Practice Report: 08/05/18

Following a steamy 2018 Marshall Fan Day, Doc Holliday and his Thundering Herd took the field Sunday evening in “shells” for the first time this season. For those of you unaware, “shells” simply means helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts. With that said, there is still a considerable amount of hitting that goes on, but the players try to stay off the ground as much as possible. As expected, the level of intensity went up a notch with the pads going on. Adam Fuller’s defense bested Tim Cramsey’s offense on Sunday, but that’s to be expected this early into camp. With chemistry still being built, it looked like the defense was simply a step faster than the offense for most part. Let’s take a look at the highlights!

We all knew going into this season that Marshall’s defense would likely be the strength of the team, but there were questions at a few positions. Can Coach Fuller and newly appointed cornerbacks Coach Mike Treier find a third or fourth guy to fit into the rotation? Will the young defensive linemen be ready to contribute early on? Will our linebackers be as good as we think they’ll be? Well, Saturday was a good first step in trying to answer some of those questions. Kereon Merrell may have had his best practice in a Thundering Herd uniform. He had two really nice pass break-ups during team sessions. He’s beginning to look like the player I saw on film when Marshall signed him from the JUCO ranks. His increased production has even gained him some first-team reps over Jaylon McClain-Sapp. That could be building as a position battle to watch as camp moves on.

Albeit somewhat under the radar, defensive line coaches J.C. Price and Cornell Brown have stockpiled a very deep and talented crop of young defensive linemen. Sam Burton, Arak McDuffie, Owen Porter, Darius Hodge, Rodney Croom, Jamare Edwards, Koby Cumberlander, and Jermaine Cross are all either red-shirt or true freshmen. It’s undetermined at this point which of the eight will see the field in 2018, but regardless, that’s a very solid foundation going forward. I’ve kind of touched on Hodge and Cumberlander already this pre-season, but Croom and Edwards are two guys that have kind of been forgotten. It looks like Croom will be groomed to play inside or outside while Edwards will be looked upon to rush the passer off the edge. Speaking of the defensive line, and I think Dick mentioned this on Friday, but they were working very hard on their hand techniques. Seems like there’s going to be an emphasis on keeping the opposing offensive linemen’s hands off them instead of just engaging straight up.

I’m going to be honest, I’m always going to be partial to the 2014 trio of Neville Hewitt, Jermaine Holmes, and DJ Hunter as my favorite group of linebackers of my time as a Marshall fan. With that said, I think this group (top-to-bottom) has a chance to be even better. The group is led by pre-season All-Conference linebacker Chase Hancock, but that’s just where it starts. Frankie Hernandez looks as healthy as I’ve seen him in a while. Artis Johnson has bulked up for his senior season and still possesses enough athleticism to play outside. Those are just the starters. Omari Cobb, Jaquan Yulee, Donyae Moody, Tyler Brown, Dallas Martin, and Tavante Beckett (red-shirt due to transfer) all possess the talent to see snaps this season. It’s up to first-year linebacker Coach Byron Thweatt to decide who’s going to see the majority of them. It’ll be interesting to watch that second group round into shape, because it seems like Thweatt likes Brown, a Spring Valley product, at the “SAM” position with Cobb, Yulee, and Moody all battling for reps at the “MIKE” and “WILL” spots. All in all, this is a very good group and you could probably mix-and-match the top four of five guys without missing a beat. They’re just that talented.

Sunday was the first day I’ve seen the kickers and punters really go live because I missed Friday’s practice and Saturday was indoors. It was worth the wait though as both kickers, Justin Rohrwasser and Robert LeFevre, went perfect from various distances (20-37) and angles (straight on and right hash). Timing was an issue in the spring for both kickers, but you can tell that those guys have been working with Matt Beardall and Jackson White on their craft. Same as the kickers, this was my first time seeing the punter go live since spring ball and I came away a little shocked. Nothing against Shane McDonough, but I honestly thought Robert LeFevre would walk away with the punting job this season. If Sunday was any indication of what’s to come, that may not be the case at all. McDonough consistently hit high kicks (great hang time) of around 40 yards while LeFevre seemed to struggle. It did look like the coaches were working with LeFevre on his technique so maybe that contributed to his struggles, but either way, McDonough impressed me.

One position that we haven’t talked about heading into this season that we have to replace a starter at is punt returner. With Hyleck Foster’s graduation, Holliday and his staff will look to a number of options to replace him. On Sunday, Tyler King, Artie Henry, Steven Gilmore, and Nick Mathews all took reps at punt returner. I didn’t notice Marcel Williams back there any, but given his success in the JUCO ranks, it would be hard for me to imagine him not getting a shot back there. Speaking of the return game, Ty Terrell, Gilmore, King, Keion Davis, Williams, and Willie Johnson all took reps at kick returner. Given his success last season, it would be hard for me to see anyone but Davis getting the lion’s share of the returns. Something to watch as the season ticks on is how many of the younger kids get some time on special teams. As injuries mount (and they will), it’ll open up slots for younger kids to get reps, which is where the new four-game red-shirt rule comes into play huge for teams like Marshall.

Let me pre-face by saying I believe most of the plays we saw on Sunday were scripted because I could almost call the plays out myself based off what the previous quarterback did during his reps. With that said, the defense was competing at a really high level and to be honest, they’re just deeper and more experienced that our offense. As we’ve hinted at in the spring and a little bit this fall, there are plays and formations being used that we haven’t seen inside Joan C. Edwards during my time as a Marshall fan. Now, will those plays be the norm? Probably not, but they’re still in the arsenal and other teams will learn that as the season rolls on. Like I said in the teaser post, not one of the three quarterbacks shined any better than the other two today as they each took reps with the first, second, and third teams. Garet Morrell probably had the best throw of the day when he hit Gator Green for a 40-yard gain. Green beat Markeis Colvin on the outside and Morrell dropped it in over his shoulder. I did like the way the running backs ran the ball today though. I thought they all five ran with a purpose, especially Anthony Anderson and Sheldon Evans. Tyler King had the most exciting run of the day though when he cutback across the field and spun away from the linebacker on his way to a 15-yard gain. Later on, Thomson made a really nice read on a hand-off to David who rumbled for 20 yards. It’ll be really interesting to see how running backs Coach Pepe Pearson manages the carries this season. Obviously the two younger guys are going to have to realize what’s ahead of them and be patient. One thing that did catch me off guard on Sunday was Artie Henry working out the slot. It’s interesting because it provides a lot of speed at that position as well as a good bit of size (6’1) compared to what we’re used to there.