For the first time since the tragedy of Nov 14, 1970 the Marshall University football program will be undergoing a complete rebuild from the ground-up. An all new roster of players and now part of the Independent Division, the University will be returning as the Young Thundering Herd once more when the boys take the field each week in Kelly green and White.

The coaching staff is busy putting together their recruiting schedule for the upcoming season so keep it locked in The Zone for more info as Commitment Day is fast approaching!

We are..... MARSHALL!

As we ramp up to next weeks Commitment Day it's time to have a look at the coaching staff now that it's been filled out with this years graduate assistants:



Doc Holliday - Head Coach (84)
Coach Holliday returns for his 8th season patrolling the Marshall sideline and brings with him a
53-37 record. He has proven in the past that he can get the best out of his recruits, with back to back Division and Conference titles in '13 & '14 but now with a whole new crop of players it'll be an uphill battle against the who's-who of college programs.

Chuck Heater - Defensive Coordinator (83) / Secondary (55)
The former Michigan Wolverine has been a staple of coaching in college football since 1973. Last season was one to forget as the Herd defensive unit gave up more than 200 rushing yrds/game & 35pts/game culminating in a 60-6 drubbing at the hands of Western Kentucky. Here's hoping a new crop of recruits will reignite the coaching fire that has sustained 'Heater' throughout his long career.

Bill Legg - Offensive Coordinator (83) / Tight Ends (70)
Last season the injury bug took a real bite out of the Herd offense and Legg did everything in his power to keep the unit firing but he ran out of bubble gum & duct tape by the end of the season. In spite of that, the offense still managed over 100 rushing & 240 passing ypg. Coach is fired up and ready to get started on the upcoming season and prove that last year was just a blip on the radar of an otherwise stellar career thus far.

Balance of the coaching staff:
Adam Fuller - Asst. Head Coach / Linebackers (62) / Special Teams Coordinator (50)
Todd Goebbel - Co-Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks (80)
Dave Dunn - Recruiting Coordinator / Defensive Analyst
Alex Mirabal - Offensive Line (81)
Pepe Pearson - Running Backs (79)
J.C. Price - Defensive Tackles (70)
Dallas Baker - Wide Receivers (75)
Mark Gale - Asst. AD for Football Operations
Graham Hobbs - Off. Graduate Asst.
Trevor Mendelson - Off. Graduate Asst.
Cornell Brown - Defensive Ends (70)
Cortez Carter - Defensive Graduate Assistant
Mark Powell - Defensive Graduate Assistant

2017 Seating Chart Now Released - Get Your Season Tickets Today!

The recruiting trips have been complete for some time now as Coach Holliday and his staff have been waiting on pins and needles to see who would be the first to sign on to history and join our Huntington home.

[5:37am] We didn't have to wait long as one of the nation's top recruits said Yes to etching his name in the history books, and hopefully will help re-write the record books as well.
DT/DE Gregory Howard - 5 Star

Early this morning we all watched as Gregory Howard put his name on the dotted line. Gregory comes to us via LaSalle College in Wyndmoor, PA. He will anchor the middle of the D-Line and it's thought he may also be seeing some time at the End position as well. Gregory is joining us as a TRUE Freshman this season.

[12:07pm]We had to wait until the ribs were coming off the BBQ at lunch-time to see our next recruit:
RB Ray Ferguson - 5 Star

Ray comes to us from the top high school team in Canada, the Mount Douglas Rams. Hailing from Victoria, BC Ray is a rare Canadian footballer that was courted by most of the top teams in the NCAA. Ray will be a RS Freshman in the fall.

[1:47pm]The ribs were barely bones on a plate before we got that call that another player will be making the move to Huntington:
TE John Amaya - 5 Star

John is from that hotbed of football, Trinity High School in Euless, TX. As a veteran of the Friday Night Lights he will certainly bring some big-game ability to campus, along with a love of basketball. John will be entering the season as a RS Freshman.

[8:07pm] Finally, late tonight we got word that another player has joined the Marshall football family:
LB Richard Davis - 3 Star

From Palo Alto, CA and Palo Alto High School we welcome Richard Davis. Richard was on most nights the only bright spot on an otherwise quite average Viking defense. He suffered a knee injury in their second to last game and played through it to get the victory they needed to keep their playoff hopes alive, however he was unable to play in the regular season finale which saw them on the wrong side of a 31-10 score. The coaches here believe he could be a real bright spot moving forward, and Richard will join the squad as a TRUE Freshman this season.


[11:35pm] We await the teams next group of players; so keep it locked here for all the breaking news!

[5:45am] Day 2 of signings got started with a *BANG* today as Marshall University has a new pivot. Following in the footsteps of Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich and most recently Rakeem Cato the torch has been passed to:
QB Larry Ricketts - 3 Star

This dual-threat QB comes from Long Beach Poly High School where he helped the Jackrabbits to an 8-2 season. Content to sit in the pocket and pick you apart, or get out into space and expose defenders 1-on-1 he will be giving Defensive Coordinators fits for the next number of years. Larry will be a RS Freshman this season.

[11:59am] We have news to announce! The secondary begins to take shape with the signing of:
CB Lewis McGinnis - 3 Star

A young building block moves into position with the addition of Lewis on the island. The native of Lawrence, KS was at his very best this season with 14INTs to go along with 12 passes broken up. Lofty totals to live up to, but as he grows with a young squad we're hopeful that he can excel at the highest level of the game. Lewis joins us as a TRUE Freshman.

[1:52pm] A surprise transfer has been announced as we welcome a former Washington Husky:
WR Ronald Stewart - 3 Star

Ronald had has his ups and downs with the Husky program. From his meteoric rise opening the 2014 season with a thrilling 98-yard kick-off return for a touchdown but injuries and off-field problems have plagued him through his time in Seattle. Most recently he was asked to leave the team following a campus hazing ritual gone awry which led to 3 arrests and the relocation of a family of beavers. If Ronald can reach his potential he will surely pay off big for the coaches, but he does carry the risk of hurting locker room chemistry. Ronald will be a TRUE Sophmore this season.

[9:09pm] Late tonight we have learned through sources inside the Herd program that the first member of the OLine has signed on, please welcome:
RT Zane Dunlop - 3 Star

Zane was formerly with the Clemson and had trouble with his academic eligibility which has been sorted out after leaving the Tigers and spending last season bringing his grades up at Davidson County Community College in Thomasville, NC. With a number of years of his eligibility left, Zane is eager to get his collegiate career back on track and the opportunity to do that here was a perfect fit. Zane will be a RS Junior season.

We're expecting to see the roster fill out much faster in the coming days so keep it locked on here for all things Herd.

Herd, Herd, Herd, have your Herd the word? Everybody's talking about the Herd!...

Now that the recruiting season is concluded we can still expect a few walk-ins to fill out the roster, but for the most part we now know who will be suiting up in Kelly Green and White this coming season.

We will take the next few days to examine just who will be representing Marshall this season and today we will be getting started with the Offense:

QB
QB Larry Ricketts - 3 Star
QB John Dunbar - 2 Star

Both QBs are young and it wouldn't be a big surprise if Dunbar (with an extra 2 years of experience) wins the job out of camp. The coaching staff should be hoping that by the mid-way point of the season that Ricketts will understand the offense well enough to come in and grow the the rest of his young teammates.

RB/FB
RB Ray Ferguson - 5 Star
RB Graham Gonzalez - 3 Star

Gonzales comes into camp at the top of the depth chart, but he will be pushed early for playing time. They say competition brings out the best in a player and it will be an absolute dog-fight for the starting HB position. The better receiving option may win out as the coaches are looking to find a 3-down back that won't be a liability blocking or receiving out of the backfield.

FB Thomas Helms - 2 Star

Helms is the elder statesman in the huddle and will be counted to to be an extra coach out there to calm this young team and to get the 'dirty' yards to keep a drive alive. If he can keep Ferguson & Gonzalez free from the opposing linebackers they could push this team to alot of wins.

WR/TE
WR Ronald Stewart - 3 Star
WR Andres Emert - 3 Star
WR Christopher Bakke - 2 Star
WR Jeffery Brandt - 2 Star
WR David Steward - 1 Star

Stewart & Emert come into camp as the most polished receivers on the roster and will draw the best Corners from the opposing teams. Brandt and Steward are possession receives that have yet to really blossom thus far in their careers. The X-Factor will be Bakke, a rookie who will be converting from a star high school running back into a receiver. He will need to be better than the other teams Nickel corner to put the defense under pressure and open things up for the other receivers.

TE John Amaya - 5 Star
TE Willie Waiters - 1 Star

John Amaya, who arrives in Huntington amid tremendous fanfare as one of the top TE recruits in the entire country, will have every opportunity to contribute. He is a rare athlete who is stout in the run game setting the edge and demolishing linebackers or running by outmatched Safety's down the seam for a quick-6 in the passing game. Remember that name - you'll be hearing it alot this season. Waiters will be expected to improved his blocking before he gets a chance to make an impact on the squad.

O-Line
LT Michael White - 2 Star

LG James Artrip - 3 Star
LG Luke Heard - 3 Star

C Jonathan Luke - 4 Star
C Herbert Campbell - 3 Star

RG Michael Conroy - 4 Star
RG David Smith - 2 Star

RT Zane Dunlop - 3 Star
RT Tommy Burton - 1 Star

The right-side of the line is much better established at this point as the veterans will anchor the line and get the assignment to keep the QBs upright and clean until the end of the game. There will be alot of yelling from Coach Smith during camp as he tried to get his boys on the same page. Continuity matters the most along the Offensive Line and they will want to gel in the 2 preseason games before the bullets start flying for real. The backups will be counted on to step in when needed as injuries are bound to hit and when they do it'll be next man up!


Stay tuned for the Defensive preview tomorrow!

Today we have Part 2 of our look at the roster for the Herd and we will be examining the Defense and Special Teams units:

EDGE
LDE Ray Rumfelt - 3 Star
LDE David Barksdale - 1 Star
LDE Roland Anderson - 1 Star

RDE Maurice Hill - 2 Star
RDE Robert Hayman - 1 Star

Rumfelt and Hill project as serviceable edge players both capable of rushing the QB and snuffing out the opposition runners. This unit as a whole will dictate how the upcoming season will turn out as the young secondary learns the speed of the college game, they will need to have pressure from the front-4 to reduce the time they are exposed in coverage. If this unit has less than 4 sacks/game it's going to be a turbulent season for the rest of the defense.

DT
DT Gregory Howard - 5 Star
DT Clinton Canterbury - 1 Star
DT Robert Duncan - 1 Star

Everything starts in the middle for this defense and the anchor on the defensive line will be Howard, the much-sought-after stud tackle. He will be expected to penetrate on every down and have the QB seeing ghosts by the end of the game. Canterbury and Duncan will spell the big man when necessary.

LB
SLB Jeffrey Cline - 3 Star
SLB Eddie Parra - 2 Star
SLB Christopher Wright - 1 Star

Cline should be the started heading out of camp as he has the most obvious potential, however the 2 young guns will have their sights firmly set on forcing him to the bench. This might be one of the fiercest camp battles - keep an eye on this position!

MLB Richard Davis - 4 Star
MLB Johnny Bostic - 1 Star

Davis is the field general and will be patrolling sideline-to-sideline bringing the fans to their feet all season long; punishing in the open field and an expert pass rusher with a full compliment of moves. His understudy will be brought along slowly and given time to learn the intricacies of the defensive structure, but might find a home on special teams.

WLB Morton Perez - 3 Star

The teams' only real cover linebacker, Perez is someone that will be striking fear in the hearts of receives across the division. Do not come across the middle with you head down when he's around or it'll be separated from your body! Comfortable in every coverage scheme and stout against the run. This kid could be a star in a few years.

SECONDARY
CB Bradley Abron - 3 Star
CB Lewis McGinnis - 3 Star
CB Larry Anderson - 1 Star

Abron and McGinnis are expected to start on the corners, but word of a late hamstring tweak has rumors swirling that McGinnis won't be ready for the start of the season. If he can't go, the pressure will be on Anderson who has a few years under his best, but hasn't started in a college game to this point in his career.

SS Bobby Osborne - 2 Star
SS Matthew Alford - 1 Star

What you see is what you get with the Strong Safety position in this defense. They will come up and punch you in the mouth and steal your lunch money. New Secondary Coach Billy Hobson will try to coach up his boys on the nuances of coverage, but he may be better off using a pressure package instead of exposing them in coverage.

FS George Grizzard - 2 Star
FS Joseph Kittrell - 2 Star

Free Safety is the most veteran position on the whole team and they players have seen much in their young careers. Though neither has started before, both have learned the hard lessons that can only come through experience and will benefit from the new position coach. Both possess adequate speed and size, which should be enough to support the young corners.

SPECIAL TEAMS
K/KOS Ronald Osborne - 4 Star
P James McClellan - 4 Star
KH John Dunbar - 1 Star
LS Jonathan Luke - 4 Star

If the Herd can get the ball from Luke to Dunbar without incident (a rare occurrence thus far), then Osborne can be counted on to drill it between the uprights. He is blessed with incredible accuracy and has nerves of steel. McClellan is one of the best young punters around and will be kicking Marshall out of danger and, more-often-than-not, pinning the opposition deep. He may also be taking over for Dunbar as the full-time holder during FG tries and the latter has been fighting the ball and never has been able to get on the same page with Osborne. Luke is an excellent long snapper and Amaya can fill in as well, so there should be no complaints about the length of time it takes for the ball to get back there.

We look forward to seeing the boys on the field for the first time this week when they visit Death Valley and the Clemson Tigers!

Scrimmage #1: Marshall Thundering Herd @ Clemson Tigers

L 41-28

We got our first glimpse of the new-look Herd and it was a mixed bag. The starters only played the first half and came out down 28-21 after a very vanilla gameplan on both sides of the ball. Ronald Stewart put on a show with an electrifying 99-yard kick-return touchdown, and the defensive line was able to put on some pressure without much in the way of additional pressure from the second or third levels.

Larry Ricketts looked every bit the red shirt Freshman that he is completing on 50% of his passes (9 for 18), but he did have 2TDs and a passer rating of 124.55. If the coaches can help him out by calling fewer complex route combinations that should help the offense extend drives and give the defense some rest.

The linebackers were a force today as Davis and Parra each had a game-high 7 tackles. The starting defensive unit had a number of costly penalties on 3rd-and-long plays that lead directly to points; Coach Martinez will NOT be happy about that and I'm sure there will be some extra wind-sprints after practice Monday.

It was very disappointing to see Marshall cough up 3 fumbles (2 by QB John Dunbar), all of them in the second half. Dunbar was 6-of-16 and was sacked 4 times and it looks like he's having a tough time adjusting to a new scheme and a new batch of team-mates.

The coaches should consider giving Ray-Ray Ferguson some additional touches next game and see if he is ready for prime-time. He amassed 97yards and 1TD on 4 touches (2 rush, 2 receptions) and also chipped in with a tackle on special teams.

The coaches didn't seem overly concerned over 1 preseason game, but they did acknowledge that there is much work left to be done. The next hurdle will be this weekend as Marshall University will welcome the Kansas Jayhawks to Joan C. Edwards Stadium. We look forward to our fans making things difficult for the visitors and hope to see some better effort in this weeks match.

We had a chance to speak to Doc Holliday, the Head Coach of the Herd, after practice today and he spoke about the young Tight End turning heads, and the anchor on the defensive line.

Follow this link for the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55j2HqRGLCI

Last night's scrimmage was well attended by the Marshall Maniacs

Scrimmage #2: Kansas Jayhawks @ Marshall Thundering Herd

L 27-24 OT

Marshall University hosted it's first inter-university scrimmage of the summer, and it was a barn-burner. Each squad only played their starters for the first half and Kansas QB David Maillet was almost unstoppable! He only had 2 incomplete passes for the entire half and led the Jayhawks into halftime with a 14-7 lead. The Herd defense played much better than in last weeks game as they only gave up 1 prolonged drive which was aided by key penalties.

Larry Ricketts had another strong game as he has made Coach Holliday's decision to start the season with Ricketts (13 of 18, 1TD, 0INT) under center look like a stroke of genius. He capped of his final series before the half with a 96-yard drive to cut the Jayhawk lead in half.

Coach Martinez had made a concerted effort to shut down the run and the defense responded. "Marek is going to get his yards, we just wanted him to earn it and make sure there were no homeruns. But when you take something away, a good team will make adjustments and we didn't have an answer for the short passing game today. It didn't help that we let them off the hook with 3 more penalties on 3rd down when we had them coming off the field; if the Captains don't get a handle on this then we coaches are going to have to make some changes and you'll be seeing some big names on the bench."

The lone bright-spot in the second half was QB John Dunbar who rebounded nicely after last weeks troubles with 2TDs and 50% completion rate. He also hit star TE John Amaya with 1-minute to play with a crossing play over the middle and he turned it upfield, broke 2 would-be Jayhawk tacklers and took it 45-yards to the house for the game-winning score. Unfortunately back-up LT Dennis Jones took a selfish penalty behind the play which resulted in the score being called back.

Hats-off to phenom walk-on CB Stephen Hassel who secured the teams first interception of the scrimmage season. He may have played himself onto the team and will be a main-stay on special teams and subbing in for spot duty.

With another chapter written in the Thunder Herd book of 2017 we are learning more about the resilience of these players and coaches; we look forward to getting an extended look at the first-teamers this weekend as the Herd rambles south to the everglades as they take on the Florida Gaters from The Swamp.