Bet on College Football - Marshall Herd 2007 Preview
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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.
With NCAA football just a couple months away,
the BetUS sportsbook already has tons of college
football Futures betting available for those
of us who can't wait. Bet on the Heisman winner,
Conference and Divisional winners and, of course,
the 2008 BCS National Championship winner. Bet
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in the Future / props section!
Posted on 8/8/2007 5:09:57 PM
Bet on College Football - Marshall Herd 2007 Preview
By Brock Murphy
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