1/20/2019 football Edit

Marshall leads for talented JUCO DT after official visit

Chris McLaughlin • HerdNation

Publisher

The holes Ryan Bee and Malik Thompson are leaving behind at defensive tackle are significant and the Marshall coaching staff is looking for immediate impact recruits in the 2019 class to help fill the void. Enter Butler County Community College's Esaias Carpenter. The Wichita (KS) native officially visited Huntington this weekend and shared his thoughts on his visit with Herdnation.com.

"My host was Joey Maddox. We just chilled together a lot and he told me how much he enjoyed it at Marshall," Carpenter told HN. "We got to tour all the football facilities and I was really impressed with the indoor practice facility. I've seen them at other schools but I've never seen one as big and nice as the one at Marshall. The weight room was nice and the locker room was eye opening. I was able to take the visit with my grandma and dad. The visit blew them away too and it was a neat experience getting them to come along with me."

Carpenter rated the trip an 8.5 on a scale of 1-10 and said his favorite part was the basketball game. "The basketball game really opened my eyes to how the community of Huntington supports Marshall sports. I mean, that place was basically full and it was loud. I had a lot of fun at the game and came away thinking WOW!"

Carpenter took an official visit to Akron last weekend but his visit to West Virginia vaulted Marshall to the top of his favorites list. "Marshall is my top school right now, Carpenter said. "Akron kind of fell down a bit because they have a new coach and I'm not really involved with New Mexico anymore. Troy is supposed to call me tomorrow and let me know if they are going to offer."

Asked about a timeframe for a decision/commitment, Carpenter told HN it could be any time. "All I know is I'm signing in February and I would like to have a decision before the end of this month. It could be in the next day or two or it could be after another official visit until I shut things down"

Carpenter will have three years to play two at the FBS level.