Marshall University Athletics
BOGACZYK: Gant Belting Out a Statement in Herd Secondary
4/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
By JACK BOGACZYK
HERDZONE.COM COLUMNIST
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Chuck Heater said Kendall Gant just needed to cinch up his belt.
Heater, the veteran Marshall defensive coordinator and secondary coach, wasn't talking about the WWE title-belt knockoff Gant received Saturday as one of the Herd players of the week during spring practice.
Heater's reference point was the rangy safety's decision to become a contributing major college football player last season, after Gant arrived at Marshall as a three-star recruit who had offers from more than a dozen power conference schools before he backed away from Georgia and signed with the Herd in 2014.
"He just decided he wanted to change," Heater said of the 6-foot-3 Gant's emergence last season. "He came here a very highly touted guy. He didn't come to work every day. It was a cool-school kind of attitude and he wasn't really straining or playing at the tempo or the pace it takes. It took him a while ââ'¬Â¦ took him a year and a half."
Gant, from Lakeland, Fla., was one of eight true freshmen to play for the Conference USA champion Herd in 2014, but he saw action in only seven of 14 games and played 52 snaps - and 46 of those were in routs of Rhode Island and Akron.
That all changed last season as a sophomore, and Gant has continued his strong effort in spring practice this month - hence his acceptance of the defensive player of the week belt from Heater last Saturday.
"It was just practicing harder and understanding the plays more," Gant said when asked about his Week 2 spring performance. "When you understand the plays better, you can play harder, and play faster, too. I feel like that got me the belt.
"Last year, it was about practicing - practicing hard - and game adjustment. It was getting used to the game speed. Practicing hard and understanding the speed of the game are the two major things that made me a lot better player than I was when I came in."
Gant made four starts at boundary safety last season, played 279 defensive snaps and made 39 tackles to go with two interceptions. One of those picks came in the third quarter of Marshall's St. Petersburg Bowl win over Connecticut - a game Gant started and shared the Herd lead in tackles with nine.
To say that Marshall Coach Doc Holliday and Heater were frustrated by Gant's rookie season is an understatement.
"He just had to get out his own way," Holliday said of the change in Gant. "When he got here as a freshman, he was too cool for school, or whatever. He just didn't go to work every day. You saw that change starting to happen last year.
"You saw at the bowl game, he played the way he was capable of playing and now it's carried over. He's taking coaching. He's working extremely hard. He going to work every day and he's become a much better player because of it."
He split time last season at boundary with then-junior Tiquan Lang, and this spring Gant is getting more reps than he might have expected. Heater said Lang has been held out as he continues to recover from "repercussions from a whiplash-type injury" Lang suffered in the bowl win four months ago.
With Gant, Lang and junior college transfer CJ Reavis, Heater feels the Herd is solid with its front-line safeties. Heater has been using Reavis at nickel, too, because MU has a lack of experience and depth at cornerback.
"I'm just trying to get our best 11 on the field," Heater said.
A year ago, Gant wasn't one of those. When Lang went out with an injury early last season, Gant was pushed into a starting role in wins over Norfolk State and at Kent State.
"The second half of last season, Gant started to operate a different way," Heater said. "You could see it in practice. It was clear he was doing things in a different way in terms of his pace, his effort, his finish. He did a really nice job for us in the bowl.
"He had a good winter and he comes out here in spring ball and he's practicing the way he was late last season. He's moving and he's maturing. It's really about him trying to figure it out. He's seeing what he was and what he was doing was not good enough, and what I was saying about making an effort toward that. To his credit he did it. Good for him; good for us."
Gant, 21, played 61 snaps in his first start, against Norfolk State. In the Homecoming victory over North Texas, Gant started and led the Herd defense by playing 78 snaps.
"I think it was when I got in and figured out, 'Oh, I can really do this,'" Gant said. "I'm used to the game speed now and I can really play. That's what really turned my light bulb on, once I played in the Norfolk State game, I think it was.
"The more you play, the more confidence. That's exactly what it is. That's for anybody. The more you get out there, the more you get the feel of it, the more you get the game speed. Really, you look at things differently then.
"You're looking at the offense. you're looking at the quarterback's eyes and what the receiver's doing. Is he leaning, sticking, all that kind of stuff. So, you learn the game more, and then you're a better player."
Gant indicated that in his early days at Marshall, he heard Heater, but he wasn't listening. Now?
"It's practice hard, practice hard, practice hard," Gant said. "You practice how you play. He (Heater) says that all the time. Next man up. There are never enough guys ââ'¬Â¦ I'm just working on whatever Coach Heater teaches us, all of our techniques."
The Herd defensive coordinator said the 6-3, 199-pound Gant also brings the Herd secondary something you can't coach. No one else in the Herd secondary is taller than 6-1.
"Length is always a positive," Heater said. "Length is kind of a thing people don't talk much about but it certainly is great. Whether you're a defensive lineman, linebacker or defensive back, it helps. Gant isn't just tall. He's a long guy and that can help for a lot of different reasons. Long is good on defense, it lets you separate, maybe get your hands on balls you otherwise might not. Short-arm guys are lesser value for you on defense. You want long-armed guys."
So, what did Gant do to wrestle that belt from his defensive teammates last week?
"He practiced really well," Heater said. "He was running to the football, just kind of showing up. I wasn't having to coach him to strain, to finish. It just kind of happened.
"That's kind of the point you hope you can get all guys, where it's not even a conversation anymore. We train you to be a football player. What that means is when you're in there for a rep, you're going hard. You don't need to be told. That's Gant now."
