Marshall Predictions & 2008 NCAA Football Picks
The Marshall football program is over three years removed from their glory days. Mark Snyder hasn’t done much to make a believer out of their fans in his 3-year tenure. Snyder will have to replace QB Bernard Morris, who accounted for 3,637 total yards last season. So this looks to be another lost year for the Thundering Herd. Let’s see what the team at Info Plays thinks with their 2008 Marshall football predictions below.
Offense:
Bernard Morris is gone, opening the door for red shirt freshman Mark Cann at quarterback. Cann has the slight edge over sophomore Brian Anderson, junior Wesley Beardain and Georgia Tech transfer Jonathan Garner. Emmanuel Spann and Darius Passmore give whoever is the new quarterback a couple of talented targets at receiver. These guys combined for 70 catches and 1,192 receiving yards along with seven touchdowns last year. Tight end Cody Slate is one of the most talented at his position in the nation, catching a team-high 66 balls for 818 yards and five scores last season.
Sophomore receiver Bryant Milligan had a great spring and if Tavaris Thompson can get over the injury bug, the Here will have one of the best receiving corps in the conference. In the backfield, Darius Marshall led the team with 631 yards as a freshman. Coach Snyder compares Darius to his former standout running back Ahmad Bradshaw. There is a four-deep rotation in the backfield that includes seniors Chubb Small, Kevin Turner and red shirt freshman Terrell Edwards. Brian Leggett slides over from right guard to take the center spot vacated by Doug Legursky, arguably the Herd’s best lineman last year. Three of five starters in all return on the O-Line.
Defense:
Injuries last season decimated the defense, giving up 38.1 points and 188 yards rushing per game en route to an 0-6 start to the ‘07 season. Improvement should be big. The league’s Defensive Player of the Year in ‘06, end Albert McClellan, should be ready after missing the fall last season because of a knee injury. McClellan had 11 sacks and 19 tackles for loss in his ‘06 campaign. Defensive tackle Montel Glasco returns after missing all but the first three games last season. This veteran line features Ian Hoskins, who had 5.5 tackles for loss last year at linebacker. His skills fit better on the D-Line.
Maurice Kitchens will man the middle linebacker spot, after recording 90 tackles there last season. The Herd will look for more of a physical presence in the secondary this year. Marshall only picked off four balls a year ago. Free safety C.J. Spillman was busy making 131 tackles to earn second-team all-conference honors. Ashton Hall will join him at strong safety, but there are expected to be intense battles for the starting cornerback jobs. Freshman DeQuan Bembry could make a run at one of the starting spots because of his speed.
Check out the Trouble Brewing for Marshall Football here with NCAA rules violations looming.
Marshall Football Predictions at Info Plays: 5th Conference USA East Division
The team rebounded from an 0-7 start to end the season 3-2 and build some momentum for this year. Snyder now has a full roster of scholarship players to work with. He has been able to stockpile for the future, so it’s easy seeing the Herd making improvement this season and in 2009. But for 2008, a significant increase in the win total will likely depend on the quarterback position. A brutal non-conference schedule with games at West Virginia, at Wisconsin and home against Cincinnati will make it tough to reach a bowl game, though.
Conference USA Wins Expected in ‘08: at Rice, at UAB
Potential Scares/Losses:
MEMPHIS, at
Southern Miss,
HOUSTON, at
East Carolina,
UCF, TULSA
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