HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Doc Holliday has said over and over that players buy with their eyes. As Marshall assistant coaches left on recruiting trips during the bye week, the prospects they are trying to sign must like what they are seeing.
While Holliday and coordinators Bill Legg and Chuck Heater reviewed footage from the Akron game, seven other assistants hit the recruiting trail this week in Florida, California, Georgia and other areas looking for the next crop of Herd players. Each year Holliday has led the Marshall program, the quality of the recruits signing with the Herd has improved. He believes prospects are holding a higher opinion of Marshall than when he first arrived.
“Number one, we have great facilities,” said Holliday. “They are going to walk on campus and see one of the nicer indoor football complexes, new training center, and the hall of fame. We are going to have as nice facilities as anyone in the country when they come here.”
But they also like winning.
“They like the style that we play here on offense, whether it be wide-out, quarterback, or skill guy, I think you will want to play in our offense. Because what we do offensively and defensively is the same deal. Those corners out there like to play man-press and like to get involved in the very aggressive-type defense, which we are. They like our style of play and like winning.”
That style of play has led to Marshall averaging 45.5 points a game while only allowing 16.2. That style of play has elevated the Thundering Herd from an afterthought in Conference USA to the favorite to win the league and a possibly be the team that represents the G-5 schools in an access bowl at the end of the season.
Of course it doesn’t hurt that Marshall has received national exposure this year for the first time in more than a decade. Quarterback Rakeem Cato has been featured in various national publications and on ESPN’s “College Gameday,” and Holliday made appearances on Jim Rome’s radio and television shows.
All of that helps the program’s reach.
“All these kids throughout the country, whether California, Florida, Georgia, they can turn on the TV and can watch Marshall, Cato and all those guys play,” Holliday said. “You add playing pretty well, which we are right now, to that and people talking about us then it definitely going to help us recruit.”