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Familiar faces spotted in Houston
In a soggy parking lot overflowing in Red and White, familiar faces were spotted.
They were too far away for the old "Hey coach!" bellow, so a tedious game of catchup ensued. Turns out, both the reporter and those familiar faces were steered toward the same destination.
Former Marshall University assistant football coach Dwayne Nunez and wife Courtney visited with long-time friends at Saturday's Big Green Scholarship Foundation tailgate. Nunez, who tutored Marshall wide receivers from 1999-2004, was greeted by booster Alan Thacker, kicking off a different type of catchup.
"Hey coach, how's it going?" well-wishers asked over and again.
Nunez now coaches high school football about 35 minutes from Houston.
"It's great to see Alan and those guys," Nunez said. "I haven't seen them in a while."
Like former Marshall defensive coordinator Jim Collins two weeks ago in Orlando, Nunez greeted the Thundering Herd Friday night at the team hotel. He and Courtney, a Huntington native, followed up Saturday afternoon, chatting up old times and receiving updates on friends and family prior to Houston's 35-28 victory over the Herd.
Wideouts Darius Watts, Josh Davis and Denero Marriott formed a record-setting trio under Nunez, who reached five bowls in six seasons under former Herd coach Bobby Pruett.
"We won a bunch of games and that was a lot of fun, but we made a lot of friends," Nunez said. "And Courtney's from Huntington so we get back there."
GOOD RIDDANCE: Bernard Morris' 32-yard touchdown strike to Emmanuel Spann with just 32 ticks remaining marked Marshall's first opening quarter touchdown of 2007.
For just the second time this season, the Herd led entering the second quarter. One week earlier, Marshall owned a 3-0 edge over East Carolina.
"That was good because we hadn't done that this season," Spann said.
Spann later added a spectacular one-handed grab, setting up a second half touchdown. Those big plays weighed against a tipped-Morris pass that caromed off Spann's facemask. Credit Spann for speaking of the good and the cringe-worthy at length.
"I'll probably hear about that tonight," Spann said of the latter. "But in the end I made some big plays. I treat it like you're only as good as your last play, your last catch and my last catch was pretty impressive.
"But I'm still going to hear about the one in the face."
On the flip side of snapping trends, Anthony Binswanger's run of eight straight made field goals ended in the second quarter when his 47-yard attempt sailed right. He again missed right minutes later, this time from 42 yards.
INTERCEPTION LEADER: Senior defensive lineman Ryland Wilson took over as the unlikeliest of team interception leaders late in the first quarter, tipping a pass to himself.
"That's kind of crazy to see a d-lineman (leading)," said Wilson, who added seven tackles. "But I'll take it."
Wilson's second pickoff in three games snapped a three-way tie for Marshall's team lead. He upped Marshall's season interception total to four, by far the fewest in Conference USA.
NOTES: Senior wide receiver Marcus Fitzgerald earned his first start of '07, blocking well and catching one pass for 11 yards. ... Marshall capped its road schedule winless at 0-6. The Herd can earn a home split at 3-3 with a victory Saturday against UAB.
Anthony Hanshew covers Marshall football for The Herald-Dispatch. He can be reached at 526-2766. His e-mail address is hanshew@herald-dispatch.com.
