posted August 8, 2007 at 17:09 in NCAA F Articles

Last year, the Marshall Thundering Herd offense relied heavily on the versatile Ahmad Bradshaw (Rushing: 1,523 yds, 19 TD’s; Receiving: 17-129, 2 TD’s) while trading snaps between quarterbacks Bernard Morris and Jimmy Skinner in search of a starter. Skinner was a plodder who made few mistakes and, seemingly, fewer big plays. By contrast, Morris was a big-play catalyst with 8 TD’s throw, though, with 12 INT’s, the big play was often that of the Herd’s opponent, much to the disappointment of their college football betting investors.

Morris returns this year and his raw dual-threat potential was the focus of much clay-molding by the offensive staff this spring. He threw an interception which was returned for a touchdown on his first pass attempt in the spring game, but his new-found poise took control and he completed 11 of the next 18 passes for 199 yards (2 TD’s).

Consistently finding and utilizing that poise will be a touchstone requirement for 2007 as The Herd enters Life-Without-Bradshaw. Neither Kelvin Turner (5-10, 190) nor Chubb Small (5-9, 193) dominated the spring and it is possible that no tailback develops into a legitimate threat next season. If so, then the offense will have to turn to the skies. Fortunately, that is where Marshall looks to be very strong for 2007.

With Cody Slate (6-4, 212), Brian Shope (6-5, 248) and Tennessee-transfer Lee Smith (6-6, 245), Marshall has the deepest set of tight ends on the east-coast. A true freshman, Slate exploded into action in ’06 and finished as the leading receiver (43-684, 6 TD’s).

Much to the delight of Slate & Co., the Marshall offensive staff took a field trip to Louisville earlier this year to study with the staff of newly-minted Cardinals’ head coach Steve Kragthorpe (of the Lavell Edwards’ tree of coaching). There, they focused on how to open-up the passing game and utilize the tight-end even more effectively. Things obviously went well for Slate, who dominated the spring game (6-157; 1 TD).

Fortunately, for the Herd, tight end is not the only reason the passing game should excel in 2007. JUCO transfer Darius Passmore (6-3, 180) (3-52, spring game) gave Marshall an instant deep-threat this spring which should open underneath routes for the tight ends and the shifty Emmanuel Spann (38-383, 3 TD’s). Courtney Edmonson’s (6-0, 175) spring game performance (6-115) confirmed that his potential threat at receiver.

The offensive line is strong, anchored by Outland Trophy candidate, OC Doug Legursky (6-3, 311) and returning OG starters David Ziegler (6-5, 296) and Brian Leggett (6-1, 285). True freshman OT Branden Curry (6-6, 292) was one of the nation’s top OT recruits and will be given the chance to earn a starting spot this season.

The Herd’s defensive star is DE Albert McClellan (6-2, 225; Jr), the reigning Conference-USA Defensive Player of the Year (77T’s; 19 TFL’s; 11 sacks). He will be let loose whenever and wherever possible to disrupt schemes in 2007.

The Herd finished 114th in the nation in pass defense. Sixty-four percent of the nearly 400 (398) passes thrown against them were completed for 3,020 yards and 20 TD’s. One reason was that Marshall had to throw undersized-freshman Zearrick Matthews (5-9, 162) into the fire. Inexperience and size made him a dream match-up for most offensive coordinators, but getting picked made Matthews wise. He must watch out, though, for true freshman DeQuan Bembry (5-10, 185), who was highly-rated and has a little more size to throw on the field.

The passing game will clearly make a dent on Marshall’s games in 2007. With the amazing depth at receiver and tight-end, combined with a talented and mostly-veteran line, Morris’ job should be much less harried and complicated than it was last year. This is, quite simply, a dangerous offense which will become positively explosive if a solid starter emerges at tailback.

Expect to see a lot of vertical routes in 2007 – offensively and defensively. The defensive front-four will be small but, due to solid rotations, relatively fresh and active. The linebackers are big-hitters who will take away opponents’ interior threats. That leaves the backfield to attack. Matthews’ experience will reduce his vulnerability, but he cannot learn to be bigger. Safety CJ Spillman (6-0, 193; Jr) will have to be ever-vigilant in support of his “little buddies” at cornerback.

College football betting enthusiasts note that Marshall has been assigned no NCAA football odds to win the national championship or its Conference USA. However, expect the Herd to finish behind the likes of Southern Miss, Central Florida, Houston, Tulsa and, this year, even SMU.

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