Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Bond between Green, Cramsey is special
8/29/2019 11:46:00 PM | Football, Word on the Herd
Sophomore QB set records in his first season
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Maybe Tim Cramsey fumbled the play call. Maybe he did it on purpose to test his quarterback. He'll never tell.
Either way, when the Marshall offensive coordinator incorrectly called a play during spring football drills, he saw something from sophomore Isaiah Green that made the assistant believe his QB had made the next step.
Green corrected the play himself.
"There's a trick I have in the quarterback room, and the questions are very vague," Cramsey said. "There could be 35 answers that are correct in the situation, but I'm seeing if he's thinking exactly like me. He's at the point right now where he knows what I'm thinking and why I'm asking questions.
"There was another time in the spring and I started calling the formation and he rattled off the rest of the play. Once you get to that point, thinking the same way, then we're one step closer to being where we want to be."
Green, a 6-foot-2, 207-pound redshirt sophomore from Fairburn, Georgia, will begin his second season as the Thundering Herd's starting quarterback when Marshall hosts VMI this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Green is a second-year starter. Cramsey is a second-year offensive coordinator. They've grown together and learned together, and they've bonded on their journey together.
"The last year was about us getting to know each other," Green said. "Now, we've formed a bond. Going into this year, I'm more understanding of why he's calling certain plays at certain moments, and I understand what he wants to do when he sends certain personnel onto the field. That has made us closer."
Green's evolution makes one wonder about his ceiling – and how high it could be. He appeared in 10 games, starting nine. In those starts, Marshall went 7-2, with the losses coming to North Carolina State and Virginia Tech, two ACC programs.
He finished his first collegiate season 187 for 330 passing with 2,459 yards and 15 touchdowns. Among freshmen, he ranked third in completions, third in attempts, second in passing yards and tied for second in passing touchdowns in school history. His average of 245.9 passing yards per game is the most ever by a Herd freshman QB.
Now, Cramsey said, Green has improved.
"It is him as a person. He's grown up," Cramsey said. "I've said it to him … he grew up as a kid; he grew up as a person; he matured. You can see that on the field. He played with a lot of emotion as a young kid and you saw it sometimes on the field. As a coach I tried to put him in that situation so he would maybe lose his cool in a practice situation in spring ball or fall camp, put him in a situation where he might get riled … he just brushed it all off. He's a mature kid right now. He understands the game a little bit more. He understands me and I understand him. We have a good relationship."
That relationship has allowed Green to thrive. He is a self-proclaimed goofy kid who is equal parts laid-back and jokester in the locker room.
"I feel like I've been the same person forever, but people probably didn't get to know me as well last year," Green said. "This year, they'll see a lot more. People don't know – I'm full of personality."
On the field, Green flips a switch.
"What I like about him on the field is he plays with a chip on his shoulder," Cramsey said. "The game has become very slow to him. There's no stage that is too big for him. You go back to last year, Western Kentucky, we're on the 2-yard line and have to go score …"
In that situation, Marshall trailed 17-13 on the road with 4:23 left. Green connected with Obi Obialo for a 20-yard gain on third and 5, then 35 yards to tight end Armani Levias. He found Marcel Williams for a 3-yard completion, and then the 32-yard strike to Tyre Brady on third and 4 for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown toss.
"The bigger the situation, the calmer and the cooler he is," Cramsey said.
For Green, that belief means everything. And if there are sophomore struggles, the quarterback knows his coach will pick him up.
"He's the same person every day," Green said of Cramsey. "He's always excited; he's always ready to get after it. He's high energy, and he can bring up anybody when they're down. He can bring the light to the room."
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).
