Marshall 2012 Recruiting

Marshall Thundering Herd 2012 ... Head Coach: Doc Holliday

Marshall Thundering Herd

2011 Record: 7-6

Sep. 3 at West Virginia L 34-13
Sep. 10 Southern Miss W 26-20
Sep. 17 at Ohio L 44-7
Sep. 24 Virginia Tech L 30-10
Oct. 1 at Louisville W 17-13
Oct. 8 at UCF L 16-6
Oct. 15 Rice W 24-20
Oct. 22 at Houston L 63-28
Oct. 29 UAB W 59-14
Nov. 5 OPEN DATE
Nov. 12 at Tulsa L 59-17
Nov. 17 at Memphis W 23-22
Nov. 26 East Carolina W 34-27 OT
Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg
Dec. 20 FIU W 20-10

2010 CFN Prediction: 7-5
2010 Record: 5-7

Sept. 2 at Ohio St L 45-7
Sept. 10 West Virginia L 24-21 OT
Sept. 18 at Bowling Green L 44-28
Sept. 25 Ohio W 24-23
Oct. 2 at Southern Miss L 41-16
Oct. 9 OPEN DATE
Oct. 13 UCF L 35-14
Oct. 23 at East Carolina  L 37-10
Oct. 30 UTEP W 16-12
Nov. 6 at UAB W 31-17
Nov. 13 Memphis W 28-13
Nov. 20 at SMU L 31-17
Nov. 27 Tulane W 38-23
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 Marshall Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. CB A.J. Leggett
5-11, 175, Scout.com 39th ranked, three-star corner.

2. TE Rakim Reed
6-4, 210, Scout.com three-star tight end.

3. LB Kent Turene
6-3, 240, Scout.com three-star middle linebacker.

4. DT Ken Smith
6-4, 284, Scout.com two-star, JUCO transfer.

5. LB Devon Johnson
6-2, 210, Scout.com 136th ranked, two-star outside linebacker.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... Offensive linemen. Doc Holliday has a ton of quarterback prospects in place, a true sophomore in Rakeem Cato to work around, and more talent on the way, and now he needs linemen to keep the passers clean. With both starting tackles gone, the outside of the line will get really young, really fast, opening the door for a few JUCO transfers.

Team Concerns For 2012: Offensive line. Along with both starting tackles done, so is right guard John Bruhin. Defensive playmakers need to emerge with end Vinny Curry, safety Omar Brown, and six starters gone, but there’s more speed and athleticism coming up than the program has had in the last several years. That talent has to show up on the outside with linebackers George Carpenter and Tyson Gale done, along with backup middle option Kellen Harris.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: Can the Herd build off the momentum from a strong finishing kick winning four of the last five games? It might take a little while. QB Rakeem Cato has a year or experience under his belt, and he gets back key targets Aaron Dobson and Antavious Wilson to throw to, RB Tron Martinez and Travon Van form a nice rushing tandem ready to do more, but only two starters are back on the line. The defense has to try to replace pass rushing terror Vinny Curry, but some nice parts to the line return led by end Jeremiah Taylor. Both outside linebackers are gone with Jermaine Holmes needing to do even more in the middle. The secondary has to replace the team’s leading tackler, FS Omar Brown, and the best cover-corner, Rashad Jackson.

2011 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 65. That Class Was Heavy On ... Quarterback. The last two classes have loaded up on receivers, and Levern Jacobs is a 4.4 speedster coming in this year, but the Herd needs more pop to the passing game and hopes to get it with three interesting options. 6-5 Blake Frohnapfel is a chucker, Cornelius Jones if coming in from Fort Union Military Academy to try to challenge right away, and Rakeem Cato out of Miami can do a little bit of everything. Tight ends Rakim Reed and Eric Frohnapfel will be big factors in a few years.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 80. That Class Was Heavy On ... Receivers. If nothing else, new head man Doc Holliday will have plenty of pass catchers to use in a rotation. Last year's Herd class was full of big, strong receivers. This year's class is loaded with small, quick ones led by the lightning-quick Fred Pickett. Josh Lovell is a do-it-all tight end who could be good enough to be better than Cody Slate with a little bit of work, while Jazz King, Antwon Chisolm, and Demetrius Evans are all talented enough to be given a long look for early playing time. New quarterback Eddie Sullivan will have plenty of practice options to play around with.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 102. That Class Was Heavy On ... wide receivers. The Herd has loaded up on a bunch of big, physical wide receivers that other schools felt were a little unpolished at this stage of their careers. A collection of athletes who all go at least 6-2, most are expected to do an apprenticeship in 2009 before being turned loose. A local kid, C.J. Crawford is both big and very fast. Wayne Bonner, on the other hand, comes via East Mississippi Junior College, and is most likely to chip in right away.

Dec. 20 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl
Marshall 20 … Florida International 10
- CFN Thoughts on the Game

Marshall: The Herd only averaged 2.8 yards per carry and committed eight penalties. … QB Rakeem Cato completed 27-of-39 passes for 226 yards and two scores with a pick … Tron Martinez ran 16 times for 58 yards. … Aaron Dobson caught seven passes for 81 yards and two scores including the catch that sealed the win. … LB Tyson Gale led the team with ten tackles, a sack, and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Florida International: FIU only gained 251 yards of total offense. … Wesley Carroll completed 19-of-29 passes for 150 yards, while Jake Medlock filled in a bit and completed 1-of-3 passes for 13 yards. … Darriet Perry ran nine times for 36 yards. … T.Y. Hilton caught eight passes for 88 yards and ran three times for 23 yards and a score, but he lost a key fumble and didn’t come up with a punt return. … LB Jordan Hunt led the team with 13 tackles, a sack, and two tackles for loss.

(AP) ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Rakeem Cato threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and Tyler Warner kicked a pair of field goals, helping Marshall beat Florida International 20-10 in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl on Tuesday night.

Cato threw TD passes of 31 and 35 yards to Aaron Dobson, the latter putting the game away in the closing seconds. Warner's 39-yard field goal set up by a blocked punt snapped a 10-10 with 5:16 remaining.

Marshall (7-6) overcame a slow start to win five of its last seven games and avoid a losing record in its second season under coach Doc Holliday.

FIU (8-5) was denied a school-record ninth victory and there was speculation that coach Mario Cristobal may be a leading candidate to fill a job opening at Pittsburgh.

Cato, a freshman from Miami who is one of 28 players on Marshall's roster recruited from the state of Florida, completed 27 of 39 passes and was intercepted once. Dobson had seven receptions for 81 yards, including a TD catch that wiped out a 10-3 FIU lead just before halftime.

All-purpose threat T.Y. Hilton scored on a 2-yard run for FIU, which also got a 46-yard field goal from Jack Griffin. Hilton had eight catches for 88 yards, ran for 22 yards on three carries and returned two kickoffs for 36 yards, but quarterback Wesley Carroll had difficulty getting the ball to him in open space in the second half.

Carroll was 19 of 29 passing for 150 yards.

Marshall struggled early against a tough schedule, losing in September to West Virginia, Ohio and Virginia Tech before regrouping late win four of six down the stretch to become bowl eligible and finish second behind Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA East Division standings.

FIU is a relative newcomer to the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Panthers launched their program in 2002, joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2005 and has made steady progress in five seasons under Cristobal, who led the school to its first Sun Belt championship a year ago.

Hilton has been a big part of that success, setting FIU and Sun Belt records for career receiving and all-purpose yards. The senior from Miami caught a TD pass and scored on an 89-yard kickoff return to help the Panthers beat Toledo in last year's Little Caesars Bowl, and FIU showcased his versatility early against Marshall.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound receiver took a handoff on FIU's first play from scrimmage and ran for 20 yards before fumbling 5 yards backward. He had a 17-yard reception on the next play, then later in the opening quarter gained 14 yards on a catch-and-run to the Marshall 2.

Hilton scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on the next play, giving the Panthers a 7-3 lead.

Marshall answered Jack Griffin's 46-yard field goal that put FIU up 10-3 with a six-play, 55-yard drive that Cato finished with his 31-yard TD pass to Aaron Dobson to make it 10-10 with 23 seconds left in the first half.

Neither team was able to generate much offense in the third and fourth quarters. Zach Dunston blocked a punt to set up Warner's go-ahead field goal, and Cato began the clinching drive from his own 40 after FIU fumbled.

Nov. 26 at Marshall 34 … East Carolina 27 OT  

Nov. 17 Marshall 23 … at Memphis 22

Nov. 12 at Tulsa 59 … Marshall 17

Oct. 29 at Marshall 59 … UAB 14  

Oct. 22 at Houston 63 … Marshall 28  

Oct. 15 at Marshall 24 … Rice 20
CFN Analysis: This wasn’t exactly a smooth game with the offense failing to get much out of the passing game, but the running game, particularly quarterback A.J. Graham, who threw for 110 yards and ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns, but it was the play of the ultra-aggressive defense that made all the difference with 14 tackles for loss with Vinny Curry dominating with three sacks and nine tackles. Terrific on third downs, the defense saved the offense time and again and came up with the key fumble recovery late to lead to the winning score, and the O came through when it had to. Unfortunately, now the offense has to gear it up a bit more with Houston coming up next.  

Oct. 8 at UCF 16 … Marshall 6
CFN Analysis: The offense didn’t have a prayer against a swarming UCF defense that didn’t allow a thing. Rakeem Cato struggled, completing just 11-of-29 passes for 87 yards, and the ground game didn’t pick up the slack with just 43 yards. There weren’t any long, sustained drives holding on to the ball for fewer than 20 minutes and doing nothing to move the chains converting a mere 2-of-14 third down shots. Omar Brown had a huge game making 18 tackles with a pick, but he couldn’t help the offense. 115th in the nation in total offense and 113th in rushing, with Rice and Houston up next the defense might have to force a slew of big takeaways and the O has to take advantage of every opportunity.
 
Oct. 1 Marshall 17 ... at Louisville 13
CFN Analysis: Marshall might be inconsistent and it might still be figuring out what it’s doing in several areas, but at 2-3, things aren’t that bad. The defense did a good job against a bad Louisville offense, and Rakeem Cato came up with the big drive late to cap off an 18-of-30, 236-yard, two touchdown day. The defense camped out in the Cardinal backfield with 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, and pressure all game long that killed the running attack. The points aren’t coming in bunches, and the ground game isn’t working, but if the Herd can keep getting good play from the defensive front and if the mistakes can be kept to a minimum, it’ll have a shot against UCF.  

Sept. 24 Virginia Tech 30 … at Marshall 10
CFN Analysis: Marshall didn’t get anything going on the ground with just six net yards, and while Rakeem Cato is under trial by fire, he needs help. Aaron Dobson had a nice game with five catches for 103 yards and a score, and Omar Brown was phenomenal with 17 tackles, but the defense couldn’t get off the field. MU converted just 3-of-15 chances and couldn’t stop the Hokies from pounding away. Cato is still young and still learning, and as strange as the first month has been, and as inconsistent as the team has been, a little more offensive punch and a few big plays could bring a win over Louisville next week. 

Sept. 17 at Ohio 44 ... Marshall 7
CFN Analysis: Marshall clunked at the worst possible time. Just when it seemed like things had turned around after a strong win over Southern Miss, the offense went in the tank and the defense was non-existent in the total dud of a performance. Rakeem Cato played like a rookie with four interceptions, and the ten penalties and six turnovers overall killed any chance of making this interesting. With Virginia Tech up next, followed up by three road trips in four weeks to Louisville, UCF, and Houston, it should be an ugly first half of the season unless there’s a miracle or two. It starts with keeping the mistakes to a minimum.
 
Sept. 10 at Marshall 26 … Southern Miss 20
CFN Analysis: The defense turned things up a few notches and the Herd came up with a win in the conference opener. The offense sputtered early and didn’t get much in the way of rushing production, but Rakeem Cato was terrific after a rocky start completing 27-of-42 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns along with two picks, and he showed the moxie to come up with the comeback. While the offense did its part, the defense also turned things up several notches with Vinny Curry coming up with a Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year-like performance with three sacks. With three straight non-conference games up next, the Herd has time to prepare – if that’s possible against Virginia Tech and road games at Ohio and Louisville – for the big game at UCF. If the MU wins that, then it’s really time to get excited.  

Sept. 4 at West Virginia 34 … Marshall 13
CFN Analysis: The pass rush was able to get into the West Virginia backfield just enough to make Geno Smith feel a few shots, but the D didn’t break early on holding on for field goals and only giving up one touchdown. Rakeem Cato was just fine in his debut, and while the freshman quarterback didn’t push the ball down the field, and only threw for 115 yards, he didn’t make any big mistakes and he kept his poise. The defense was strong against the run, holding the Mountaineers to just 1.6 yards per carry, and it should be able to carry the team for a while until the offense comes around. To beat Southern Miss, though, the offense has to figure out how to get into the end zone.

The 2011 Recruiting Class Is Heavy On … Quarterback. The last two classes have loaded up on receivers, and Levern Jacobs is a 4.4 speedster coming in this year, but the Herd needs more pop to the passing game and hopes to get it with three interesting options. 6-5 Blake Frohnapfel is a chucker, Cornelius Jones if coming in from Fort Union Military Academy to try to challenge right away, and Rakeem Cato out of Miami can do a little bit of everything. Tight ends Rakim Reed and Eric Frohnapfel will be big factors in a few years.

Five Marshall Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. LB Armonze Daniel
6-4, 230, Scout.com’s 26th ranked outside linebacker

2. LB Deon Meadows
6-0, 215, Scout.com’s 48th ranked middle linebacker

3. RB Remi Watson
5-11, 190, Scout.com’s 73rd ranked running back

4. DE Robert Mincey
5-11, 190, Scout.com’s 80th ranked defensive end

5. TE Rakim Reed
6-4, 215, Scout.com’s 56th ranked tight end

2011 Entire Recruiting Class

Davonte Allen WR 6-1 180 Fr. Belle Glade, Fla./Glades Central
Chris Alston WR 5-11 185 Fr. Winnsboro, South Carolina/Fairfield Central
Keith Baxter DB 5-11 180 Fr. Homestead, Florida/Homestead
Steward Butler RB 5-10 170 Fr. Lakeland, Florida/Lakeland
Cortez Carter ATH/LB 6-0 210 Fr. Bealeton, Virginia/Liberty
Rakeem Cato QB 6-1 170 Fr. Miami, Fla./Miami Central
Armonze Daniel LB 6-4 225 Fr. Avon, Ind./Avon
Terry Franklin DE 6-4 235 Jr. Tyler, Texas/Tyler College
Blake Frohnapfel QB 6-5 210 Fr. Stafford, Virginia/Colonial Forge
Eric Frohnapfel TE 6-6 210 Fr. Stafford, Virginia/Colonial Forge
Jermaine Holmes LB 5-11 230 Fr. Valdosta, Ga./Valdosta
Levern Jacobs WR 6-0 165 Fr. District Heights, Maryland/Suitland
Conelius Jones ATH 6-2 195 Fr. Spartanburg, S.C./Spartanburg
Josue Joseph OL 6-4 275 Fr. Orlando, Fla./Freedom
Jamar Lewter OL 6-8 280 Fr. Washington, D.C./Ballou
Evan McKelvey FS/SS 6-1 185 Fr. Moncks Corner, S.C./Berkley
Deon Meadows LB 5-11 215 Fr. Smyrna, Tenn./Smyrna
Robert Mincey DE 6-5 260 Fr. Fairfield, Ohio/Fairfield
Colin Munro OL 6-5 310 Jr. Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Chaffey College
DeAndre Reaves ATH 5-10 180 Fr. Sterling, Va./Dominion
Jarquez Samuel DE 6-5 240 Fr. Valdosta, Ga./Valdosta
Tommy Shuler WR 5-9 185 Fr. Miami. Fla./Miami Central
Anthony Spano OL 6-2 275 Fr. Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast
Travon Van RB 5-10 190 Fr. La Mesa, Calif./Milford Academy Prep
Remi Watson RB 5-11 195 Fr. Lakelabnd, Fla./Lake Gibson
Robert Way LB 6-2 200 Fr. Belle Glade, Fla./Glades Central
Deontae West DB 5-10 170 Fr. Hollywood, Fla./Hialeah
Craig Wilkins WR 5-11 180 Fr. Hialeah Fla./Hialeah
Corie Wilson DB 5-10 170 Fr. Miami, Fla./Edison