Marshall University Athletics
BOGACZYK: Van Horn Says Herd Offense Seeks `Better'
9/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
By JACK BOGACZYK
HERDZONE.COM COLUMNIST
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall coach Doc Holliday is a fervent believer in the coaching mantra that the most improvement a football team will make during a season is from Game 1 to Game 2.
Holliday said just that in the minutes after his highly touted team started the 2014 season Saturday with a 42-27 triumph at Miami (Ohio) ... a performance that left the Herd in want in many ways.
Now, the Thundering Herd plays its home opener Saturday at 7 p.m. against FCS member Rhode Island - in the Rams' season opener under new coach Jim Fleming. And at interviews with Herd players on Monday, it's obvious they expect more from themselves.
"We were lethargic," right tackle Clint Van Horn said when asked about the Herd offense in the win. "Obviously, it was communication, you could see that in some of the looks ... communication and just not shooting ourselves in the foot and getting down on ourselves.
"It's about staying up. Once you communicate, that can take care of everything else, but if you don't communicate the correct look, you can shoot yourself in the foot and we did."
The bullish Devon Johnson, making his debut at running back after two seasons at tight end, rushed for 151 yards - the most by an MU back in an opener against a major college team in Herd history.
"There were some positives and some negatives, but `Rockhead,' he's just a big, physical strong back," Van Horn said of the 243-pound Johnson. "He will - not maybe - he will have his presence felt and he's going to impose his will and impose the will of the offensive line, and the team.
"We wanted to come out and run the ball, wanted to see what we could do with power, run the inside zone and I think he did a great job of following the game plan."
In the postgame minutes following the win in Oxford, Ohio, quarterback Rakeem Cato graded the offense at B-minus. Veteran center Chris Jasperse rated the unit's performance "a two ... We didn't play very well."
Van Horn, the redshirt junior from Beckley, said the Herd's evaluations on the performance at Yager Stadium are rooted in the present, not even the part of the past that includes a 10-4 finish and Military bowl victory over Maryland last season.
"It's about working to get better as a team and as a unit," Van Horn said. "This is the first time that this team (five new starters), as a unit, has gone out against another team. It's not like playing in practice or camp.
"This isn't the same team as last year, not the same group of guys. That was a great group of guys; this is a new group of guys, a lot of young guys, a lot of old guys, so it was good to see what we had, what we need to work on as a unit and we're going to do that this week."
Still, the Herd scored 42 points ... which happened to be the second-highest scoreboard total by a road team on Week 1 of the FBS season, topped only by Texas A&M's stunning 52-28 win over a nationally ranked South Carolina.
"True," Van Horn said, "but the coaches and the players have set a higher standard for this team, and we know what we're capable of. And we also know that, at Miami, it wasn't good enough.
"We know that with our mistakes, there should have been more points scored. We should have been able to help our defense out more as an offense."
The Herd averaged 42.1 points and 500.4 yards per game last season, after numbers of 40.9 and 534.3 in 2012. In the opening win at Miami (Ohio), Marshall had the ball for only 25:14. Eliminating Marshall's six scoring drives, it had only 35 plays and 82 yards on its nine other possessions.
"This year's offense, we don't want to compare ourselves to the offense of two years ago or last season's offense," Van Horn said. "We want to do better, and last Saturday's game was not better."
The expectation by many that the Herd - picked to win a Conference USA title and perhaps play in a major bowl game - would roll through its schedule. If Holliday's team were buying that, it isn't anymore, and Van Horn said if the Herd were of that mindset, it was good to have the game it did as an opener.
"It's a wakeup call," he said. "Every game is going to be a battle. This week's game is going to be a battle. Getting W's isn't easy; those guys are on scholarship, too. The guys across from us are on scholarship, too.
"It's a wakeup call for all of us as players that every game is a battle and we need to prepare for it like that."
There was one Herd performance - besides Johnson's rushing - that did impress Van Horn at Miami, where an estimated 4,000 Herd fans in attendance made their presence felt.
"At times our fans were louder than the Miami of Ohio fans," Van Horn said. "Our fans traveled well to that game, as expected, that's what I love about the Marshall fan base."
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Ten freshmen made their debuts for Marshall in Saturday's win at Miami. Cornerback Antavis Rowe was the first true freshman to get into the game, while redshirt freshman kicker Kaare Vedvik started the season with the game's opening kickoff.
The only rookie starter for the Herd was redshirt freshman Angelo Jean-Louis at wide receiver. Besides Rowe, two other true freshmen saw action - tight end Ryan Yurachek and left tackle AJ Addison, who played relief for the injured Sebastian Johansson. The other redshirt freshmen to play were tight end Deon-Tay McManus, wideout Rodney Allen, guard Cody Collins and tackle Sandley Jean-Felix from the offense and cornerback D'Andre "Chocolate" Wilson from the defense.
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Until Devon Johnson ran for those 151 yards against the RedHawks, the Marshall running back record for yardage against a major college team in an opening game belonged to Ron Lear, who had 126 on 27 carries in a Fairfield Stadium victory over Toledo in 1979 - the Herd's only win that season.
On that Rockets' coaching staff was a guy who has become a significant part of Marshall's current success - Herd defensive coordinator Chuck Heater, then the UT defensive backs coach.
Here's a look at how Johnson's opening game at running back at Miami (Ohio) on Saturday ranks with other Herd rushers in season-opening games (players with 125 or more rushing yards):
| Player | Car-Yds-TD | Opponent | Date |
| Jackie Hunt | 15-220-2 | Omaha | Sept. 20, 1941 |
| Erik Thomas | 18-173-1 | Howard | Sept. 7, 1996 |
| Ron Darby | 35-154-1 | at Morehead State | Sept. 3, 1988 |
| Devon Johnson | 19-151-2 | at Miami (Ohio) | Aug. 30, 2014 |
| Darryl DeBoes | 21-149-2 | West Va. Tech | Aug. 30, 1986 |
| Ron Lear | 27-126-0 | Toledo | Sept. 8, 1979 |
| Ron Darby | 25-126-0 | Morehead State | Sept. 5, 1987 |
