Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Seniors leave lasting impression on football team's young players
11/16/2018 8:51:00 AM | Football, Word on the Herd
Marshall hosts UTSA this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the regular season home finale
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The 17 seniors who will play their final football game at Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Saturday have left a legacy far greater than championships and victories. Marshall University's younger players have watched and learned from the veteran group, and that is reflected in the words of a 20-year-old freshman quarterback.
Isaiah Green, a QB who will start his sixth game of the season when UTSA visits this Saturday at 2:30 p.m., has worked long hours to build a rapport with teammates and gain their trust. The brotherhood and bond the players developed will last long after the 17Â seniors bid farewell to home fans.
"Over time you start to create relationships with each other that last forever," Green said this week. "When the person next to you means as much to you as your family members, then you want to make sure you do right by them and you're going to fight as hard as you can, not only for yourself but the 10 other people on the field with you."
Doc Holliday's ninth football team at Marshall is 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Conference USA, and is bowl eligible once again. Including a redshirt year, the Herd's fifth-year seniors have witnessed 40 wins, a C-USA championship and three bowl victories. They observed the highest of highs in 2014, the unexpected lows of 2016 and have steered the program back into one of the league's best.
"When I got here, my first year here, we won a conference championship," senior linebacker Frankie Hernandez said. "Then the next year we won 10 games. Then after that, the 3-9 year. This is a special place; Marshall is known for winning … it's special being part of this whole university."
Marshall's Senior Day participants include eight offensive players and nine defenders. On offense, linemen Jordan Dowrey and Nate Devers; running backs Anthony Anderson and Keion Davis; and receivers Tyre Brady, Marcel Williams, Nick Mathews and Donquell "Gator" Green.
On defense, the Herd will send off linemen Ryan Bee, Juwon Young, Malik Thompson and Aaron Dopson; linebackers Chase Hancock, Donyae Moody, Artis Johnson and Hernandez; and defensive back Terence Ricks.
This class has started a combined 242 games, and 16 of the 18 seniors have made at least one start. Dowrey, who has primarily played left guard, is the active leader with 45 career starts. He ranks in the top 15 in program history in that category.
Other games started leaders among seniors: Bee (38), Hancock (30), Brady (20), Johnson (19), Hernandez (16), Williams (15), Davis (14) and Devers (14).
Bee, who has moved around the defensive line during his career, will exit in the top 10 in program history in sacks. He takes 18.5 career sacks into Saturday's game, and can move up the all-time list in the final regular season games and bowl game.
Hancock, last season's Team MVP, is a rags-to-riches story that has become frequent under Holliday. Hancock entered the program as a walk-on, but earned a scholarship and developed into one of the team's most important players on and off the field. He is tied for the team lead in tackles this season with 73, and last season led with 128. For his career, he has 288 tackles, 18.5 tackles for a loss, 7.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Brady is a two-year player, but has caught 115 passes for 1,625 yards and 14 touchdowns, and has become a constant threat for SportsCenter Top 10 nominations. Johnson is a junior college transfer who has scored a non-offensive touchdown in each of his two seasons with the Herd. Davis is among the top 20 rushers in program history, and Anderson leads the team in rushing touchdowns this season with eight, which ranks in the top five in Conference USA.
Williams, also a junior college transfer, is one of the two offensive captains this weekend, along with Dowrey. Bee and Hancock are the defensive captains, and Bee has been given the honor a team-best 16 times in his career.
"This is going to be my last game in the Joan," Dowrey said. "It seems like it can't be. It's kind of come up on me fast. Part of me wants to treat it like it's just another game. But I've got a feeling the emotion is going to hit a little differently this week. I'm hoping I can stay focused on winning the game rather than it being my last time out there.
"I've had a lot of fun and I've met a lot of great people. The best part of it is the people I've met and the memories I've got. No matter what happens Saturday, none of that changes. I've got that for life."
Hancock said the finality of what is going to happen Saturday will not come until later, after Marshall plays its bowl game, wherever that may be. But, the Beckley native said, the next group of seniors and tomorrow's leaders are on the way.
"I don't think it's going to hit me until the last game, the bowl game, when I put my cleats up for the final time," Hancock said. "I think the future of Marshall is in good hands."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a six-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
