Fall Camp Preview: Five players who need big camps

With the 2018 season just around the corner for the Marshall Thundering Herd, excitement is starting to build for Herd Nation. Doc Holliday and his staff return the fourth most experience (among starters) with 18 starters back according to Phil Steele and are coming off a 31-28 win over Colorado State in the New Mexico Bowl. “Potential gets you beat, production will win you games. We’ve got to keep our head down and keep going to work every day. We certainly have the potential, but we have to turn all that potential into production,” Holliday stated at last week’s Conference USA Media Day. Even with all the returning talent at Holliday’s disposal, there are still questions in place at key positions. Let’s take a look at five players we believe will need big fall camps to help Marshall avoid a slow start to the season.

Following Young’s red-shirt year in 2016, expectations were high for Young heading into 2017. At 6-2, 248 pounds, Young was Marshall’s most physically imposing linebacker and many fans believed that he would be a game changer at the second level for Marshall’s defense. Limited to only nine games in 2017, Young finished the season with 41 tackles (3.0 TFL’s) and one forced fumble. Heading into 2018, the depth that Holliday’s staff has been able to accumulate at linebacker will allow Young will slide down to the “FOX” end position where first-year defensive coordinator Adam Fuller will look to utilize Young’s aggressive play and versatility. With the graduations of Blake Keller and Davon Durant, Young’s move will be one of great importance. Marshall will need Young to adapt fairly quickly and help provide a pass rush off the edge. Young missed most of spring with an injury so fall camp will play a key role in his growth at the new position. Look for Young to get plenty of reps in August while he learns what it’s like to play closer to the line of scrimmage.

It’s time. Locklear is entering his fourth season in the program and hasn’t necessarily made his mark on the program. Hopefully that can change in 2018, because with the lack of depth on the edge, tackle is a position that Locklear could see some snaps at. Will Ulmer and Tarik Adams cannot be expected to play every snap of every game, so it’s important for first-year offensive line coach Greg Adkins to build some depth along the offensive front. In 2017, Locklear saw action in 12 of Marshall’s 13 games. With the addition of four young, talented offensive linemen being added to the mix this fall, Locklear needs to start showing the promise that Holliday saw when they signed Alex. At 6-5, 320 pounds Locklear certainly possesses the length and size to play on the edge, but he’ll need to continue to fine tune footwork to make an impact on the tackle rotation in fall camp.

Can Holliday continue the roll he’s on with punters? That’s what most C-USA coaches are asking themselves I’m sure. With all-everything Kaare Vedvik moving on to the NFL, the coaching staff find themselves looking for their next weapon at punter. Enter Robert LeFevre, who is the only kicker on the roster with FBS kicking experience. In 2017, LeFevre averaged 62.2 yards per kickoff while filling in for an injured Vedvik. Just to give you an idea of LeFevre’s leg strength, Vedvik only averaged 63.6 yards per kickoff in 2017. Although LeFevre was inconsistent punting in the spring, he shows great promise for a red-shirt sophomore. If LeFevre is able to clean up his technique, I don’t see field position as an issue in 2018. For Marshall to stay atop the nation’s leaders in special team’s efficiency, it’ll be key for LeFevre to take the next step in his growth during fall camp.

Did you guys really think I was going to go through an entire article about players needing a big fall camp and not include Thomson? As the biggest question mark on the entire roster, Thomson’s arrival is one surrounded by concern. Is his shoulder healthy? Will he be able to build chemistry with his receivers in time? Is he up to speed on newly hired offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey’s playbook? These are all questions that Herd Nation will ask up until kickoff on September 1st. Thomson has been in Huntington since early May and according to Holliday, he’s done “all the right things” since his arrival. The next month and a half will be crucial for Thomson to continue absorbing the playbook and throwing with his receivers so that when Marshall opens up on the road in Oxford, there will be no “training wheels” left to be taken off. Not only is Thomson going to be required to learn on the fly, but he’ll also need to build trust with his teammates along the way. His leadership will be key to the 2018 season and there is no better time than fall camp to display that.

Like LeFevre, Justin Rohrwasser is somewhat of an unproven commodity at the FBS level. As a mid-year enrollee, Rohrwasser participated in spring ball, but didn’t necessarily “show out” enough to ease my concern with the kicker position. At Rhode Island, Rohrwasser led the team in scoring both years, connected on 15 of 20 field goals, and made all but one of his extra points (39/40). Based off spring ball, it looks as if Rohrwasser will be comfortable kicking around 40 yards and in. He possesses the leg strength to move out further, but his mechanics suffer at longer distances. Some of Rohrwasser’s struggles in spring were likely due to Marshall’s staff making changes to his mechanics so I’ll be interested to see what the summer has done for him. With a summer to clean up his mechanics and get stronger, I’d think it’s possible that Rohrwasser could extend his range to distances Marshall hasn’t really been able to in recent history. I’m hoping to see Rohrwasser lock down the kicking job early on in camp so his confidence will grow. Also, with pre-season All-CUSA long snapper Matt Beardall in the mix, Rohrwasser shouldn’t have an issue with timing or bad snaps (knock on wood).