HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — As preseason camp begins, there are probably fewer questions for the Thundering Herd this year than in the last five years.
The offensive line is in tact. A surplus of playmakers return on offense and the conference MVP is at quarterback. Even though Doc Holliday has said there are very few holes to fill, the glaring question heading into 2013 concerns the improvement of Marshall’s defense.
Chuck Heater was brought in as the new defensive coordinator and has had an impact on a unit that ranked near the bottom in every statistical category a season ago.
“He’s pretty much changed the attitude of the defense. He’s got that go get it attitude,” says senior defensive end Jeremiah Taylor. “He’s changed up the scheme a little bit and made it easier on us but will give offenses problems.”
Changing up the schemes is something every defense across the country has been forced to do as the fast-paced spread offense has taken off like wildfire. Offenses want to run as many plays as possible, tiring out defenders while trying to create mismatches by not allowing substitutions. Marshall was burned on multiple occasions in 2012 trying to cover receivers with linebackers and being unable to get pressure on the quarterback last season.
“I think a couple things that are happening is defenses are having an extremely hard time matching up against skill players in space. It’s all become a space game out here,” Holliday said. “What’s happening is you have all these wideouts that are really good players in space and defenses haven’t recruited the kind of athletes, numbers of them, to match up.”
The change in offensive philosophy has prompted a change in the way coaches recruit as well. Now, to compensate for the number of athletes on the offensive side of the ball, coaches are reaching out to more safeties and defensive backs to match up with four receiver sets.
“You can’t take safeties and linebackers and walk them out and make tackles in space,” says Holliday.
The spread also means defenses must rely more heavily on the front four to get in the quarterback’s face and cause havoc in the backfield, something Marshall struggled with last year.
“You’ve got to have more pass rushers, and we’ve got more of them. I think the biggest area we tried to improve to be able to deal with that,” says Holliday.”
“We’ve all got to step up and do our job,” knows Taylor. “We’ve got to put more pressure on the quarterback so our linebackers and DB’s can go out there and make plays.”
Holliday feels good about the defense as camp begins this week simply because he knows there are more athletes on that side of the ball and believes Chuck Heater has the pieces in place to have a good unit this year.
“Two things happened last spring,” Holliday says. We’ve added about 10 bodies. Stefan Houston, Kent Turene, Neville Hewitt – he’s been here since May, and we have great expectations for him. (Linebacker Evan) McKelvey is back; he’s healthy. At inside linebacker we’ve got some guys who can run and play now that we didn’t have in the past.
“In the secondary, Taj Letman was an addition, we’ve got A.J. Leggett healthy, Darryl Roberts back, Keith Baxter is healthy no, and with the addition of Corey Tindal, he may have been our best player in the spring. That secondary is a lot more athletic than what it was.
MARSHALL ANNOUNCES OPEN PRACTICES
The Monday-Friday practices are open to the public and will last approximately two hours. The scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 10 is open only to Big Green members and 2013 season-ticket holders. Those wishing to gain admittance to the scrimmage may do so by joining the Big Green and/or buying season tickets from Marshall’s customer service representatives at Gate A. Staff will be on hand to answer any questions related to ticket sales for the 2013 football season.
The Thundering Herd will host its Fan Day on Sunday from 4-6 p.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Fans are asked to remain in the chairback sections on the west side of the stadium until the team heads to the east stands for the team photo. At that time, fans will be permitted to enter the field area for access to take a team photo in a designated area. Upon the completion of the team photo, student-athletes will be made available on the field for autographs. Admission is free.
The Saturday, Aug. 17 scrimmage will be held at 7 p.m. and will be open only to Big Green members. However, those wishing to join the Big Green will be able to do so by visiting customer service representatives at Gate A.
Marshall students may gain admittance free of charge to both scrimmages by presenting a valid student ID at Gate A.