Spring Outlook: Newcomers to watch

It's finally here. Spring football officially starts on Sunday!

Marshall's 2019 recruiting class checked a number of boxes, including a large number of early/spring enrollees. HN takes take a closer look those newcomers.

The FUMA product is lengthy and athletic and as one of the tallest receivers on roster, Thompson could have a role this season if he performs well in the spring and summer.

The future is not now for Wells, but enrolling early and getting a spring practice under his belt before what will almost assuredly be a red-shirt season is huge for the Charleston (WV) native. How Wells performs in spring practice will be an interesting secondary storyline for Herd fans to follow.

One of three jUCO products enrolled for spring practice, Johnson should be an immediate impact type of player along the defensive line. According to sources, Johnson is already up to 270 pounds.

Ball's back-story is well documented so there's no reason to re-hash it here. With that said, there's no doubt Ball is here to play and play immediately. With Tarik Adams and Will Ulmer returning at tackle it will be interesting to see where Ball slots this spring.

Leininger is an interesting prospect who reminds me very much of current Herd TE Armani Levias. Leininger is a 3 for 2 recruit so he could in theory red-shirt in 2019.

Smith is incredibly athletic and starred at Jenkins High (GA) at running back, wide receiver and safety but will play linebacker at Marshall. Smith is a tad undersized right now (which is to be expected) but with the linebacker depth chart looking barren, it is possible he could see some PT as a true freshman.

Anderson has already opened some eyes on the coaching staff with how physically ready he looks to contribute right off the bat. A tackling machine out of Knoxville (TN), Anderson appeared to be under-rated coming out of HS and the early returns on his potential seem to confirm as much.