Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Herd players have history of outperforming star rating
2/6/2019 9:17:00 PM | Football, Word on the Herd
Marshall finished with the top-ranked class in Conference USA
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Fire up the Google machine and check it out. Malik Gant, the Marshall football program's 2018 Team MVP, has mostly barren recruiting profiles from his time in high school, or they're otherwise difficult to find.
Gant, who came to the Thundering Herd as a walk-on, followed in the footsteps of 2017 Team MVP Chase Hancock, who had nary a star from recruiting services when he came out of Beckley's Woodrow Wilson High School. Defensive tackle Ryan Bee, who was the team's Defensive MVP this past season and, like Gant, is now preparing for the NFL draft, was a 2-star prospect.
So, while Doc Holliday and the Marshall coaching staff appreciates having what is being billed as the No. 1 recruiting class in Conference USA, they disagree with the notion that this class did not have a blue chip signee at the end of Wednesday's National Signing Day.
"They're all five stars to us," Holliday said.
It is a genuine sentiment from a head coach entering his 10th season here in Huntington. The star system used by popular recruiting websites generates buzz, but not guaranteed results. Marshall is No. 1 nationally in consecutive bowl wins with seven – including 6-0 under Holliday – and has the most wins in C-USA since 2014, but that is without a parade of 4- and 5-star recruits.
"The ratings and all are great, but we target certain guys and we track them throughout the year," said Mike Treier, the program's recruiting coordinator. "Stars are great, but you have to trust your evaluation."
Holliday could be like most coaches who hang their hat on any morsel of good news, such as having the top-ranked class, but his recruiting strategy is more than scanning national lists and making a few calls. He trusts his coaches to identify talent, certainly, but he also knows his staff will target players who are a perfect fit in a program with a winning tradition and high expectations.
That is why the 61-year-old, who is now the 16th-longest tenured head coach in college football's highest level, discussed the importance of a player's toughness and passion for football during Wednesday's National Signing Day press conference at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Coaches can turn on the film and evaluate. Coaches can watch a player in a camp and assess. Coaches can talk to high school coaches and teammates and family members and learn more about the player.
But the stars? Pfft. Marshall is No. 1 on a lot of lists, but recruiting rankings aren't the reason.
"It's nice when you find a good player who is a 4 star and you like it and Twitter likes it," Treier said, "but that's not really what it's about for us."
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There were four new signees announced Wednesday: Esaias Carpenter, a junior college defensive lineman; T.J. Johnson, a junior college defensive lineman; Knowledge McDaniel, a high school running back; and Dante Walker, a high school defensive lineman. The rest of the 2019 recruiting class was announced in December's early signing period. This is the second year of two separate periods, although the Herd's approach was drastically different this time around.
"We signed more this year early than we did the year prior," Holliday said. "We weren't particularly planning for that to happen."
Holliday cautioned that recruiting is not over, though. The Herd is still on the prowl for immediate help at positions of need, like linebacker. Marshall lost all three starting linebackers, two of whom were among the top three tacklers on the team.
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Holliday spent a portion on the press conference talking about incoming high school quarterbacks Maurice Underwood, who hails from Miami Central, and Grant Wells, who starred at Charleston's George Washington High School.
"We like them both," Holliday said. "Grant Wells is very underestimated as an athlete; he's really a good athlete. He ran a 4.5 (seconds in the 40-yard dash) in our camp. He has a tremendous vertical. He's a Division I punter. He's a lot more athletic than people think he is. He makes all the throws.
"Maurice Underwood, he weighs about what (Rakeem) Cato weighed when he came in, but he's a lot taller. He can make all the throws. He comes from a tough situation like Cato did down in Miami. He's overcome a lot of adversity. He played at an extremely high level of football."
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Underwood has connections to the Herd, as do many in the 2019 class. He starred at Miami Central, which is the same school that produced Cato. Cato's favorite target at Marshall, Tommy Shuler, is an assistant at Miami Central.
J'Coryan Anderson, a 6-2 running back from Knoxville, Tennessee, is the son of Cory Anderson, who played for Marshall offensive line coach Greg Adkins at Tennessee.
Micah Abraham, a 5-10 cornerback, is the son of former NFL player Donnie Abraham, who used to play for the New York Jets when former Herd star Chad Pennington was the quarterback.
Zack Leininger, a 6-4 tight end, came from Dodge City Community College, which also produced current MU defensive back Kereon Merrell. Josh Ball, a 6-8, 350-pound offensive lineman, was a junior college teammate of the aforementioned Carpenter.
A signee with a loose Marshall tie but an impressive bloodline: Broc Thompson, a 6-3 wide receiver from Fork Union Military Academy. Thompson's father, Ryan, played all or parts of nine seasons in Major League Baseball. Broc's brother, Trevor, is a professional basketball player who scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds as a player at Ohio State when the Buckeyes defeated the Herd during the 2016-17 season.
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The Marshall athletic department produced a 90-minute Signing Day Show. The show was broadcast on Facebook Live and can be accessed here: https://www.facebook.com/MarshallAthletics/
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a seven-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).
