HUNTINGTON, W.Va.– Football begins and ends in the trenches, where some of the toughest and meanest players on the field battle each play and rarely receive any glory. It only makes sense those players would want to set the tone for the rest of the team, which has been the case for the Thundering Herd during the first week of preseason practice.
“We figured we’re kind of the heart of the team,” says defensive lineman Alex Bazzie. “We kind of all looked at each other and said if we can get each other going then the rest of the team is going to follow us.”
Both the offensive and defensive lines were the targets of a considerable amount of criticism in 2012. Offensively, The Herd struggled when the tempo slowed down and situations called for long sustained drives and bullying opponents along the line. Now Doc Holliday is calling Marshall’s front five the strength of the offense. Bazzie know first hand that Marshall’s offensive line is the real deal.
“Coach Mirabal is doing an amazing job teaching them technique and just getting them fundamentally sound. When we go against each other the competition just rises,” praises Bazzie.
As The Herd boasts depth along the offensive line, the same can be said for the front four on the opposite side of the ball. The Herd’s defensive front rarely got to the quarterback last season and often found itself worn out by the end of games. The Herd was simply too thin along the defensive line and players wore down late.
“That was one of the issues they had last year,” admits defensive line coach Sean Cronin. “They got thinned out and couldn’t keep guys fresh. We’re really deep right now and we plan on keeping these guys fresh. If you can go four plays at 100 percent then you’ll play four plays and we’ll get another guy in. If you can go eight plays you’ll go eight plays and that’s what we’re trying to figure out right now. The longer they can go hard in practice the longer they’ll go in the games.”
Marshall is much deeper up front this year with the likes of Bazzie along with Brandon Sparrow, Jarquez Samuel, Jeremiah Taylor, Ra’Shawde Myers and newcomers such as Arnold Blackmon in the mix.
“I think they all have ability. The thing about d-linemen is they take time to develop and a lot of these younger guys need to develop,” says Cronin.
Cronin is hopeful some of the young players who have just arrived, such as Blackmon, can develop quickly and contribute right away.
“I’m really pleased with Arnold. He’s had a really good first few days here and hopefully he’s going to help us this year if he keeps developing the way he can. He’s had good start to camp.”
Often, the only time linemen are mentioned is when they are not getting the job done. We like to talk about the 200 yards a back gained or the number of sacks the linebackers collected. It’s easy to forget the big guys up front are the key to those successes. While they may not get the glory, Alex Bazzie knows the guys in the trenches are the heart and soul of a football team.
“That’s our goal this summer, to be the hardest workers on the team, be the ones to set the tone and set the tempo.”