Final Spring Practice Report

Marshall wrapped up their spring portion of 2017 Saturday morning with their 15th and final practice. “I thought we got a lot done this spring and we didn’t waste a day. I’m excited where we are at this point. This was the toughest spring we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Coach Doc Holliday stated. This spring ended much differently as the annual Green and White Game was played last week instead of this week. “How about that? If the spring game would’ve been this week then we would’ve been fine for the first time in eight years,” Holliday added. Generally, today would’ve been the second scrimmage of the spring, but Holliday and his staff utilized it as an instructional day with a little bit of scrimmaging mixed in. With that said, it wasn’t as exciting as some of the 50 or so fans in the stadium or you guys would hope, but it wasn’t wasted. Let’s get to the action though.

· Ryan Bee, Hyleck Foster, Jeremiah Maddox, Omari Cobb, Chris Jackson, Dontrelle Johnson, Rodney Croom, and Anthony Anderson sat out today and worked on the sidelines with the strength and conditioning staff.

· C.J. Reavis and Kendall Gant both sported red (non-contact) jerseys. They went through individual drills, but sat out team portions.

· NyQuan Harris, who has missed the majority of the spring, returned to practice to full-duty.

· The first-team offense stayed intact from a week ago, minus Ty’re Brady, who was being held out for precautionary reasons. Darian Owens took snaps with the first-team in Brady’s absence. Also, Ryan Yurachek returned to full-duty today so that bumped Cody Mitchell back down to the second-team.

· The quarterback pecking order today was Chase Litton, Garet Morrell, and Xavier Gaines. Many thought following last week’s Green and White Game that Gaines had gained ground or possible even surpassed Morrell, but that doesn’t seem like the case. Gaines did have the biggest pass play of the day finding Willie Johnson on a 61-yard touchdown. Johnson ran by Rodney Allen, who may have been looking for help over the top.

· Although there’s plenty of work to do, the first-team offensive line seems to be forming with Sandley Jean-Felix, Jordan Dowrey, Levi Brown, Nate Devers, and Tarik Adams leading the way. “I’m excited where they are right now, but we still have a lot of work to do. Levi Brown is going to be a heck of a player for us and Sandley is playing his best football for us right now,” Holliday stated. The second-team offensive line isn’t something that I’m comfortable with at this point though. Talent isn’t really an issue, but there’s just no experience outside of A.J. Addison. Players Alex Mollette, Alex Locklear, Will Ulmer, and Alex Salguero need to bathe themselves in the weight and film rooms this summer.

· With Anderson missing time, and Tony Pittman being limited (although he did have a few carries today), the Herd backfield is in desperate need of help. Trevaughn Rodriguez, Tyler King, and Jaqua Daniels (fingers crossed) will all be looked to in the fall to provide depth and explosion, something sorely missed this spring IMO.

· The wide receiver unit is one that I’m cautiously optimistic about. There’s talent there, and a lot of it. My biggest concern is depth. Brady has all-conference written all over him and guys like Johnson, Owens, and Marcel Williams have game-breaking ability, but very little experience. Nick Mathews, could be a factor with his work ethic and understanding of the offense, but my “X-factor” is Hyleck Foster. Foster came to Marshall with tons of potential and expectations. Following his freshman season, it was expected that he was the next great receiver at Marshall, but that just didn’t work out. After almost a two-year stint in the Herd backfield, Foster is back at receiver playing the “Z.” If Foster can find his freshman form, where he’s a solid supporting cast member, and provide some playmaking and leadership, this group could one of the better one’s Holliday has had.

· Offensively, we showed some more of the full-house backfield, “pistol” formation, and “odd” receiver sets. By “odd,” I mean we stacked our outside receivers to one side and left the slot to one side by himself. I don’t think we’re going to see some 1,000-play playbook from co-offensive coordinators Bill Legg and Todd Goebbel, but I do think we’re going to see a variation of formations that we’re able to run the same plays out of. It does seem like we’re considering using the “speed” roll-out a little more this season to get players on the edge quicker. We’ve also thrown a light mixture of screens to the running backs into the fold as well (emphasis on light).

· It’s really simple in my opinion, the defense won the spring. I realize that’s how most coaches would choose for it to be, but I just think the depth on the defensive side of the ball is greater than offensively for Marshall. When you have guys like Ty Tyler, Jason Smith, and Frankie Hernandez as part of your second unit, then you have some decent depth in place. Thing is, it’s only going to get better this fall when you add in Jaquan Yulee, Larry Aaron, Ryan Bee (after missing most of spring), etc.

· Another player that I thought had a tremendous spring was Brandon Drayton. I thought he made a tremendous jump from where he was six months ago until now. Former walk-on Malik Gant is another player that really made an impression this spring. “He took advantage of it. He showed up last year on special teams, but he went in there and now the other guys may have a hard time beating him out,” Holliday said of Gant’s spring.

· Through 15 practices, its seems like Marshall has it homeruns with their JUCO recruiting again. Artis Johnson, Donyae Moody, and Kereon Merell all saw first-team reps today and wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if they’re starting this fall. Johnson is much stronger than his 210-pound frame would suggest (he benches 410 pounds). Moody isn’t going to necessarily “wow” you with anything, but he seems like a guy that will end up with a quiet 80 or 90-some tackles at the end of the year. Merrell continues to be a guy that I have extremely high hopes for. I love his length and speed. Those are simply things you can’t teach and if he can build up some strength during the summer, then he could be a huge steal for Holliday and his staff.

· As we reported earlier, Aaron Dopson has been awarded a scholarship and I couldn’t be happier for the kid. You could hear the emotion in his voice as he spoke to the media following today’s practice. “It’s kind of a dream come true. The good thing is, I get to keep playing. This isn’t the end, but only the beginning in my eyes,” Dopson stated. At 270 pounds, Dopson isn’t going to step off the bus and intimidate anyone, but I’m not so sure that there’s a player I would fear more on the roster. As one media member stated, “he has that son of a bitch in him that this team needs,” and that couldn’t be more true.

· If I were going to describe the spring version of the Herd defense in one word, I would have to say versatility. They have players at all three levels that can play a number of positions, which is important in a pass-happy C-USA.

· In my opinion, Marshall just needs to focus on getting healthy (minor things) and possibly adding an interior defensive lineman and I’d be comfortable going to war with this group. This defense will go as far as it’s linebacker play takes them.

· Walk-ons Matt Beardall, Aaron Dopson, Malik Gant, and Nick Mathews were all awarded full scholarships today. Mathews and Gant were also recognized as the most consistent players of the spring.

· With spring ball ending and the school year wrapping up, Marshall players will have a few weeks to themselves before reporting back to Huntington for summer workouts. The staff will be hitting the recruiting trail immediately this week as the May evaluation period begins. I overheard one coach state that his flight left at 6:00pm this evening.