HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Challenged early and often during his first season at Marshall, sophomore cornerback Chris Jackson hopes 2016 prepared him for a successful campaign this year in the Herd’s experienced secondary.
“Camp has been good, and there has been a lot of competition,” Jackson said. “It has also brought us closer together, even with the receivers, that competition pushes all of us to get better every day.”
Jackson said he feels the biggest strength of the secondary heading into the season is the depth across the board.
“I can feel it, you see it in practice,” Jackson said. “First-string, second-string, third-string — everyday coach is switching it up to see who is competing with who. I feel like we have a lot of depth this year.”
Marshall’s secondary will be one of the more experienced units taking the field for the Herd on their Sept. 2 opener against North Carolina State. Multiple starters return, including safety Kendall Gant who was second in tackles last year with 77. Then there’s senior cornerback Rodney Allen, who led the team with 12 pass break-ups with 12 and forced three fumbles.
“Last year was our first year playing together, so we weren’t near as comfortable as we are this year,” Jackson said. “Even now in camp, mixing in some new guys, we are very comfortable with each other and kind of know what to expect from each other when we are out there on the field.”
Marshall’s defense allowed 35.3 points and 456 yards per game in 2016 — both ranked 107th in the FBS — and its pass defense was 99th.
That made for some difficult stretches during Jackson’s on-the-job training.
“Last year I came in and they tried me often and early, so I definitely learned a lot,” Jackson said. “You have to stay resilient, fight through adversity, if a play doesn’t go your way you have to bounce back.”
As a cornerback who gets plenty of reps to evaluate the team’s new receivers in practice. Jackson Miami transfer Tyre Brady sticks out to him as especially hard to cover.
“Anytime I am matched up with Tyre Brady, I pretty much know the ball is coming my way,” Jackson said. “We have a lot of talented guys in that slot receiver role.”
— By Troy Alexander