This is behind a paywall so I won't paste the entire article, but man it is nice seeing stuff like this written about us and our conference!
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Bill Connelly
ESPN Staff Writer
Start with two of the best recent Group of 5 college football programs (Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina), plus a rising Georgia State. From Conference USA, add a borderline top-50 program (Marshall) and a high-potential young program in a fertile recruiting area (Old Dominion). Throw in the second-best program in FCS (James Madison). What do you get? The best division in the G5 ranks: the Sun Belt East.
If the SEC was the biggest winner of this recent round of conference realignment, the Sun Belt came in second. It plucked three programs from C-USA -- a decade after C-USA had done something similar to the Sun Belt, no less -- and beat C-USA for JMU's services. It raised its already blossoming football ceiling without overstretching its borders. And it could give us the best division title race in the mid-major ranks this fall. Welcome to the G5 thunderdome.
Does Marshall have a quarterback? Brice ... Coastal's Grayson McCall ... Georgia State's Darren Grainger ... ODU's Hayden Wolff ... the East returns quite a few exciting quarterbacks in 2022, and it will be hard to win the division if you're behind the curve at that position.
Unfortunately for Marshall, the Herd's starting quarterback will likely be starting for Virginia Tech. Grant Wells transferred to Blacksburg this winter, leaving second-year head coach Charles Huff with an exciting roster and no slam-dunk choice to pilot it. Wells threw for 3,522 yards last season, and the receiving corps returns go-to target Corey Gammage, prolific slot Shadeed Ahmed and dual-threat running back Rasheen Ali (1,401 rushing yards plus 46 receptions). But redshirt freshman Cam Fancher and true freshmen Chase Harrison and Peter Zamora took most of the snaps behind center in spring ball while Huff waited for Texas Tech and Utah State transfer Henry Colombi to arrive this summer.
Colombi is solid and will probably win the job, and he'll have weapons around him if a high-turnover line, with only one starter returning, holds up. Coordinator Lance Guidry's defense, meanwhile, should still be strong against the pass. Corners Steven Gilmore and Micah Abraham and pass-rushers Owen Porter (end) and Eli Neal (linebacker) all return, though turnover at tackle and safety needs to be addressed.
Still, Marshall suffers from a continuity standpoint in an area where most of its new division rivals do not. The Herd have the highest projected SP+ rating in the division and are projected underdogs in only one game (at Notre Dame on Sept. 10). But they play in seven relative tossups -- games projected within 7.5 points -- and close games are often decided by quarterbacks and special teams. Marshall has a new QB, and last year's special-teams unit was dismal. Can the Herd overcome that?
LB Abraham Beauplan, Marshall. Really, take your pick among Marshall's linebackers. The trio of Beauplan, Eli Neal and Charlie Gray combined for 24.5 TFLs, 10 sacks and 34 run stuffs last year; Beauplan had 18 of those stuffs.
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************
Bill Connelly
ESPN Staff Writer
Start with two of the best recent Group of 5 college football programs (Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina), plus a rising Georgia State. From Conference USA, add a borderline top-50 program (Marshall) and a high-potential young program in a fertile recruiting area (Old Dominion). Throw in the second-best program in FCS (James Madison). What do you get? The best division in the G5 ranks: the Sun Belt East.
If the SEC was the biggest winner of this recent round of conference realignment, the Sun Belt came in second. It plucked three programs from C-USA -- a decade after C-USA had done something similar to the Sun Belt, no less -- and beat C-USA for JMU's services. It raised its already blossoming football ceiling without overstretching its borders. And it could give us the best division title race in the mid-major ranks this fall. Welcome to the G5 thunderdome.
Does Marshall have a quarterback? Brice ... Coastal's Grayson McCall ... Georgia State's Darren Grainger ... ODU's Hayden Wolff ... the East returns quite a few exciting quarterbacks in 2022, and it will be hard to win the division if you're behind the curve at that position.
Unfortunately for Marshall, the Herd's starting quarterback will likely be starting for Virginia Tech. Grant Wells transferred to Blacksburg this winter, leaving second-year head coach Charles Huff with an exciting roster and no slam-dunk choice to pilot it. Wells threw for 3,522 yards last season, and the receiving corps returns go-to target Corey Gammage, prolific slot Shadeed Ahmed and dual-threat running back Rasheen Ali (1,401 rushing yards plus 46 receptions). But redshirt freshman Cam Fancher and true freshmen Chase Harrison and Peter Zamora took most of the snaps behind center in spring ball while Huff waited for Texas Tech and Utah State transfer Henry Colombi to arrive this summer.
Colombi is solid and will probably win the job, and he'll have weapons around him if a high-turnover line, with only one starter returning, holds up. Coordinator Lance Guidry's defense, meanwhile, should still be strong against the pass. Corners Steven Gilmore and Micah Abraham and pass-rushers Owen Porter (end) and Eli Neal (linebacker) all return, though turnover at tackle and safety needs to be addressed.
Still, Marshall suffers from a continuity standpoint in an area where most of its new division rivals do not. The Herd have the highest projected SP+ rating in the division and are projected underdogs in only one game (at Notre Dame on Sept. 10). But they play in seven relative tossups -- games projected within 7.5 points -- and close games are often decided by quarterbacks and special teams. Marshall has a new QB, and last year's special-teams unit was dismal. Can the Herd overcome that?
My 10 favorite players
RB Rasheen Ali, Marshall. One of the least heralded recruits on Marshall's roster, Ali dominated immediately, averaging 3.3 yards per carry after contact and rushing for 90-plus yards eight times.LB Abraham Beauplan, Marshall. Really, take your pick among Marshall's linebackers. The trio of Beauplan, Eli Neal and Charlie Gray combined for 24.5 TFLs, 10 sacks and 34 run stuffs last year; Beauplan had 18 of those stuffs.
