Listen Now: Morning News

Furrey: Herd receivers want to be great

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — First-year receivers coach Mike Furrey is looking for a specific kind of player to line up out wide for Marshall. Yes, there are the physical attributes every coach wants, such as speed, soft hands, and toughness.

But Furrey is looking for more.

“You want to find a guy who wants to be great, not someone who thinks he can, but somebody that wants to be great, said Furrey.

The player who already thinks he is great can be a headache to coach and nearly impossible to teach. On the flip side, players who strive to be great want to soak up every bit of information to improve and put in the extra work that is required to become a great football player. Furrey believes he has not one or two receivers who fit that mold but more than a dozen.

“Our room is very exciting. We’ve got 16 or 17 kids in there, and the light has gone on for all of them. They’re out here competing and working their tail off because they want to be great.”

The Herd is talented and deep at receiver. Tommy Shuler, Demetrius Evans, Devon Smith, Jazz King, and Craig Wilkins are some of the wide outs returning from last seasons. Shuler led The Herd with 110 catches and 1,138 yards receiving last season.

“In the spring, these guys would probably tell you that they thought they were great and they could be great,” says Furrey. “Now they want to be great and that makes it easier as a teacher to be able to teach them the game of football as they soak information in and start to understand the game.”

Furrey brings a fresh perspective and new attitude to the receivers’ room through lessons he learned during his NFL career.

“Obviously I’ve been very fortunate and blessed to be around a lot of great coaches who taught the game.  They taught the game not just running routes, the taught how to play it, the tempo, how you practice, they demanded perfection and I saw it succeed.  When you see stuff like that you become accustomed and it becomes a part of you and its something I want to give back to my guys to make sure that they have everything the need to succeed themselves.”

Redshirt junior Jazz King said Furrey is fine-tuning skills he’d learned but not necessarily perfected.

“He taught me a lot—how to get off jams, how to run your routes against different coverages, how to block, everything,” King said.

It has only been a couple of days, and Marshall is yet to go full contact, but Furrey likes what he has seen so far.

“I’m really happy now. The only thing I could really ask out of my guys is when you put your foot in the ground and get the signal and you know what you’re supposed to do, go play hard and we’ll fix the rest of the stuff as we go.”





More Marshall Sports

Marshall Sports
Integrating new players, coaches a focus for Herd at start of spring practice
Head coach Charles Huff says learning who his team is a critical component of spring football.
March 28, 2024 - 8:47 am
Marshall Sports
Commentary: Final 40 minutes don't tell the story of Marshall's season
The Herd lost by 43 points in its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 27 years, but a 26-7 campaign could help be a springboard for future success.
March 26, 2024 - 4:15 pm
Marshall Sports
Jackson replaces D'Antoni as Marshall basketball coach
Dan D'Antoni is out after a 10-year stint guiding the Marshall men's basketball program. Cornelius Jackson, former associate head coach and a native of Oak Hill, takes over.
March 25, 2024 - 8:25 pm
Marshall Sports
Six home games, trips to Virginia Tech and Ohio State highlight Herd's 2024 schedule
Marshall opens the season August 31 by welcoming Stony Brook.
March 25, 2024 - 2:35 pm


Your Comments