Marshall’s spring practice begins this week, and with a lot of returning veterans many slots at the top of the depth chart are already filled for fall. Other position battles will have to wait until fall camp because not all the ‘contestants’ will be in spring practice. There are a few battles that are worth watching closely, however. Here’s what I’ll be watching...

2017 starter: Ryan Yurachek (out of eligibility). Contenders this spring: RS SO Cody Mitchell, RS JR Armani Levias, RS SO Xavier Gaines, RS FR Devin Miller.

This battle is to fill a key role in the Herd offense, as Yurachek racked up 143 catches, 1354 yards and 26 touchdowns in his career. Mitchell is the only one of the four contenders to play tight end for Marshall. He caught no passes in 2017 but did see offensive action as a 2nd tight end.

The others have a year of practice and a lot of potential. Levias was recruited from Laney Community College in 2017, enrolled for spring practice and redshirted during the 2017 season. He has the biggest body and caught the ball well at Laney but needs to improve his blocking and learn the position better.

Gaines was a 2016 recruit from Frostproof High School in Florida and was originally a quarterback, but moved to tight end in 2017 fall practice. Coaches and fans are looking for similar results as the last time an athletic high school QB became a Herd tight end, as Harold ‘Gator’ Hoskins caught 99 passes for 1318 yards and 28 TD’s in 3 years. In 2017, Gaines saw action on special teams in 9 games.

Miller was a late blueshirt recruit in the 2017 class from Metuchen High School in New Jersey and redshirted in 2017. He played tight end and defensive end at Metuchen and totaled 29 catches for 396 yards and 9 TD’s in his high school career. Coach Holliday said Monday that Miller has put on 20 pounds since arriving at Marshall last fall at 215 pounds

2017 starters: RS SR Ryan Bee (13 starts); RS JR Channing Hames (8 starts); RS JR Ty Tyler (3 starts); RS JR Aaron Dopson (2 starts). Other contenders this spring: RS SR Nyquan Harris, RS SR Jason Smith, RS SR Malik Thompson.

In 2017 Ryan Bee moved inside from end and had a big season with 51 total tackles, including 5.5 sacks and 2 more tackles for loss. Channing Hames played 11 games and had 24 total tackles, including 4.5 sacks and 3 more tackles for loss. Most of those stats came in Marshall’s bowl win over Colorado State, as Hames had 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks and another tackle for loss in that game. Their starting jobs should not be in jeopardy.

The backup roles are definitely open. One spot should have gone to Larry Aaron, but of course his life was lost as a result of the tragic New Year’s Eve shooting in Baltimore.

There are four returning veterans who were expected to contribute in 2017 but who were limited by injury to a combined 13 tackles. Dopson contributed the most, with 8 tackles in 5 games while Thompson added 5 tackles in 8 games. Harris (2 games) had only 1 QB hurry while Smith never saw the field.

With these players missing, an undersized Tyler made the most of his opportunity to play out of position. In addition to 5 starts at defensive end, Tyler started 3 games at tackle. For the season, he recorded 25 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 other tackles for loss and an amazing 24 QB hurries in the first 12 games. However, his season ended on a low note as he was sent home during the week before the New Mexico Bowl.

Harris, Smith and Thompson will try to show that they can stay healthy and contribute as they prepare for their senior seasons, while Dopson will try to continue his ascension from walkon to scholarship reserve to more frequent backup. Harris has done the most in his career, totaling 57 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 7 QB hurries in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Barring multiple injuries to others, Tyler should move back to end full-time, since academic non-qualifier Jermane Cross is expected to join the tackle room for 2018.

2017 starter: Chase Litton (13 games, declared for NFL Draft). Contenders this spring: RS SO Garet Morrell, RS FR Isaiah Green, RS SO Jackson White.

This battle is missing the prize of the 2018 recruiting class, as Wagner-transfer-to-be Alex Thomson is still a Wagner student until May. He is expected to ‘drop by’ for a week during spring practice, and new Offensive Coordinator and QB Coach Tim Cramsey reportedly has been to Staten Island a few times to visit Thomson since signing day.

However, between now and late April, the only scholarship QB’s Cramsey can work with in a full-team practice are Morrell, Green and White. The young QB’s can make a good impression on their new position coach by showing their work habits and demonstrating how quickly they can learn and execute the new offense and how they build chemistry with receivers they haven’t thrown to in actual games.

Morrell played in 5 games in 2016, starting against Louisville and Western Kentucky. He was 33 for 67 for 290 yards with 4 TD’s and 3 INT’s. He redshirted in 2017 so he hasn’t thrown to Tyre Brady, Marcel Williams or Obi Obialo in games. White saw a little mop up duty in 2017 (to preserve Green’s redshirt) but didn’t attempt a pass.

To sum it up, there’s no job to win this spring, but there’s only one chance to make a good first impression in a full-team practice environment.

Contenders this spring: RS SR Frankie Hernandez, RS SR Chase Hancock, RS SR Artis Johnson, RS SR Donyae Moody, RS SR Juwon Young, JR Omari Cobb, RS SO Jeremiah Maddox, RS SO Jaquan Yulee.

There’s a LOT of talent at this position. It’ll be interesting to see how it could be used in 2018. Even though new Defensive Coordinator Adam Fuller has been the Linebacker Coach, he and new Linebacker Coach Byron Thweatt are likely to have some different idea and schemes than we’ve seen in the last few years.

It’ll also be interesting to see how Moody’s rehabilitation of his injured knee is progressing, as he had looked good after enrolling for spring 2017. Moody will likely be listed as a redshirt senior in 2018 but has a chance to get another year of eligibility with a successful NCAA appeal since he also had a major injury in 2014 that cost him most of that season at Delaware Valley College.

At the end of last year, the depth chart was MLB: Young/Hernandez; SLB: Johnson/Cobb; WLB: Hancock/Yulee. Coach Holliday said Young may get a look this spring at DE or the Fox DE/LB hybrid position. How these six + Maddox and Moody + junior college recruit Dallas Martin rank and line up on September 1st is a lot of practices away from now.

2017 Starters: C.J. Reavis (8 starts, out of eligibility); RS JR Malik Gant (11 starts); RS SO Brandon Drayton (7 starts) Other contenders this spring: RS SO Nazeeh Johnson; RS SO Chad Clay; RS FR Nirion Washington.

No position changed more in 2018 than safety from the players that were expected to play to the players that ended up playing. In 2016 safeties were 3 of the top 5 tacklers for the Herd defense. Corey Neely graduated, but seniors-to-be Kendall Gant and C.J. Reavis were expected to provide senior leadership at the last line of defense. Both had been recruited by Power-5 schools out of high school. However, instead of these highly regarded recruits, a significant amount of play came from three players who walked on at Marshall out of high school.

Kendall Gant played one game and then left the program after losing his starting position. Reavis played in 12 games, starting 8 and ended up 4th in tackles on the season. The biggest surprise was Malik Gant, who earned a scholarship after 2 seasons in Huntington and then earned a starting job in week 2. Malik Gant ended the year as the 2nd leading tackler on the defense. Drayton started the first game and six others and ended up as the 6th leading tackler. The 3rd walkon was Johnson, who burst into the spotlight with 7 tackles and a 45 yard pick-6 against Western Kentucky.

The three safeties are now all probably FORMER walkons, as there should be room to put Drayton and Johnson on scholarship for the 2018 season. Joining the safety room is Chad Clay, a 6-1 193 pound redshirt sophomore who hasn’t played in a game since his 2015 high school season. Clay signed with Georgia and enrolled early in spring of 2016 but was dismissed from the program shortly thereafter. Clay moved on to Butler Community College where he spent the 2016 season but didn’t play before coming to Huntington last summer. Clay was injured and didn’t play for Marshall in 2017.