This the first game of the Charlie Huff era. Huff produced the first two deep depth chart on Tuesday afternoon. There was a lot of the old, most namely the defensive line, and some new Huff additions to the mix. The defensive line only had one change. There were five new additions from the recent recruiting class, and transfers. Transfers Shane Simmons, Cory McCoy and LeAnthony Williams all are listed as starters. 2021 signee Tyriek Bell is listed behind Abraham Beauplan at linebacker. Marshall is also expected to start senior transfer Andrew Sanders at kicker.
The rules of Recruitnik are simple. We take the two deep depth chart for both teams from the most recent Game Notes put out on their respective Official Athletics Site. We use the Rivals ratings, to the best of our ability, and simply add up the numbers and divide it by the number of players. Who ever has the highest ratings wins. We compare Marshall's offense against the opponents defense, and Marshall's defense against the opponents offense.
A couple of notes. Marshall lists an extra defensive player so their rating will be divided by 24 position spots compared to the 22 position spots of Navy
Time to jump right in.
MARSHALL OFFENSE VS Navy DEFENSE
Marshall's offense is returns a ton of talent. The offense has three 3 star players on the two deep roster in Corey Gammage, Xavier Gaines and Sheldon Evans. Marshall's overall ranking is pulled down due to a plethora of former walkon along the offensive line that have battled to earn spots on the two deep. Marshall has 7 unranked players out of the 22 who have earned a spot on the two deep. This includes six walk ons in Stone Scarcelle, Ethan Driskell, James Magee, Logan Osburn, Kendrick Sartor, and Luke Zban. Two star Jack Murphy is also a former walk on.
MARSHALL DEFENSE VS Navy OFFENSE
Marshall's defense is loaded with talent. The talent includes former recruits and a couple highly rated transfers from P5 schools. The defensive depth chart has two former four stars, Shane Simmons and LeAnthony Williams. The defense has two other transfers from FCS schools who were unrated via Rivals out of high school, Brian Cavicante and Cory McCoy. McCoy is expected to start at nickel.
OVERALL MATCHUP
MARSHALL WIDE RECEIVERS VS NAVY DEFENSIVE BACKS
This should prove to be one of the important matchups on the offensive side of the ball. Marshall needs to figure out a way to extend drives with playmakers picking up first downs in third down situations. The Marshall wide receiver position returns a ton of talent, but only a moderate amount of production on the field. Corey Gammage and Willie Johnson will be expected to make plays for the Herd.
MARSHALL DEFENSIVE LINE VS Navy OFFENSIVE LINE
Everyone knows what Navy wants to do. They want to shorten the game, hammer the ball between the tackles, and pick up as many first downs as possible. Marshall's depth along the defensive line should help. However, a potential lack of depth at linebacker could hurt. It will be imperative for the defensive line to maintain the line of scrimmage and keep the offensive line from getting to the second level and leaning on the linebackers. There is only one change along the Marshall defensive front on the two deep. Penn State transfer Shane Simmons replace new Cincinnati Bengal Darius Hodge at DE. Marshall has many other players that expect to rotate in and play against Navy. Immanuel Bush, and Daniel Foster are two that should play in the interior.
The game is set for a 330 kickoff Saturday at Navy
The rules of Recruitnik are simple. We take the two deep depth chart for both teams from the most recent Game Notes put out on their respective Official Athletics Site. We use the Rivals ratings, to the best of our ability, and simply add up the numbers and divide it by the number of players. Who ever has the highest ratings wins. We compare Marshall's offense against the opponents defense, and Marshall's defense against the opponents offense.
A couple of notes. Marshall lists an extra defensive player so their rating will be divided by 24 position spots compared to the 22 position spots of Navy
Time to jump right in.
MARSHALL OFFENSE VS Navy DEFENSE
| Marshall Offense | 1.50 |
| Navy Defense | 1.95 |
| ADVANTAGE | NAVY DEFENSE |
MARSHALL DEFENSE VS Navy OFFENSE
| Marshall Defense | 2.20 |
| Navy Offense | 1.68 |
| ADVANTAGE | MARSHALL |
OVERALL MATCHUP
| Marshall Overall Rating | 1.86 |
| Navy Overall Rating | 1.81 |
| ADVANTAGE | MARSHALL |
MARSHALL WIDE RECEIVERS VS NAVY DEFENSIVE BACKS
This should prove to be one of the important matchups on the offensive side of the ball. Marshall needs to figure out a way to extend drives with playmakers picking up first downs in third down situations. The Marshall wide receiver position returns a ton of talent, but only a moderate amount of production on the field. Corey Gammage and Willie Johnson will be expected to make plays for the Herd.
| Marshall | Wide Receivers | NAVY | Defensive Backs | ||
| Corey Gammage | 3 stars | WR | Mitchell West | 2 stars | CB |
| Stone Scarcelle | 0 stars | WR | Colin O'Connor | 0 stars | CB |
| Willie Johnson | 3 stars | WR | Michael McMorris | 2 stars | CB |
| EJ Horton | 2 stars | WR | Mbiti Williams Jr | 2 stars | CB |
| Talik Keaton | 2 stars | WR | Kevin Brennan | 3 stars | SS |
| Shadeed Ahmed | 2 stars | WR | Rayuan Lane | 2 stars | SS |
| Xavier Gaines | 4 stars | TE | Jamal Glenn | 2 stars | CB |
| Devin Miller | 2 stars | TD | Willie Collins V | 3 stars | CB |
MARSHALL DEFENSIVE LINE VS Navy OFFENSIVE LINE
Everyone knows what Navy wants to do. They want to shorten the game, hammer the ball between the tackles, and pick up as many first downs as possible. Marshall's depth along the defensive line should help. However, a potential lack of depth at linebacker could hurt. It will be imperative for the defensive line to maintain the line of scrimmage and keep the offensive line from getting to the second level and leaning on the linebackers. There is only one change along the Marshall defensive front on the two deep. Penn State transfer Shane Simmons replace new Cincinnati Bengal Darius Hodge at DE. Marshall has many other players that expect to rotate in and play against Navy. Immanuel Bush, and Daniel Foster are two that should play in the interior.
| Marshall | DE | Shane Simmons | 4 | NAVY | LT | Jake Cossavella | 2 |
| Marshall | DE | Sam Burton | 2 | NAVY | LT | Bryce Texeira | 2 |
| Marshall | DT | Jamari Edwards | 3 | NAVY | LG | Joshua Pena | 2 |
| Marshall | DT | Esaias Carpenter | 3 | NAVY | LG | Ahmad Bradley | 0 |
| Marshall | DT | Rodney Croom | 2 | NAVY | C | Pierce Banbury | 0 |
| Marshall | DT | TJ Johnson | 3 | NAVY | C | Luke Coleman | 2 |
| Marshall | DE | Koby Cumberlander | 3 | NAVY | RG | Nick Bernacchi | 2 |
| Marshall | DE | Owen Porter | 3 | NAVY | RG | Lirion Murtezi | 2 |
| NAVY | RT | Kip Franklin | 2 | ||||
| NAVY | RT | Jaime Romo | 2. |
The game is set for a 330 kickoff Saturday at Navy
