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MARSHALL SPORTS
Herd ready for real football
Marshall University sophomore defensive lineman Michael Janac lifts teammate Vinny Curry off his feet during one-on-one tackling exercises at the Herd’s afternoon practice on Aug. 6 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. In the interest of avoiding injuries, head coach Mark Snyder and his staff decided to scale back full-contact drills. While the tactic has worked in keeping the Herd healthy, players have been left hungry for the physical contact of football.
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HUNTINGTON -- Seasons change, but the talk remains the same.
Throughout the country, college football players heave a collective sigh with the close of preseason camp. Reason No. 1 is that teammates finally break from colliding into each other and now can set sights on an opponent.
"We're tired of hitting each other," is a quote that surely will be uttered over and again this week.
Not so much at Marshall University.
It's not that aggressively attacking Illinois State isn't welcomed. But for this Thundering Herd squad, it's not about hitting somebody else, it's about hitting somebody, anybody, period.
Full-contact drills were scaled back this month, a strategy that proved successful with a healthy Marshall team set to march into Joan C. Edwards Stadium Saturday. The Herd and Illinois State kick off at 4:30 p.m. and the game will be televised by WOWK (Huntington-Charleston), WVNS (Beckley-Bluefield) and WBOY (Clarksburg).
Beyond isolated periods of live hitting, Marshall mostly thudded its way through camp, engaging ball carriers without taking them to the ground.
Safety C.J. Spillman, a preseason All-Conference USA selection, is more than ready for some real football. Spillman led the Thundering Herd with 131 tackles last season, ranking 12th in the nation at 10.92 stops a game.
"For the fact that we didn't get to do it in camp, I feel like that's something we're really looking forward to," Spillman said. "That's something that you can't describe.
"It's just a feeling that gets you going. And seeing that we haven't been able to hit people on our own team the way we're going to hit in a game. ... I don't know; it's just an indescribable feeling."
Spillman and the defense will be tested early by the NCAA Division I-AA Redbirds. ISU's run-first offensive mode is powered by tailback Geno Blow, who topped 100 rushing yards in five straight games last year prior to a season-ending hand injury.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior rushed for 778 yards and eight touchdowns in nine games in 2007, including a 116-yard performance against Missouri. Marshall allowed an average of 191 rushing yards last season, but players are eager to operate Herd defensive coordinator Rick Minter's new system.
More importantly, they're ready to hit.
"We're ready to get turned loose completely for a full game and no holds barred and just fly around and hit people," Marshall defensive end John Jacobs said. "We enjoy not having to beat up on each other a lot. We enjoyed this camp a lot. But we're definitely ready to hit."
Ditto, said Spillman, and then some.
"I look at it as an adrenaline rush," the senior said. "When we play against our own teammates, we're not going to take the blows that we're going to give to other teams."
Which leads to a slightly-tweaked first game storyline from past seasons. Instead of looking forward to hitting somebody in a different-colored uniform, it's just the month-in-waiting release of hitting anybody for four quarters.
"Oh, most definitely," Spillman said. "That's my first thing. Anytime you start a game, you've just got to get that first hit. Once you get that first hit, you go into, I guess, a zone.
"I know after my first hit, I'm going to be ready to roll."
Spillman's tackle total was 41 more Marshall's second-leading tackler, linebacker Maurice Kitchens. Still, it was the play Spillman didn't make that brought him attention during camp. Tailback Darius Marshall bounced off a tackle attempt by Spillman and sprinted 49 yards to the end zone.
Spillman doesn't appear overly concerned that a single preseason gaffe will carry over to Illinois State.
"I just didn't wrap up," he said. "And I guess I got knocked off to the side. It's football, things happen. You can't make every tackle.
"But it's not going to happen in a game. Nah, nah. It was just practice."
