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Herd won’t fall victim to own hype

Doc Holliday is counting on seniors such as Rakeem Cato and Tommy Shuler to push their teammates to exceed expectations in 2014.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.—it can be easy for a team to start to believe the myth of its own hype. Marshall players have certainly heard plenty of hype entering the 2014 season.

Before The Herd has even set foot on the brand new artificial turf at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, pundits and experts have crowned Marshall preseason champs. Rakeem Cato and James Rouse were named Conference USA’s Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. Marshall is the unanimous pick to win the league and many are predicting a perfect season.

“They’re extremely high but I think that’s a good thing,” Coach Doc Holliday said about the expectations during his preseason news conference. “I don’t want to be at a place where expectations aren’t extremely high. We’ve got to make sure we do a good job as a football team and as a staff that we don’t get complacent.”

That is a familiar refrain Holliday has repeated year after year as the expectations have risen each season. However, 2014 is different. Marshall is expected to put up big numbers on offense, play smothering defense and crush the opposition. Marshall must avoid falling into the trap of believing its own press. Holliday is confident the senior leaders on this year’s team won’t allow that to happen.

“I think the good thing we have right now is leadership on this team,” said Holliday. “I saw it throughout the summer. We talk constantly, every time we get the opportunity, we talk about what can’t happen to destroy our goals and dreams.”

“When the players take ownership of the team you have a chance. That started happening this summer. They took care of discipline problems. They handled pushing each other and that’ll have to continue through fall camp and throughout the season for us to get to where we want to go.”

Rakeem Cato is shouldering the highest expectations on the team. Cato has been named to several watch lists and is a Heisman Trophy candidate. Watching Cato throw for 400 yards and three touchdowns week in and week out has spoiled fans who now anticipate that type of performance each week.

“We talk all the time about the expectations on him but he also understands that comes with tremendous responsibility on his part. To this point he’s done a tremendous job of managing those. He says the right things, he works hard, he’s embraced it. He grew up tough and a few expectations on him aren’t going to affect him in any way, shape or form because he’s been through a lot of adversity in life.”

Holliday even drew a comparison between Cato and a Heisman Trophy quarterback he coached at Florida.

“I was with Tim Tebow when he won the Heisman. You get guys that are competitive. Cato is concerned about one thing and that is winning games, as Tebow was, as the great ones are.”

Holliday watched last seasons as upperclassmen stepped up and took on leadership roles and Holliday is confident those same players will not let the team become a victim of its own hype.





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