Hurricane native Corey May coming home with FAU this weekend

BOCA RATON, Fla.— FAU freshman Corey May will feel right home Saturday when the Owls get off the bus in front of Joan C. Edwards Stadium because May will be home. The Hurricane native is traveling with the Owls for the first time this year as they come to Huntington to face the 23rd ranked Thundering Herd.

“I’m redshirting this year and they wanted to bring me back home,” May said on The Stampede with Dave Wilson. “I have a lot of family and family friends and high school friends who go to Marshall that were excited I was coming back. I plan on talking to everyone after the game and seeing all my friends and family right after the game. I’m thrilled. I’m excited to come back.”

May, a 6-foot, 180 pound safety, graduated from Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, Fla, but grew up in Marshall head coach Doc Holliday’s hometown of Hurricane. He played his freshman and sophomore years for the Redskins before his father, and former Hurricane head coach Willis May was offered the head coach position with Stoneman Douglas.

His Kelly green roots run deep though. Both his parents are Marshall graduates, leaving them with a decision to make this weekend. Root for their son’s team or their alma mater?

“They’re pretty torn but they’re going to root for FAU,” assured May. “I made sure they were going to root for us. My mom asked if she could wear a Marshall hat. I told her she couldn’t wear both, she had to pick one.”

For May, making the jump from high school to college is the second big adjustment of his young football career. When he transferred to Stoneman Douglas, he had to get acclimated to high school football in Florida.

“Football is football anywhere it is the same. The big difference was the speed. There’s a lot more speed down here (in Florida) than up there,” May said.

Of course, Doc Holliday has reputation of finding players in Florida and bringing them back to West Virginia and was aware of the Hurricane native in Broward County. May said Holliday and his father talked a lot and Marshall was interested in him but in the end it just didn’t work out.

May was recruited to FAU by coach Dan Shula after being named second team Broward County in 2013 and was an honorable mention Broward County selectee in 2012.

As a freshman, May has been redshirted with the coaching staff wanting him to a get year in the weight room under his belt, so don’t expect to see him on the field this Saturday. May spends most of his time on the scout team defense and this week, his job was to impersonate the top ranked unit in Conference USA.

“We’ve been trying to give our offense a good look. We watch the Marshall defense to make sure the offense is prepared.”

May will be on the visiting sidelines wearing No. 39 Saturday for the Owls but will be right at home in West Virginia.





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