Voting Criteria: Player's importance to the team in 2019, overall talent, and future potential for the upcoming season. A player's long-term/NFL prospects were not taken into consideration.
Voting Panel: Publisher Chris McLaughlin, Herdnation.com staffers Josh Stowers and Sean Hammond, plus the fan's vote.
10. Jaquan Yulee, LB, Jr.
Marshall fans have been waiting for Yulee to have more of a prominent role on defense. Well, the waiting is over. Yulee enters fall camp firmly entrenched as a starter and should see a ton of snaps. His athleticism and hitting ability has flashed over the past few years but Yulee will have to be better against the pass and more disciplined against the run to take full advantage of all his natural gifts.
9. Brandon Drayton, S, Jr.
With the loss of Malik Gant to the NFL, Drayton becomes the go-to guy on the back-end of Marshall's defense. Drayton is long and has excellent ball-skills but like Yulee, has to be more consistent on a down-to-down basis in order to reach his potential.
8. Brenden Knox, RB, So.
Knox came out of nowhere last year when the injury bug hit Marshall's RB rotation. A lightly recruited prospect out of Columbus, Knox had flashed serious potential in practice but was buried behind Tyler King and Anthony Anderson on the depth chart. Once Knox got a chance he shined, however. Knox's ability to run between the tackles and always fall forward is an invaluable weapon for OC Tim Cramsey.
7. Armani Levias, TE, Sr.
Levias was sort of a forgotten man at the beginning of the 2018 season. The JUCO product red-shirted in 2017 and looked initially like he may not belong at the D1 level. Boy, was that assessment wrong. Levias became one of Marshall's most consistent weapons on offense and ended up hauling in 27 receptions for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns. Levias also proved to be a very effective blocker.
6. Omari Cobb, LB, Sr.
Cobb is the lone returning starter at LB for the Herd and will be key to ensuring Defensive Coordinator Brad Lambert's position group doesn't take a step back in 2019. Cobb has the natural ability to be a first team all-conference linebacker and play on Sundays. Look for him to make a huge jump in 2019.
