Despite not having its best game from a coverage standpoint, the Marshall defense still was plenty stingy Saturday afternoon, recording seven sacks -- including three consecutive drops on one defensive series -- and holding Georgia State to just 74 rushing yards and a 1.7 yard-per-carry average in the Herd's 28-23 victory over the Panthers in its regular season finale.
More on the PFF grades for the defense below!
DEFENSIVE LINE:
Despite facing a terrific Group of Five dual-threat quarterback in Darren Grainger, the Marshall defensive line was extremely impressive as the Thundering Herd got strong contributions from essentially every defensive lineman who played.
Owen Porter's high-octane play continued as Porter notched the second-highest overall grade on the entire defense with an 83.7 PFF grade, posting an impressive nine tackles, two tackles for a loss and a sack to go along with five quarterback hurries. Behind him, Sam Burton was impressive all game from a hustle standpoint and actually led the Thundering Herd with 10 tackles all while matching the team's highest mark of four solo tackles as well to go along with two quarterback hurries, resulting in a 78.1 PFF grade.
Koby Cumberlander, who obtained a 73.4 PFF grade, was relentless in his pass rush, notching three quarterback sacks as well as four quarterback hurries and a pair of tackles. Damion Barber (69.9 PFF) added in a pair of quarterback hurries while TyQaze Leggs and Anthony Watts each obtained identical 67.2 PFF marks en route to combining for seven tackles.
Emmanuel Balogun (65.7 PFF) played just seven snaps but had a critical batted pass on third down, while Immanuel Bush (63.9 PFF) had a tackle and a quarterback hurry. Elijah Alston (63.7 PFF), Esisas Carpenter (56.4 PFF) and Isaiah Gibson (52.8 PFF) rounded out the defensive efforts for Marshall.
LINEBACKERS:
At linebacker, Eli Neal was again impressive, posting the team's highest overall PFF grade at 84.5 while making eight tackles from his linebacker spot. Neal obtained an 82.1 pass rushing grade as well, second only to Cumberlander's 82.9 mark.
In 18 snaps, Dan Foster, Jr. made numerous positive plays, including a batted ball during a defensive series and a quarterback hurry for a 75.5 PFF grade, while Charlie Gray made four tackles, a tackle-and-a-half for loss and a quarterback sack in a 74.6 defensive PFF performance.
Abraham Beauplan's two tackles and 61.8 PFF rounded out the performance from the defense's second level.
DEFENSIVE BACKS:
Secondary-wise, only Kerion Martin graded above a 70 PFF as Martin's three tackles and one pass reception allowed for six yards allowed the Charleston, W. Va. product to finish with a 72.6 PFF mark. Daytione Smith added two tackles and a pass reception allowed for 16 yards en route to a 68.9 PFF mark. Isaiah Norman (65.9 PFF) allowed a pass reception for five yards in two targets and made two tackles defensively.
E.J. Jackson made five tackles but allowed pass completions in both of his targets for 71 yards to finish with a 64.9 PFF grade while Andre Sam finished with a 61.9 PFF mark. Cornerbacks Micah Abraham and Steven Gilmore allowed 11 catches in 14 targets for 193 yards, resulting in low PFF grades of 57.7 and 50.4, respectively.
More on the PFF grades for the defense below!
DEFENSIVE LINE:
Despite facing a terrific Group of Five dual-threat quarterback in Darren Grainger, the Marshall defensive line was extremely impressive as the Thundering Herd got strong contributions from essentially every defensive lineman who played.
Owen Porter's high-octane play continued as Porter notched the second-highest overall grade on the entire defense with an 83.7 PFF grade, posting an impressive nine tackles, two tackles for a loss and a sack to go along with five quarterback hurries. Behind him, Sam Burton was impressive all game from a hustle standpoint and actually led the Thundering Herd with 10 tackles all while matching the team's highest mark of four solo tackles as well to go along with two quarterback hurries, resulting in a 78.1 PFF grade.
Koby Cumberlander, who obtained a 73.4 PFF grade, was relentless in his pass rush, notching three quarterback sacks as well as four quarterback hurries and a pair of tackles. Damion Barber (69.9 PFF) added in a pair of quarterback hurries while TyQaze Leggs and Anthony Watts each obtained identical 67.2 PFF marks en route to combining for seven tackles.
Emmanuel Balogun (65.7 PFF) played just seven snaps but had a critical batted pass on third down, while Immanuel Bush (63.9 PFF) had a tackle and a quarterback hurry. Elijah Alston (63.7 PFF), Esisas Carpenter (56.4 PFF) and Isaiah Gibson (52.8 PFF) rounded out the defensive efforts for Marshall.
LINEBACKERS:
At linebacker, Eli Neal was again impressive, posting the team's highest overall PFF grade at 84.5 while making eight tackles from his linebacker spot. Neal obtained an 82.1 pass rushing grade as well, second only to Cumberlander's 82.9 mark.
In 18 snaps, Dan Foster, Jr. made numerous positive plays, including a batted ball during a defensive series and a quarterback hurry for a 75.5 PFF grade, while Charlie Gray made four tackles, a tackle-and-a-half for loss and a quarterback sack in a 74.6 defensive PFF performance.
Abraham Beauplan's two tackles and 61.8 PFF rounded out the performance from the defense's second level.
DEFENSIVE BACKS:
Secondary-wise, only Kerion Martin graded above a 70 PFF as Martin's three tackles and one pass reception allowed for six yards allowed the Charleston, W. Va. product to finish with a 72.6 PFF mark. Daytione Smith added two tackles and a pass reception allowed for 16 yards en route to a 68.9 PFF mark. Isaiah Norman (65.9 PFF) allowed a pass reception for five yards in two targets and made two tackles defensively.
E.J. Jackson made five tackles but allowed pass completions in both of his targets for 71 yards to finish with a 64.9 PFF grade while Andre Sam finished with a 61.9 PFF mark. Cornerbacks Micah Abraham and Steven Gilmore allowed 11 catches in 14 targets for 193 yards, resulting in low PFF grades of 57.7 and 50.4, respectively.
| Defense | Run Defense | Tackling | Pass Rush | Coverage |
| 79.2 | 87.4 | 78.5 | 81.0 | 62.7 |
| Player | Total Def. Grade | Run Defense | Tackle | Pass Rush | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Neal | 84.5 | 77.9 | 55.3 | 82.1 | 70.6 |
| Owen Porter | 83.7 | 67.9 | 62.0 | 79.3 | 76.6 |
| Sam Burton | 78.1 | 66.8 | 81.1 | 77.0 | 61.4 |
| Dan Foster, Jr. | 75.5 | 70.8 | No Grade | 69.9 | 63.2 |
| Charlie Gray | 74.6 | 72.0 | 82.0 | 67.9 | 71.2 |
| Koby Cumberlander | 73.4 | 53.7 | 54.8 | 82.9 | 60.4 |
| Kerion Martin | 72.1 | 77.4 | 81.5 | 60.0 | 66.0 |
| Damion Barber | 69.9 | 62.8 | No Grade | 70.2 | No Grade |
| Daytione Smith | 68.9 | 63.8 | 79.4 | 60.0 | 69.1 |
| TyQaze Leggs | 67.2 | 76.1 | 73.2 | 57.8 | 57.9 |
| Anthony Watts | 67.2 | 78.0 | 75.3 | 53.8 | 58.6 |
| Emmanuel Balogun | 65.7 | 60.0 | No Grade | 65.0 | No Grade |
| Isaiah Norman | 65.0 | 69.7 | 79.9 | No Grade | 61.3 |
| E.J. Jackson | 64.9 | 72.5 | 81.6 | No Grade | 60.7 |
| Immanuel Bush | 63.9 | 61.9 | 69.7 | 63.1 | No Grade |
| Elijah Alston | 63.7 | 65.2 | No Grade | 56.4 | No Grade |
| Abraham Beauplan | 61.8 | 72.5 | 45.9 | 55.6 | 53.7 |
| Andre Sam | 61.6 | 61.5 | No Grade | No Grade | 60.8 |
| Micah Abraham | 57.7 | 60.9 | 52.2 | No Grade | 56.9 |
| Esisas Carpenter | 56.4 | 60.3 | No Grade | 56.8 | 59.5 |
| Isaiah Gibson | 52.8 | 56.5 | No Grade | 57.4 | 59.2 |
| Steven Gilmore | 50.4 | 68.9 | 80.7 | No Grade | 47.5 |
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