Buoyed by a strong effort defensively, the Marshall Thundering Herd was able to outlast Gardner-Webb Saturday, with the Thundering Herd having nine players who posted a PFF grade above 70 and another five who posted grades of 65.7 or better in the 28-7 victory.
Complete PFF grades are below:
With Marshall repping in an increased amount of bodies on the defensive front, the defensive line saw improved PFF grades for longtime defensive mainstays Koby Cumberlander and Owen Porter, who posted the two highest PFF grades of the defensive line unit with 83.6 and 76.7 grades, respectively. Cumberlander made four tackles with four quarterback hurries while Porter added in three tackles and a team-high two sacks.
Sam Burton (69.2 PFF), Damion Barber (66.5 PFF) and Immanuel Bush (66.2 PFF) all had grades above 65 PFF in limited snaps, while Jordan Calomese and Emmanuel Balogun, who posted marks of 64.8 and 62.4, respectively, made three tackles apiece in the contest.
Joe Murray (61.1 PFF), Jabarrek Hopkins (58.9 PFF), Esisas Carpenter (57.7 PFF), Elijah Alston (51.5 PFF), Isaiah Gibson (50.7 PFF), Sherman Hatton (49.8 PFF), and Anthony Watts (44.2 PFF) rounded out the grades for the defensive line.
From a linebacker standpoint, it was a day of mixed results.
Abraham Beauplan tallied up an outstanding performance at his linebacker spot, posting the team's highest overall PFF grade at 92.0. Beauplan, who led the unit with six tackles, posted the team's best tackling grade at 79.6 and was the only player to grade out at better than 80 PFF on coverage, notching a 92.6 PFF grade by allowing just 13 yards receiving in four targets and three overall Gardner-Webb receptions. Jace Bobo also notched a solid 77.4 grade after posting the best run defense grade (82.0) of any player on the roster that played in more than 15 snaps in the contest. Dan Foster, Jr. added in a 90.3 PFF, but played just two snaps.
Charlie Gray and Eli Neal, however, looked to struggle Saturday -- with PFF grades of 63.9 and 53.4, respectively. Neal had just a 42 PFF tackling grade.
In the secondary, Marshall performed well with four of the players from the unit posting grades above 70.
Jadarius Green-McKnight played just 17 snaps, but in his four times targeted, allowed just one reception for 12 yards for a 78 PFF grade. Steven Gilmore continued to build on a strong year at corner, not allowing a single completion thrown his way in four attempts while picking off a pair of passes for a 76.8 PFF grade. Joshua Bowers played well in his 16 snaps, notching a pick of his own for a 74.7 overall grade, while Andre Sam, who played in each of Marshall's 53 snaps defensively, allowed just one reception in five targets for -2 yards and had a pass breakup for a 70.4 mark.
Isaiah Norman used his fourth-best tackling grade on the unit (76.4) to post a 67.4 overall PFF grade, while Micah Abraham allowed 16 yards on two receptions in six targets and had a pass breakup for a 65.7 PFF grade. EJ Jackson's 56.2 PFF mark rounded out the defensive secondary.
Complete PFF grades are below:
DEFENSIVE LINE:
With Marshall repping in an increased amount of bodies on the defensive front, the defensive line saw improved PFF grades for longtime defensive mainstays Koby Cumberlander and Owen Porter, who posted the two highest PFF grades of the defensive line unit with 83.6 and 76.7 grades, respectively. Cumberlander made four tackles with four quarterback hurries while Porter added in three tackles and a team-high two sacks.
Sam Burton (69.2 PFF), Damion Barber (66.5 PFF) and Immanuel Bush (66.2 PFF) all had grades above 65 PFF in limited snaps, while Jordan Calomese and Emmanuel Balogun, who posted marks of 64.8 and 62.4, respectively, made three tackles apiece in the contest.
Joe Murray (61.1 PFF), Jabarrek Hopkins (58.9 PFF), Esisas Carpenter (57.7 PFF), Elijah Alston (51.5 PFF), Isaiah Gibson (50.7 PFF), Sherman Hatton (49.8 PFF), and Anthony Watts (44.2 PFF) rounded out the grades for the defensive line.
LINEBACKERS:
From a linebacker standpoint, it was a day of mixed results.
Abraham Beauplan tallied up an outstanding performance at his linebacker spot, posting the team's highest overall PFF grade at 92.0. Beauplan, who led the unit with six tackles, posted the team's best tackling grade at 79.6 and was the only player to grade out at better than 80 PFF on coverage, notching a 92.6 PFF grade by allowing just 13 yards receiving in four targets and three overall Gardner-Webb receptions. Jace Bobo also notched a solid 77.4 grade after posting the best run defense grade (82.0) of any player on the roster that played in more than 15 snaps in the contest. Dan Foster, Jr. added in a 90.3 PFF, but played just two snaps.
Charlie Gray and Eli Neal, however, looked to struggle Saturday -- with PFF grades of 63.9 and 53.4, respectively. Neal had just a 42 PFF tackling grade.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
In the secondary, Marshall performed well with four of the players from the unit posting grades above 70.
Jadarius Green-McKnight played just 17 snaps, but in his four times targeted, allowed just one reception for 12 yards for a 78 PFF grade. Steven Gilmore continued to build on a strong year at corner, not allowing a single completion thrown his way in four attempts while picking off a pair of passes for a 76.8 PFF grade. Joshua Bowers played well in his 16 snaps, notching a pick of his own for a 74.7 overall grade, while Andre Sam, who played in each of Marshall's 53 snaps defensively, allowed just one reception in five targets for -2 yards and had a pass breakup for a 70.4 mark.
Isaiah Norman used his fourth-best tackling grade on the unit (76.4) to post a 67.4 overall PFF grade, while Micah Abraham allowed 16 yards on two receptions in six targets and had a pass breakup for a 65.7 PFF grade. EJ Jackson's 56.2 PFF mark rounded out the defensive secondary.
| Player | Total Def. Grade | Run Defense | Tackle | Pass Rush | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abraham Beauplan (38 snaps) | 92 | 65.8 | 79.6 | 57 | 92.6 |
| Dan Foster, Jr. (2 snaps) | 90.3 | 83.7 | 75.7 | No Grade | No Grade |
| Koby Cumberlander (23 snaps) | 83.6 | 73.3 | 75.2 | 68.3 | 66.6 |
| Jadarius Green-McKnight (17 snaps) | 78.0 | 62.8 | 74.8 | No Grade | No Grade |
| Jace Bobo (18 snaps) | 77.4 | 82.0 | 75.7 | No Grade | 63.2 |
| Steven Gilmore (47 snaps) | 76.8 | 62.4 | 73.5 | No Grade | 76.9 |
| Owen Porter (23 snaps) | 76.7 | 67.5 | 74.1 | 71.3 | 60.3 |
| Joshua Bowers (16 snaps) | 74.7 | 60.0 | No Grade | No Grade | 74.2 |
| Andre Sam (53 snaps) | 70.4 | 56.5 | 48.0 | No Grade | 72.3 |
| Sam Burton (11 snaps) | 69.1 | 60.5 | 73.0 | 63.4 | 63.3 |
| Isaiah Norman (50 snaps) | 67.4 | 62.9 | 76.4 | No Grade | 67.6 |
| Damion Barber (7 snaps) | 66.5 | 60.0 | No Grade | 65.4 | No Grade |
| Immanuel Bush (5 snaps) | 66.2 | 60.0 | No Grade | 65.4 | 62.4 |
| Micah Abraham (43 snaps) | 65.7 | 45.8 | 38.3 | No Grade | 69.3 |
| Jordan Calomese (16 snaps) | 64.8 | 67.3 | 73.0 | 63.4 | 63.3 |
| Charlie Gray (34 snaps) | 63.9 | 63.5 | 75.8 | 55.4 | 64.5 |
| Emmanuel Balogin (20 snaps) | 62.4 | 52.0 | 74.6 | 60.5 | 67.7 |
| Joe Murray (2 snaps) | 61.1 | 60.4 | No Grade | No Grade | No Grade |
| Jabarrek Hopkins (12 snaps) | 58.9 | 56.8 | 69.7 | 69.0 | 59.5 |
| Esisas Carpenter (19 snaps) | 57.7 | 60.9 | No Grade | 55.3 | No Grade |
| EJ Jackson (18 snaps) | 56.2 | 60.2 | 78.6 | No Grade | 55.3 |
| Eli Neal (35 snaps) | 53.4 | 56.1 | 42.0 | 69.2 | 51.1 |
| Elijah Alston (23 snaps) | 51.5 | 43.2 | 76.6 | 63.6 | 60.7 |
| Isaiah Gibson (24 snaps) | 50.7 | 55.2 | No Grade | 62.6 | No Grade |
| Sherman Hatton (2 snaps) | 49.8 | 60.0 | No Grade | No Grade | No Grade |
| Anthony Watts (25 snaps) | 44.2 | 60.3 | 69.7 | 54.1 | 49.3 |
| Defense | Run Defense | Tackle | Pass Rush | Coverage | Special Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81.0 | 65.7 | 73.7 | 67.0 | 89.8 | 64.8 |
