Football: A Look at the Rockets' Seventh Opponent - Marshall
8/25/2000 12:00:00 PM | Football
Aug. 25, 2000
The memories are still very fresh in the minds of Marshall football fans everywhere. First there was the run through the 1999 regular season with an undefeated record. Then the dramatic, last-second, win over Western Michigan in the Mid-American Conference Championship game. There was all the national acclaim that heralded the accomplishments of senior quarterback Chad Pennington, and then the triumphant performance in the Motor City Bowl which produced a top 10 national ranking.
Just a few months later, Pennington is now wowing the coaching staff of the New York Jets and nine of his Marshall teammates are littered across the rosters of NFL teams across the country.
With the start of August, there begins a new era in Marshall football. The most successful team of the 1990s must now set out to prove to the world that the best is still yet to come.
"Our deal here is that we try to improve a little each year," coach Bob Pruett said. "Hopefully, we will be able to continue doing that. Certainly, in the year 2000, we are very ambitious. We are playing the toughest football schedule we've ever played."
Road trips to both Michigan State and North Carolina in the first month of the season affirm the difficult slate the Herd must face to start the new millennium, but the road to a fourth consecutive MAC title will be fraught with danger.
The Herd will have to visit a trio of league foes in Akron, Toledo and Bowling Green who would like to be the one to say they knocked Marshall off its perch. Throw in a road game against arch-rival Ohio, and home league dates against Buffalo, Western Michigan, Kent and Miami and it is easy to see why there will be no rest of the three-time league champions.
"I think that our league is a very strong league and, in this next millennium, we will see just how strong this league is," Pruett said. "The Mid-American Conference is a coaches league. It is very well coached, from top to bottom, and it has better players than most people think.
"I think we have a very strong league and a league that is very capable of competing nation wide."
But before he and his coaching staff concern themselves with the opponents on the 2000 schedule, their focus will be on fill the holes left by a group of seniors who were responsible for 50 victories in their four seasons at Marshall.
Coaching Staff Goes Through Changes
While there will be plenty of young players vying for playing time this year, there are also several new, and some not so new, faces working the Marshall sidelines.
Gone are Marty Galbraith, Gunter Brewer and Tim Billings from the 1999 staff. In there place are Kevin Kelly, Mark McHale and Dwayne Nunez.
Kelly spent the 1999 season at Syracuse after serving as the Herd defensive coordinator for the three previous seasons. He returns to that role for the 2000 campaign. Nunez, who worked with the Herd receivers as a graduate assistant last year, has now taken on those coaching duties on a full-time basis.
McHale is the only new member of the staff. He is a veteran of 26 years in football, at every level from high school to Division I to professional. He brings his vast array of knowledge in to work as the Herd's offensive line coach.
Other members of the Marshall staff have seen their responsibilities changed slightly. Ed Zaunbrecher, who came in last summer as quarterbacks coach, has taken over as offensive coordinator while Bill Wilt, who works with the Herd defensive tackles, has the added duties of special teams coach.
"Coach Zaunbrecher called all the plays from the pressbox last year since Coach Galbraith was the offensive line coach," Pruett said. "All of that comes off the game plan, so we felt that, since he was the quarterbacks coach and was dealing with the offense in such a manner that this might be the easiest transition we have ever had."
Pennington Not the Only Missing Element
While the loss of a record-setting quarterback is always a concern, there are other holes to be filled on offense for Marshall. Of utmost importance will be filling the thee offensive line spots vacated by Mike Guilliams, Jason Starkey and Irv Dotson.
First year line coach Mark McHale, whose stops on the college coaching carousel have included Louisville, Southern Miss, East Carolina, South Carolina, Appalachian State and West Virginia, had a solid group of players to mix and match during spring drills, giving him a solid handle on things going into two-a-day practice.
"We had a lot of depth last year and were able to play a lot of offensive linemen," Pruett said. "Our offensive line is very athletic, we just need some of those young linemen to step up and show some poise."
During spring practice sophomore Steve Sciullo, who started every game in 1999 at right tackle, was flipped to left tackle. He will be joined on the left side by senior Scott Harper and Steve Content, who was switched from center to guard during the spring. The right side of the line will have senior Jimmy Cabellos back at guard while senior James Simons has solidified his position as the starter at tackle.
The center position has been the most difficult to fill. Content and sophomore Jeff Edwards entered the spring in a battle for the job, but sophomore K.J. Greer moved over from guard and now has the edge as the team enters August two-a-days.
But, just because they came out of spring practice as starters, does not mean there won't be a battle for jobs. Junior Jimmy Meeks along with sophomores Paul Hardy, Eric Krauss, Mark Gollihue, Joey Stepp and Jonathan Westfall, will all be pushing for playing time, along with redshirt freshman Joe Orsini.
And, just in case the spring does not answer all of the offensive line questions, the Herd signed seven offensive line prospects who will arrive on campus in August in search of playing time.
"That is a double edged sword," Pruett said. "You would like for some of those guys you signed to come in here and beat people out because that would make you a better football team, but you also hope that the guys we have are better than the freshmen we signed."
Battle for Quarterback Job Just Beginning
For three weeks in March, the battle to replace Pennington under center focused on a pair of sophomores, a junior and a redshirt freshman. Come August, three true freshmen will enter the fray, giving the Herd a lucky seven to choose from.
The two sophomores, Byron Leftwich and Stephen Galbraith, have limited experience, but the other two spring candidates, Chuck Spearman and Sean Smith, have never taken a snap in a college game.
"The spot is open," Pruett said. "We signed three incoming quarterbacks, plus we have four guys back for the position. It will be interesting this spring to see where we are and how things shake out."
Leftwich, who entered the spring as the heir-apparent, saw action in three games last year before a tonsillectomy, combined with ankle problems, put him on the shelf. He received a medical redshirt for 1999, which would leave him with three years of eligibility. He was the most impressive during the spring game, completing 18 of 26 passes for 155 yards.
Galbraith, a transfer from Memphis who sat out the 1999 season, saw action in five games for the Tigers in 1998, including one as a starter. Galbraith threw for 116 yards and a touchdown in a relief appearance against Minnesota, earning a start the next week against Houston. In that game he threw two first quarter TD passes, including one for 92 yards, before being removed from the game. Memphis saw a 14-7 lead turn into a 35-14 loss after Galbraith left the game.
Smith has been in the program for three years, but he has never taken a snap in a game. Spearman, a Booneville, Miss., product, is the rawest of the returning quartet.
The incoming freshmen all have high qualifications, but lack college seasoning. Andrew English may be the most polished of the two, having been named All-State in Kentucky as a senior and in Tennessee as a junior. He played at three schools in three years, which means he should be able to handle anything the coaches throw at him.
The other two freshmen, Stan Hill of Tupelo, Miss, and Kenny Irby of Dale City, Va., both were highly touted coming out of high school.
Running Game Is In Good Hands
No Doug Chapman, no Llow Turner, no problem for the Herd offense. Even with the loss of more than 1,000 yards rushing, the Herd should be solid again in the backfield. Sophomore Chanston Rogers, who rushed for 243 yards on just 58 carries last year, is expected to take over as the work-horse of the backfield.
Rogers missed much of spring practice after suffering a knee injury early that resulted in knee surgery. The coaches, and trainers, expect him to be ready in time for the season-opener.
Behind him will be a group of talented players just waiting for an opportunity. Chief among the other potential ground game stars is sophomore Brandon Carey, who sat out the 1999 season to focus on academics.
"We are looking forward to Chanston Rogers and Brandon Carey stepping up," Pruett said. " I think Chanston will be fine. I think Brandon gives us another dimension because he is very elusive. He has great speed, great hands, I think he will be a great receiver. He can do a lot of things to make you miss. He gives you a lot of the things that you look for at running back."
In addition to the two sophomores are a pair of seniors, Jim Pertee and Josh Lohri return to add depth. Both saw limited action in the backfield a year ago. Junior college signee Ernest Pitts may also jump right into the mix.
Strong Poole of Receivers Remain for Herd
Like the rest of the Marshall offense, the Herd receivers did take a major hit due to the graduation loss of speed burner James Williams. But, the good news is that this group may be the deepest, and most talented, on the entire team.
During the 1999 season the Herd's go-to man for Pennington often was Nate Poole. As a junior the Danville, Va., product hauled in 71 passes for 1,122 yards and nine touchdowns. But the Herd has the luxury of having three other senior receivers back for the 2000 campaign. That group - Lanier Washington, David Foye and John Cooper - combined to make 93 catches for 1,072 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Despite the returning experience, the Marshall coaches hope to see some of the younger players step into contributing roles.
"We have some young guys who need to show up, along with Cooper, Foye and Poole, our experienced guys," Pruett said. "We have Curtis Jones, Demetrius Doss, Steven Johnson and Chris Martin, and they all need to show up so that we can see what they can do. We want to see where they are and have some battles."
Martin was the most impressive of the bunch during the spring game, hauling in seven passes for 90 yards.
Another name to add to the mix at receiver for the Herd is senior Andrew Cowan. After spending the better part of last season as the No. 2 quarterback, Cowan has moved back to receiver, a position he manned during the 1997 and '98 seasons. He will also be the holder for the Herd on field goals and extra points.
Tight end is another spot that is well-stocked with experienced players. Juniors Greg Kellett and Scott Pettit both return to a position they largely shared in 1999. Keith Donahue and Will Fisher, a pair of red shirt freshmen, will also get a look as will sophomore Eddie Smolder, who also plays on the defensive line. Freshman signees Josh Cordell and Joe Deifel will also look to impress coaching this fall.
"We tried to do more with the tight ends in the offense last year than we had in past years," Pruett said. "We always try to have them involved, and now that we have more experience there than we have had, we will try to use them extensively."
Defense Not Resting On Past Laurels
Much as is the case on the offensive side of the ball, Defensive Coordinator Kevin Kelly has plenty of holes to fill on the defensive side. After a year at Syracuse, Kelly comes back to a defense that ranked in the top 10 in every statistical category in 1999.
The loss of five All-MAC performers aside, the 2000 Marshall defense could be the best the school has ever had.
"I think, defensively, we should be pretty good," Pruett said. "I don't anticipate much of a drop off there. We played a lot of guys there. I think all of our front four guys have a chance to really have outstanding years."
Plus, don't be surprised if there aren't a few new wrinkles added to the defensive unit for the coming season.
"We didn't change the system when he (Kelly) left," Pruett said. "He has a year's experience in another system and we think he can come back here and add the good parts of that system back into this system. He is a great leader and I think that we will just keep on clicking there."
Of the six starters returning for the Herd on defense, three are in the secondary, which ranked third in Division I-A last year in pass efficiency defense. The trio of returning starters - seniors Maurice Hines, Doug Hodges and Danny Derricott - will be joined by junior Michael "Kool-Aid" Owens in the starting lineup. But, where the Herd has a huge advantage is with the next group of players, all of which have talent.
"We feel really good about our secondary," Pruett said. "We played, and won, two ball games without Rogers Beckett last year. We think that Larry Davis and Michael Owens will do a really good job at safety.
"We are looking to Yancy Satterwhite, Chris Crocker and Terrance Tarpley to really fill in and add a lot of depth and nickle stuff in the secondary. We really feel good about where we are there."
Only one starter returns at linebacker - junior Max Yates - but the Herd also has a talented crew to replace departed seniors John Grace and Andre O'Neal. Seniors George Miller and Alonzo Jones will step into the starting roles, but sophomore Duran Smith and junior Sam Goines will also push for playing time. Trod Buggs, after spending the spring splitting time between running back and linebacker, should spend most of two-a-days backing up Yates in the middle.
"I think Max Yates, Alonzo Jones, Duran Smith and Sam Goines will be good," Pruett said. "I am very excited about our defensive football team. I think we have a chance to have an outstanding defense. We feel really good about our linebackers."
In the front four, seniors Jimmy Parker and Paul Toviessi return on the right side, but seniors Ralph Street and Antony Beckett will be installed as full-time starters for the first time in their careers. Street showed the kind of ability he has last year by leading the team in sacks while filling in for Ron Puggi.
Sophomores Bobby Addison, Judd Tabor and Orlando Washington will also be counted on to step up and contribute. Several other younger players will also get long looks during two-a-days, among them are redshirt freshmen Maurice McKinney, Luke Salmons and Nathan Leslie along with newcomers Kelvin Smith and Marlan Hicks.
"I think Antony Beckett will fit in very nicely, he played a lot at tackle last year and he has gotten bigger, and stronger and we think he has a lot of potential," Pruett said. "Jimmy Parker really did a good job last year and, of course, we are expecting a huge year out of Paul Toviessi. I think all of our front four guys have a chance to really have outstanding years."
Questions Over Special Teams Remain
Marshall's most unpredictable unit last year was it's special teams. The Herd was among the best in the nation in kickoff returns with James Williams, but near the bottom of all Division I in punt returns.
On the other side, punter Curtis Head did a fantastic job during his freshman season and will be expected to continue his outstanding work. Kickers J.R. Jenkins and Jason Witzack return and will battle for the kickoff and place kicking jobs. Both areas were somewhat inconsistent for the Herd in 1999. That duo will be joined in the fall by freshman Tony Pisano..
"We've got J.R. Jenkins and Witzack and we have Pisano, so we'll have to see," Pruett said. "I think we will be able to come up with a kicker."
As far as the return game is concerned, expect a variety of players - from backs to receivers to defensive backs - to get auditions for both the punt return and kickoff return spots.
The favorites for the job entering fall practice are Maurice Hines on punt returns and Terrance Tarpley on kickoffs. Chanston Rogers could also be back to return kicks, if his surgically repaired knee is up to the job.
