NCAA Football Preview – Marshall Thundering Herd

Only Rice matched Marshall in the conference in terms of number of wins, with an identical 10-4 record, including 7-1 in the conference, but the Owls did it in the West Division. Marshall was defeated by Rice, 41-24, in the C-USA Championship in Houston.

Doc Holliday returns for his fifth season as head coach, and retains a strong number of starting players from a year ago. At the core of his lineup is, once again, star quarterback Rakeem Cato, who helped the offense amass an average greater than 500 yards per game.

The Thundering Herd dominated the first two games of the 2013 season by racking up a combined 107 points – a 52-14 win over Miami (OH) in Week 1 and a 55-0 victory over Gardner-Webb the second week. Marshall nearly pulled off a win over ACC power Virginia Tech in Week 4, but dropped the contest 29-21 in three overtimes. The rest of the way, Marshall lost just one game to Middle Tennessee (51-49) until the title bout with Rice in December.

The Herd were perfect at home with a 6-0 record, and attained a winning mark against non-conference opponents, 3-2.

2014 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: It all starts with Cato under center. The senior quarterback had an unbelievable season statistically in 2013, throwing for 3,916 yards and 39 touchdowns to just nine interceptions. He was one pass attempt shy of reaching the 500 mark. Cato showed his versatility by rushing for 201 yards and six touchdowns as well.

Not only does Marshall get the multi-talented Cato back, but the Herd retain Cato’s top receiver in Tommy Shuler, who caught an impressive 106 passes for 1,165 yards and 10 touchdowns. Although Gator Hoskins and his 15 receiving touchdowns are no longer with the program, Cato will still have secondary weapons in receivers Craig Wilkins (408 yards, two touchdowns) and tight end Devon Johnson (218 yards, two touchdowns). The Herd also add talented freshman receiver Angelo Jean-Louis, a 6-foot, 175-pound pass catcher who could vie for a starting spot.

At running back, Marshall loses Essray Taliaferro, who dashed for 1,163 yards and 10 scores in 2013. But behind Taliaferro there was plenty of underclassman depth. Steward Butler is the favorite to win the starting spot. Butler rushed for 777 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Between Butler and Cato, Marshall has plenty of backfield firepower.

Two of Marshall’s five offensive lineman from 2013 will need to be replaced for 2014. Sebastian Johansson, Chris Jasperse and Clint Van Horn will likely reprise their starting roles, but with the possibility of some shifting of positions.

DEFENSE: To make matters worse for any C-USA team or any program on Marshall’s schedule, the Thundering Herd also bring back eight starting defenders from a year ago. Marshall finished the 2013 season with 32 team sacks and 102 tackles for loss and allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete just 51.6 percent of their passes.

The top three tacklers return from last season in Evan McKelvey (97 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss), Neville Hewitt (85 tackles) and Jermaine Holmes (84 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss). McKelvey, Hewitt and Holmes could comprise the linebacking corps in 2014, but will get a push from junior D.J. Hunter for a starting spot.

In the defensive backfield, free safety A.J. Leggett, who led the team with four interceptions, returns, as does cornerback Darryl Roberts, the team leader in pass breakups with seven. Of the top 12 tacklers from the 2013 season, only one will not be returning to the program this upcoming year.

“We need to be a dominant defense,” defensive coordinator Chuck Heater said. “We need to show that no matter what happens on the other side of the ball, we can win the game. Do we have the talent to do that? Yes. Will we? We’ll see.”

SPECIAL TEAMS: Place kicker Justin Haig, who converted 11-of-16 field goals a year ago with a long of 42 yards, is back once again for his senior season. Punter Tyler Williams is also a returning factor for the Herd. The junior sent away 56 punts in 2013 and averaged a distance of 42.2 yards per punt with a long of 65 yards. Special teams is yet another area Marshall doesn’t need to be concerned about.

OUTLOOK: All the pieces are here once again for Marshall to make another run at the C-USA title. The main difference this season may be the competition. Will any team challenge the Herd for the conference crown? That remains to be seen, but Rice has taken steps backward after losing key members of a powerful offense.

“I always felt like we’d have the opportunity to play for championships, to win championships, and it’s exciting we’re at that point here,” Holliday said. “Now we’ve just got to go take care of business and work hard to reach our goals and dreams.”

There will be some adjustment periods for players taking over a starter’s role. Butler, for example, saw plenty of time at running back in 2013, but still received 134 fewer carries than Taliaferro. There’s expected to be somewhat of a learning curve going from a part-time back to a feature one. The important thing for Marshall is that Cato is returning and will hopefully remain healthy. He is the key to offensive success in Huntington.

For the second year in a row, the Thundering Herd will open their season against Miami (OH), but this time they’ll make the trip to face the RedHawks. The rest of Marshall’s non-conference schedule is relatively non-threatening, with games against Rhode Island (an FCS team that finished 3-9 in 2013) and another Mid-American opponent in Ohio at home, then a trip back to Ohio to face Akron. The Herd will start their conference schedule Oct. 4 against newcomer Old Dominion.

Aside from a matchup against Middle Tennessee and some other tough Conference- USA competition, the Thundering Herd should be the frontrunners to once again take the East Division title, and could improve on their 10-4 record from last season.

Categorized in: NCAA Football