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| | Saturday, September 2 Marshall plans on reloading, not rebuilding | |||||
| By George Porter Special to ESPN.com Marshall Thundering Herd 1999 record: 13-0 (8-0 MAC) Coach: Bobby Pruett Returning starters: 11 (5 offense, 6 defense) Outlook Coach Bobby Pruett has a record of 50-4 over the last four seasons at Marshall. He won the MAC after Randy Moss left, now everyone's wondering what will he do with Chad Pennington gone to the NFL. "We are not rebuilding, just reloading," Pruett said. Pruett plans to reload his offense with redshirt sophomore quarterback Byron Leftwich. Leftwich has seen limited action at Marshall, but steps in to the starting job with a care free attitude. Pruett said Leftwich has a stronger arm then Pennington and had a fantastic spring as well. Of course, having senior wide receiver Nate Poole helps. Poole caught over 70 passes for 1,122 and nine TDs last year. There is competition for the running back slot between sophomores Chanston Rogers and Brandon Carey and junior college All-American Ernie Pitts. If someone can take some of the already heavy pressure off Leftwich's back, the offense should be productive. Games this year for Marshall will be definitely be won on the defensive side of the ball. Preseason MAC defensive player of the year Paul Toviessi leads a good defense. Toviessi is a 6-7, 260-pound end who absolutely eats quarterbacks for lunch. The secondary is spearheaded senior conerbacks Maurice Hines and Danny Derricott -- a tandem that might be as good as any in the country. Hines and Derricott lead a defense that swiped 27 interceptions last year, tops in the nation. Keep an eye on ... QB Byron Leftwich. No pressure here -- just replace the best passer in Marshall history and keep the string of winning MAC title alive. It's a good season if ... The Thundering Herd wins the MAC for its fourth straight season. Anything else and it's a down season. |
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