HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall gets some actual rest this weekend after last year’s bye came in Week 1.
“Having the bye week first last year, you are just sitting there watching TV. Everyone else is playing and you are just itching to get out there,” said center Levi Brown. “Having it Week 4 this year is big because we have played three hard games and now we can evaluate ourselves and see what we need to improve.”
Brown said Marshall (2-1) has plenty of work to do as it prepares for Conference USA.
“We need to work on playing a full game without shooting ourselves in the foot. We had a great first half versus N.C. State, a great second half versus Kent. When we can play a full four quarters we will be tough to beat.”
The need to eliminate self-inflicted mistakes like penalties has been an area of focus early for a Marshall team that has averaged seven penalties a game so far this year.
Coach Doc Holliday said the team plans on taking full advantage of the bye week to get healthy and prepare for their road game against Cincinnati.
“We can get Obi Obialo, Channing Hames, Nyquan Harris, all those guys back and they should be healthy and ready to go against Cincinnati,” Holliday said.
Juco transfers making an impact
Juco linebacker Artis Johnson and receiver Marcel Williams have proven to be vital additions to their position group early.
“Anytime you get a junior college guy you aren’t quite sure what they are bringing in,” Holliday said. “ Artis Johnson and Marcel Williams have both been tremendous for us on their sides of the ball. Normally you don’t see JUCO guys come in and make that kind of impact early.”
Williams, the No. 2 receiver behind Tyre Brady, has proven to be a worthy addition to a wide receiver room that was full of new faces at the beginning of the season Over his first three games, Williams has 17 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown.
On the other side of the ball Artis Johnson has averaged seven tackles a game and also has a sack on a much improved linebacker unit.
Defense proving to be a strength
Marshall has historically been a team that is strong on the offensive side, but this season it seems the script has been flipped as the Herd’s defense has carried the offense through much of the early season.
The defense is giving up 50 less rushing yards per game compared to 2016, which Holliday said is due to the development of young players.
“We made some moves to get the best guys on the field, but a lot of these guys are the same guys we had a year ago, they are just a lot better players thanks to the strength and conditioning coaches,” Holliday said. “The emergence of guys like Ty Tyler, Davon Durant, Marquis Couch, and Damien Dozier—those were guys a year ago who, to be honest with you, didn’t do anything—you see those guys grow up and develop and that is what you should do.”
Holliday said while Marshall fans may used to be seeing big point totals on the scoreboard, he is sure they would be just as happy with a low scoring win thanks to their bend but don’t break defense.