Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Freshman QB draws praise from title game opposition
12/18/2020 10:37:00 AM | Football, Word on the Herd
Marshall and UAB meet for the C-USA Championship on Friday night
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall quarterback Grant Wells has been one of the most productive freshman quarterbacks in college football this season and is also having one of the best statistical freshman campaigns of any Thundering Herd quarterback in school history.
It is not a surprise that the 6-foot-2, 210-pound QB would draw praise from the head coach on the other sidelines. On Friday night at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, the site of the 2020 Conference USA Football Championship, that will be UAB's Bill Clark, a former defensive coordinator who has seen his share of signal callers over the years.
"When you're looking at quarterbacks, it's almost like – what can he not do?" Clark said.
The UAB coach turned on the game film ready to note Wells' flaws. Maybe he's got a big arm but isn't mobile? Maybe he can run a little but isn't an accurate passer?
"You're looking for those weaknesses and you don't see it," Clark said. "They run the zone read with him, which Marshall has always done well, which makes you defend the quarterback run. He stays active. He can make the short throws and the deep throws. He's got all of the tools."
Wells is 144 for 227 passing for 1,839 yards and 16 touchdowns. In eight career starts, the native of Charleston, West Virginia, has captured the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week three times.
Now he'll get to lead his team into a conference championship game as a freshman, just as Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler will do this weekend, and Coastal Carolina's Grayson McCall would have done had the Sun Belt title game not been canceled. Wells is fourth among freshman QBs in passing touchdowns, following Rattler, McCall and Tulane's Michael Pratt. All three of those quarterbacks have played more games than Wells.
"This is the first time everyone on this team is going to play in a game like this," Wells said. "I'm not the only one for it to be my first time. We're all taking it in stride and not getting ahead of ourselves."
Wells said Marshall (7-1) will need to establish the running game after the season's worst output two weeks ago. The Herd rushed for 80 yards against Rice, snapping a 25-game streak of at least 100 rushing yards as a team. Junior running back Brenden Knox, the reigning Conference USA Most Valuable Player, has had consecutive games without breaking 100 yards or rushing for a touchdown. Second-leading rusher Sheldon Evans, also junior, is back after missing the Rice game.
"That's huge in any game, but especially a championship game like this," Wells said. "Establish the run game and get our two guys, Shell and Knox, on the ground early and establish that run game. When a run game opens up like that, so many more opportunities start to come your way."
Marshall and UAB (5-3) each bring a top 15 defense into Friday's game, which will be televised by CBS Sports Network. The Herd ranks No. 2 in total defense, while the Blazers are No. 15 nationally. Marshall is the C-USA East Division champion for the third time since 2013, the most of any East team. UAB is in its third consecutive C-USA Championship Game, a conference first.
"If you're not excited something is wrong with you," Wells said. "This is what everyone comes to Marshall to compete in."
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Marshall will have a season-high seven captains, six of whom have been a captain previously.
Defensive back Nazeeh Johnson, linebacker Tavante Beckett and defensive back Brandon Drayton are defensive captains, while offensive lineman Cain Madden, offensive lineman Alex Mollette, Knox and Evans are captains on offense. Knox is a captain for a team-best 17th time in his three seasons at Marshall. Drayton is a first-time captain.
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While two of the top running backs in Conference USA will compete Friday night – Knox and UAB's Spencer Brown – the path to a 100-yard rushing game will be a tough task. The Herd enters the game with a nine-game streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher, while the Blazers have a four-game streak.
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Marshall head coach Doc Holliday deflected credit after being named the Region 4 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. The honor automatically qualifies Holliday as a finalist for the AFCA National Coach of the Year. There are only five finalists for the top honor.
"That's all about our assistant coaches and our players," Holliday said. "That's not even possible without those guys. I'm proud of our coaches and our players. The credit needs to go to those guys."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and an eight-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).
