Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Football Practice is Underway
8/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 5, 2008
Huntington, W.Va. - By Randy Burnside
Marshall Sports Information Director
The 2008 edition of the Thundering Herd football team took the field today at Joan C. Edwards Stadium for the first of 24 practices in 18 days and the view from the pressbox could not be any better.
For the first time in what seems like years, there are enough players on the turf to actually fill the playing surface. I know Coach Snyder has to be excited at the numbers on the defensive side of the ball, especially considering that unit had to deal with so many injuries last year.
The team reported on Sunday to Twin Towers and check in went very well. Every single player I have talked to has a confidence about them and they all are eager to get the season underway. I have also been impressed with the conditioning of our football team. We had a large number of players stay this summer to voluntarily work out and by the looks of folks like Ian Hoskins, Albert McClellan and Johnny Jones that dedication should pay dividends this fall.
All of the players had to go through orientation the last two days and meetings with faculty, coaches, administrators and staff members over the last 48 hours that ranges from a talk about dealing with the media from me to meeting with our compliance staff and our academic support staff. These young men have a lot on their plates, having to balance school with what amounts to a full-time job as a football player. It is always interesting to see how the newcomers, especially the true freshmen, grow through the first three weeks in August. Most of them are away from home for the first time and the acclimation process takes time.
Yesterday, the team went through Media Day and we had roughly 70 media members in attendance. All of our players had their head shots taken for our purposes (media guides, website and media use) and the annual team photo. For many of our players they got their first taste of media exposure at the college level. As always, we continue to work with our players to help them put their best foot forward with interviewing techniques and tips in dealing with the media. By the looks of our new youngsters, we have a great group of young men that are going to do a great job in that area.
Well, the morning rain subsided and gave way to a hot and sunny afternoon practice. Again, I can't get over the shear number of kids we have in camp and I know the coaching staff has to like the added depth.
The first thing that caught my eye today was the first and second team defense in drills. That unit is going to surprise folks this year. Albert McClellan is back at end and he has put on quality weight and appears to be moving as well as ever. John Jacobs and Ian Hoskins can bounce around along the line and then you have some impressive, strong looking young players in Michael Janac and Johnny Jones. You also have James Burkes who got a lot of time last season in the mix. I can safely say that depth is much improved. A lot of the young guys are getting their first taste in there - guys like Vinny Curry, Delvin Johnson and Brandon Bullock, granted this first practice is just in shorts. The team will put the full pads on for the first time this Saturday and that will be an open practice at 3 p.m.
The linebackers also look to be in great shape with Maurice Kitchens, Antawn Booker and Corey Hart standing out from up here. Not to mention the fact that Hoskins, McClellan and Jacobs are capable of moving in or out at different positions. I can't say enough about how impressive our kids look on that side of the ball for this to be day one.
Coach Shannon and Coach Minter are veteran coaches and each of them brings a lot to the table. I am impressed with everything Coach Minter is doing with his personnel on defense and the job Coach Shannon is doing on offense, especially with our young quarterbacks. With our returning skill players we have some potential and it is going to be interesting to see them grow in Coach Shannon's system over the next couple of weeks. I really like our coaching staff and how they handle themselves. They are great to work with from a sports information stand point and I am excited to see what we can do this year.
Speaking of quarterbacks, Mark Cann made some impressive throws today to Darius Passmore and Cody Slate in drills that caught the media's attention. That position always gets a lot scrutiny in the public and we have some great young men competing for the starting nod. I have been very impressed with Mark, Jonathan, Brian and Wes in all of my dealings with them. They are all fine young men and I think our coaches will have them ready come August 30.
Well practice just wrapped up. Coach Snyder always addresses the media after each of our practice sessions. The usual beat writers were in attendance, along with cameras from WSAZ, WOWK and WOAY. Coach told the group that we are further along than he thought we would be as a team and that all of the hard work this summer appears to have paid off in that respect. The team appears to be well conditioned and that's a credit to Mike Cochran and his staff. Coach also commented on the team being ahead of where it was at this time a year ago and the depth "having something to do with that" and the fact that the acclimation process of the first-year players takes a while and can be rough on them. Coach also fielded questions about Senator John McCain's upcoming visit with the football team and said "This is a great opportunity for our players to hear from a national figure running for President. Anytime you get a national figure to come in and speak to your young student-athletes it's a great thing. Its very exciting and we would welcome Senator Obama too."
By the way, the renovations of the Shewey Building look great and the team and staff are all excited about their new home. Our locker room is nearly complete and is already in use...the meeting rooms are nearing completion as well (they are being used as well). The construction crews have been great about working around the team's schedule, allowing everything to go as well as it has. The improvement is amazing and if you haven't seen it yet, I encourage you to click on the Herdzone All-Access Media Player and check it out. Once everything is complete we will have photos and more video on the facilities improvements on Herdzone.
Well that's it for the first day of practice. I wanted to provide our fans with a unique perspective on camp this year so I plan to provide blog-style reports to you as much as possible through camp on Herdzone.com. I hope you find them informative and enjoyable. Go Herd!
