterbacks, struggled today in each session. Birdsong was intercepted twice on the day. The first interception came at the hands of Rodney Allen on a deep ball in which he beat Deon-Tay McManus.
Birdsong's timing was off on the play though due to a low snap from Michael Selby. Speaking of Selby, he has struggled all spring long with low snaps so that'll be something to watch going forward.
The second interception was just a great play from Antavis Rowe who broke on the ball in front of slot man Hyleck Foster. One huge positive from Birdsong today was his ability to avoid the rush and keep the play alive.
It should come as no surprise to Herd fans, but Stew Butler showed his big play ability on a couple occasions today.
Butler broke loose for gains of 30 and 20 against the defense after making one cut and running away from defenders. Butler, who is running with the first team due to Devon Johnson's absence, is taking advantage of the extra reps.
Speaking of Johnson, he told me today that he's looking to drop weight. "Last season I played around 245 pounds, but I'm down to 240 now. My goal is to get down to 235 and stay there this coming season. I already feel so much faster so maybe next year I can just run away from guys instead of running over them," he said.
Johnson assured me that his surgically repaired shoulder was close to 100 percent and he'll be ready to go this fall. "He's getting close. He's getting all the individual work he needs here. He needs to provide the leadership and things we need to get better as an offense," Holliday said of his star runningback.
This spring there have been two players on the defensive side of the ball that have jumped off the page. Steve Cotton, the Voice of the Thundering Herd, said, "Every time I watch practice Damien Dozier is doing something good."
Dozier didn't disappoint Cotton today as he looked on, gathering a couple sacks at the expense of Tyler Combs.
Another player that has continued to make his mark on the Herd defense this spring is Chase Hancock. Hancock, who came to Marshall as a walk-on safety, has moved up to linebacker and has shined. Hancock leads the defense in interceptions this spring pulling in four or five. Today he snagged a Cole Garvin pass out of the air after Cody Carter tipped it away from the receiver.
One player that has made a couple of changes this spring is Angelo Jean-Louis.
First Jean-Louis changed jersey numbers from #1 to #81 and now he's switched from the "Z" receiver to the "Y" receiver (better known as the slot). I've said since Jean-Louis stepped foot on campus that the slot position would fit him best due to his versatility and now we might see it. Grant you, he'll be splitting time with Foster, but the idea of going four-wide with McManus, Davonte Allen, Foster, and Jean-Louis on the field at the same time would be a nightmare for opposing defenses. Ever since Jean-Louis's let down last week, he's rebounded nicely by showing the attitude needed to see the field under Holliday.
The Thundering Herd won't see the field again in Huntington until next Tuesday as they travel to the Greenbrier Resort this weekend to practice at the Advocare Sports Performance Center.
This weekend will be the first of three official scrimmages for the Marshall Football team. "We'll probably try to get the kids around 40 snaps a piece. There will be a lot of situational things and we'll do some kicking stuff, but it'll mainly be a situational scrimmage," Holliday said.
As reported on Tuesday, Greg Schiano attended Marshall's practice as part of his collegiate tour and he came away impressed.
"Greg told me he's been to 30 or more schools in the last two seasons attending their practices. He said he's been to Alabama, Ohio State, etc and two schools stood out in the way they practiced. He said the best practice he's attended throughout his journey was at the hands of last year's national champion Ohio State and the second best was ours on Tuesday," Holliday said.
Just let what Schiano said marinate in you for a few minutes. Alabama, from the almighty South Eastern Conference, doesn't practice as hard or as efficiently as the Thundering Herd.
Fellas, I know you all know this by now, but we truly are blessed to have Doc Holliday as our head coach.
We'll have full coverage of Saturday's scrimmage at The Greenbrier so if you're traveling to Lewisburg this weekend, be careful and let's show the classiest place in the state of West Virginia how classy Marshall fans truly are. Go Herd or go home!!!
