For the seniors that will play their final game for the Thundering Herd at the Beef ‘O’ Brady Bowl St. Petersburg, the bowl game is the culmination of what has been a rollercoaster four or five years in Huntington.
The Class of 2011 was recruited by former Head Coach Mark Snyder and had to endure the unenviable task of transitioning from the Snyder administration to Doc Holliday’s style of coaching in the middle of their careers. With the new coaching staff that arrived with Holliday in 2010, many players were left in uncertain situations. The coaches that had convinced them to come to Marshall were gone and coaches and players had to get to know each other.
“We worked hard and it’s been a difficult four or five years for us. We’ve been through coaching changes and ups and downs and it’s nice to see the hard work we’ve put in here has paid off,” says senior tackle Ryan Tillman. “We finally got to a place we wanted to be.”
The place they wanted to be was in a bowl game and knowing the program that was once the winningest team in the country during the 90’s and early 2000’s was pointed in a direction to return to that level of play. Part of returning to the winning ways of the past is returning a certain level of toughness to the team, a swagger, a confidence that they can get the job done even when their backs are against the wall. Parkersburg native Tyler Warner says he’s seen that transition over the last two years.
“There were so many times where on 4th and 1 we couldn’t get it in the past. It’s all about great discipline and great leadership,” insists Warner. Coach Holliday has brought that winning attitude with him.”
A win in the Beef ‘O’ Brady Bowl St. Petersburg would be another big step forward for the program. The extra practice time and confidence of a bowl win would the kind of momentum this young team needs headed into the offseason.
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