Topic: My 2005 Team Preview....

[mrherd05]

This is a work in progress and I have it on a nice neat EXCEL form, if anyone would like it, just PM me your email address.

Expect some changes as Coach Pruett said in his call in show yesterday that several players which will be playing next year are not even on campus yet.


Wide Receiver
1 Marcus Fitzgerald Receiver 5'10" 198 Freshman Minneapolis, MN
6 Nate Manns Receiver 6'3" 220 Junior Beckley, WV
7 Hiram Moore Receiver 6'0" 190 Sophomore Huntington, WV
8 Kyle Echols Receiver 5'10" 180 R-Freshman Galloway, OH
9 Uranius Johnson Receiver 6'0" 175 Sophomore Brandywine, MD
22 Wilbur Hargrove Receiver 5'11" 180 Junior Boyton, VA
24 Emanuel Spann Receiver 5'11" 170 Freshman Atlanta, GA
42 Shawn Lauzon Receiver 6'6" 204 R-Freshman Virginia Beach, VA
46 Matt Offutt Receiver 6'1" 180 Freshman Farmington, WV
n/a Deondrea Linsley Receiver 6'1" 185 Prop St. Pete, FL
n/a Tony Leath Receiver 5'8" 165 Prop Burlington, NC
n/a Jermaine Filer Receiver 6'4" 210 Prop Clearwater, FL

Summary
This group needs a playmaker. Spann and Fitzgerald are excellent receivers but are more of a possession receiver. Wilbur Hargrove has got to step up, no one works harder than Wilbur. James Williams turned it around during his senior year, and won the Most Improved Offensive Player award after the Green/White game. Jermaine Filer should provide a deep threat, as well as Linsley and Leath, both of which have excellent speed. Hiram Moore and Shaun Lauzon are big solid targets who should step up into productive players. Personally, I believe that these athletes need to make better use of their talents, Spann is a track champ, but has only went deep once this season, which happened to be a 50+ yard completition at Georgia. My breakout player of the year - Wilbur Hargrove.

Running Back
44 Ahmad Bradshaw Running Back 5'11" 190 Freshman Bluefield, VA
29 Gerwin Williams Running Back 5'8" 207 Freshman Sacramento, CA
21 Ben Gum Running Back 5'11" 225 Freshman Parkersburg, WV
23 Antoine Cabarrus Running Back 6'0" 200 R-Freshman Huntington, WV
43 Tank Tunstalle Running Back 6'1" 228 Sophomore New Richmond, WV
45 Anthony Hayes Running Back 6'0" 200 Freshman Princeton, WV
48 Will Albin Running Back 6'3" 232 R-Freshman Princeton, WV
39 Paco Jones Running Back 5'9" 175 Freshman Bluefield, WV
n/a Phillip Gamble Running Back 6'1" 180 Prop Bainbridge, GA

Summary
Ahmad Bradshaw and Gerwin Williams should continue the tradition of having two successful running backs. Bradshaw can do it all. He hits the holes quickly, and has the speed to get to the outside. He also picks up the blitz and catches the ball very well, as he had two receiving touchdowns last season. Gerwin Williams is a strong running back. The thing I have noticed most about Gerwin at practice is that he genuinly seems to always be having fun. He will be the Gerardi Mercer of this team, always wearing a smile and having somthing unique to say. Tunstalle continues to move down the chart, and Albin may be switching to Linebacker. Phillip Gamble could push Tunstalle down another notch. My pick for breakout player of the year will of course be Ahmad Bradshaw.

Quarterback
14 Bernard Morris Quarterback 6'4" 206 R-Freshman Orlando, FL
16 Jimmy Skinner Quarterback 6'3" 190 Sophomore Chillicothe, OH
17 Travis Tatman Quarterback 6'3" 195 Freshman Bainbridge, OH

Summary
As long as Bernard Morris is in camp this spring, he should be the starting QB next fall. As Coach Pruett has stated, he is an excellent athlete. He can run, he seems to float in the air when running. He has a strong arm as well. Skinner, has not put on much weight yet, but many athletes do not see this until between their 3rd and 4th seaasons in a program. Incoming freshman Zack Bernard could push for playing time if something happens to Morris before Fall camp. My pick for breakout player of the year is Bernard Morris.

Tight End
13 Brian Shope Tight End 6'5" 235 R-Freshman Portage, PA
85 Jeff Mullins Tight End 6'3" 255 Junior Gallipolis, OH
89 Matt Morris Tight End 6'3" 219 Sophomore Beckley, WV
90 Alec Lockavitch Tight End 6'4" 225 Freshman Concord, NC
92 Mike Nolan Tight End 6'4" 220 R-Freshman Swiftwater, PA
93 Matt Parkhurst Tight End 6'3" 245 Freshman Philadelphia, PA
94 Joe Bragg Tight End 6'4" 254 Freshman Morgantown, WV

Summary
One of the deepest positions on the team. Jeff Mullins is a returning starter, with Brian Shope being another player who saw signifigant playing time. Joe Bragg may be moved to offensive line. Matt Parkhurst looks like a wide receiver in a tight ends body, moves well, blocks well and has excellent hands. Matt Morris is a key to this position. Many of the big schools in the SEC, throw seem routes down the middle of the field to quick athletic tight ends, we have not had that until now. Matt Morris is the type of athlete who can catch the ball, then pull away from linebackers and safeties. Imagine how many touchdowns Gregg Kellett would have had if he could run quicker. My pick for breakout player of the year is Matt Morris.

Offensive Line
55 Zac Elcess Offensive Line 6'5" 285 Junior Centerville, OH
56 Toby Bullock Offensive Line 6'4" 340 Junior Jacksonville, FL
62 Matt Altobello Offensive Line 6'1" 290 Freshman Keyser, WV
63 John Inman Offensive Line 6'5" 314 R-Freshman Knoxville, TN
65 James Siems Offensive Line 6'4" 295 Freshman Charlotte, NC
66 Doug Legursky Offensive Line 6'3" 308 Freshman Beckley, WV
69 Robert Austin Offensive Line 6'3" 340 Freshman Columbus, OH
72 Ryan Baynes Offensive Line 6'2" 314 Junior Augusta, GA
73 Seth Cook Offensive Line 6'4" 315 Sophomore Gilbert, WV
74 David Ziegler Offensive Line 6'5" 288 R-Freshman Pomfret, MD
75 Nate Howard Offensive Line 6'4" 275 R-Freshman Huntington, WV
76 Joe Unger Offensive Line 6'4" 238 Freshman Centerville, OH

Summary
This positition is still very deep, as deep as it ever has been at Marshall. They just have to start playing well as a group. Toby Bullock should drop some weight and move to Left Tackle for next season. The JUCO transfer should come in and start at Left Guard, with Legursky, Elcess and Cook rounding out from Center to Right Tackle. Four of the five saw signifigant action last season, once they get to work together though spring and fall, we should see improvement. Robert Austin is huge and he is always practicing hard. David Ziegler and John Inman are also up and coming players. Inman is solid, he weighs over 300 pounds and does not look fat. Nate Howard could be a factor here, but I do not know where he would fit in. The obvious place would be Center, and move Legursky back to guard, if Legursky can learn the position and beat out the JUCO transfer. My pick for breakout player of the year is Zac Elcess who I believe will develop into an NFL prospect due to his size and speed.

Defensive End
38 Damarcus Thomas Defensive End 6'1" 235 Junior Lithonia, GA
51 Jason Kaminski Defensive End 6'3" 225 Junior Woodbridge, VA
54 Gavin Herscher Defensive End 6'3" 243 Squad St. Albans, WV
68 Colin Kelly Defensive End 6'3" 233 R-Freshman Williamsburg, VA
76 Nathan Kiskis Defensive End 6'3" 214 Freshman Crown City, OH
87 Byron Tinker Defensive End 6'4" 235 R-Freshman Louisville, KY
91 Shavar Greer Defensive End 6'0" 230 Sophomore Beckley, WV
92 Bilal El-Amin Defensive End 6'3" 240 Freshman Lexington, Ky
46 Kingsley Clark Defensive End 6'5" 235 Senior-Med. n/a
n/a Jeff Bush Defensive End 6'4" 230 Prop Fayettville, NC

Summary
Filled with a lot of speed but not much size. El-Amin and Kaminski are very good players. El-Amin has great speed and quickness. Byron Tinker is a team player he has been moved from defensive line to offensive line, and now back to the defense. Shavar Greer has the body for a defensive end, but has yet to seem to break into the depth chart. Demarcus Thomas spelled Goddard throughout the year and in fact played quite a few downs. He is not as quick as Goddard, but has the body fram to put on more weight. Jeff Bush should also help out at this position as it was said by some that he was our best recruit from last season. My breakout player at this position though is Kingsley Clark, he has been in the program for 5 to 6 seasons, and I hear he will be getting a medical redshirt. He is fast, strong and has very, very long arms, he was at practice watching all season long.

Defensive Tackle
52 Floyd Wright Defensive Line 6'0" 271 Junior Hayfield, VA
84 Adrian Davis Defensive Line 6'3" 265 Sophomore Greenfield Park, QUE
90 Blake Merritt Defensive Line 6'4" 265 Freshman Wendell, NC
95 Roger Garrett Defensive Line 6'1" 286 Sophomore Newton, GA


Summary
Position with the least amount of depth on the team. What I don’t understand regarding this position is it seems we rarely recruit for it. For example, we had a recruit we were looking at for this upcoming class, choose to go to Kent. He is 6'3" and over 300 pounds, but he wants to play defensive end, Kent, Tennessee and Michigan State were looking at him for defense, and we wanted him for offense. That being said, we have four players at this position, one who redshirted this past season in Merritt. The other three have increased in size and played quite a bit this season. Wright showed a lot of intensity at the last game, and Roger Garrett could very well be our best tackle in a long time. Davis has bounced around positions but has put on weight and maintained some speed as he has moved to Tackle. My pick for breakout player of the year is Roger Garrett.

Linebacker
12 Scott Wilks Linebacker 6'2" 190 Junior Maryville, TN
15 Travis Noel Linebacker 6'2" 222 R-Freshman Etobicoke, ONT
21 Ian Hoskins Linebacker 6'2" 190 Freshman Campbellsville, KY
30 Dennis Thornton Linebacker 5'11" 210 Junior Spotylvania, VA
39 Donte' Newsome Linebacker 5'11" 205 Junior Chesapeake, VA
43 Adam Lee Linebacker 6'1" 225 Junior Romney, WV
45 Maurice Kitchens Linebacker 6'3" 225 Freshman Roanoke, VA
47 Matt Couch Linebacker 6'2" 230 Sophomore Okeana, OH
53 Ashley McNeely Linebacker 6'1" 233 Junior Mullens, WV
58 Karl Walker Linebacker 6'3" 225 Freshman Kittanning, PA

Summary
This position lost three starters to graduation. However, there is some experience returning. One of which is Matt Couch who started a couple games this year and saw signifigant action throughout. Dennis Thornton should be back if he gets his academics in order. Donte Newsome returned to his old position, practiced for a week and recorded 9 tackles in the Fort Worth Bowl. Ian Hoskins is a big athlete, but Maurice Kitchens could be the x factor here. He has the size and speed of Atkins, but has longer arms and is more athletic than Atkins. Also he is not as quiet as Atkins, which could turn him into a leader of this unit at some point. Travis Noel could also break into the rotation at some point. My pick for breakout player of the year is Donte Newsome.

Cornerback
9 Ivan Clark Cornerback 5'9" 184 Sophomore Ford, VA
10 James Brown Cornerback 5'11" 190 Junior Taunton, MA
24 Terick Thomas Cornerback 5'10" 165 R-Freshman Washington, D.C.
27 Willie Smith Cornerback 6'0" 197 Junior Palm Beach Gardens, FL
29 Romanello Wes Cornerback 6'0" 182 Freshman Lucasville, OH
37 Terry Easmon Cornerback 5'8" 160 Freshman Ocala, FL
40 Chris Hawkins Cornerback 5'10" 184 Senior Kinston, NC
41 Josh Durham Cornerback 5'11" 185 Freshman Morgantown, WV
46 Brandon Sticca Cornerback 5'10" 165 Freshman Greensburg, PA
n/a James Houston Cornerback 6'2" 188 Prop Starmount, NC

Summary
Returning Starter is Willie Smith. Chris Hawkins is a returning two year starter from UNC, who will have one year of eligibility remaining. He is a tall defensive back who is strong and talented. He saw a lot of playing time at the beginning of fall practice this season, and was used at times as a return man on the scout squads throughout the year. These two guys will be pushed for time by Ivan Clark who is making a name for himself on special teams, and Terick Thomas. Terick can fly, he has great speed and gravitates to the ball very quickly. He plays with some attitude which is something that both starters this season did not do. James Houston, who could be one of the best athletes ever at MU, should also see the field at some point. My pick for breakout player of the year is Terick Thomas.

Safety
25 Curtis Keyes Safety 6'0" 191 Sophomore Mt. Olive, MS
26 Chris Royal Safety 5'9" 185 Junior Herndon, VA
19 Geremy Rodamer Safety 6'0" 190 R-Freshman Morgantown, WV
18 Jon Moravec Safety 6'0" 190 Freshman Frederick, MD
n/a Demone Goins Safety 6'4" 205 Prop Hattiesburg, MS

Summary
Both starters return. Lonnie McCowan has transferred leaving the back up duties to Rodamer and possibly James Houston. Both safeties could be NFL prospects by the end of the season. Keyes needs to learn how to defend the middle of the field a little better and stop always going for the big hit.

Kicker
49 Ian O'Connor Kicker 6'2" 205 Sophomore Knoxville, TN
40 Daniel Urrego Kicker 5'10" 170 Freshman Sunrise, FL
37 Marty Biagi Kicker 6'0" 170 Freshman Louisville, KY
18 Jonathan Dinkins Kicker 5'10" 170 Freshman Monkton, MD

Summary
Ian Oconner should continue to handle all kicking duties. Urrego has come on this season as a solid punter, as has Biagi. In my opinion the most consistent back up place kicker is Jonathon Dinkins, although the return of Nick Kelly could help this position. Dinkins has good accuracy but is only good from about 37 yards and in, similar to Billy Malishevic from a few years ago. The key here is how OConner can put the blocks and some of the misses behind him and prove that he is more of a football player rather than a typical kicker that lets everything get in his head, then it stays there.

Long Snapper
97 Brett Riffey Long Snapper 6'2" 213 Sophomore Vincent, OH

[sporter]

Great post Mr....  I do have a few questions and observations though.

I thought kitchens would be switched to DE, as he only played LB in HS for 1 year.

Do you think Pakhurst will see the field any time next year.  

Keeping your list in mind, one would think that we would be going after a few more DT's maybe another JUCO with size.


Once again though thanks for all your work!!

[FLHERD]

Great post. I'm hoping we throw the ball to Fitzgerald much more next season.

[bbcard1]

Do you think Howard could be headed back to D? The numbers would seem to make that a prudent call and he was a monster on defense.

[W0lfman]

Outstanding post, MR.  When this thread runs its course you'll have earned the right to have the first post relegated to the Archive forum.  Nice read.

[DJdaHERDfan]

imo    I see James Houston being the one pushing for immediate playing time on defense and on offense.

[Marco]

Great Post.  A hopeful post in a sea of negativity.  I actually started feeling a little positive for a change.

I think we can certainly be good next year.  Of course, we could be bad too with that schedule, but we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.  If our O line problems are solved and Morris stays and wins the job, I like our chances.  He has great ability if he makes good decisions.  I hear Bullock has already dropped about 20 lbs and is preparing for a switch to left tackle.

Landon said the other night, Bullock to LT, Barnes (the juco) at LG, Legursky C, Elcess RG, and Cook RT.  But don't rule out Inman who is coming on strong.

If the O line gels, think about the athleticism.  Morris at QB, Bradshaw, Williams and Gamble as the top 3 RBs.  Spann and Fitz back at WR.  Then hopefully, Lauzon, Hargrove, Moore and Filer step up.  Then if anyone else or other two props are ready we are in good shape (albeit lacking experience).

The D?  could be decent.  We may be slower at DE but bigger, that is my biggest concern.  I think we'll be o.k at LB and secondary and in the middle although we need some depth.

Isn't Altobello like 6 5 or 6 7? not 6 1.

[DA4Dherd]

Nice write-up 05.  The inexperience of our WR corps amazes me - The only seniors are Hargrove and Manns and the only junior is Moore - and he's a true junior (no redshirt year).  I'm hoping they play Spann and Filer on the outside and put Fitzgerald in the slot.

It would be interesting to see Howard on the D-line - if we could recruit enough depth at OL.  Parkhurst was apparently one heck of a DE in high school, but with the rumored moves of Bragg to OL and/or Morris to LB that probably won't ever happen.

Isn't Altobello like 6 5 or 6 7? not 6 1.

MU has him at 6-1, but articles about the 2002 and 2003 AA All-Star teams listed him at 6-5 or 6-6.  He's really bulked up - the 2002 article listed his weight as 235.

[ThunderZone]

One of my breakout players for next year is Ian Hoskins...I think he's going to be something with his speed and athleticism at LB...He's really put on some weight and looks great.

I know he's young, but I think he can inject some big time playmaking ability to the LB corp.

[Photo by]

Most excellent post.

12 O-linemen and no seniors....O-line is going to be a work in progress next year...

My guess is we will see a less complex offenses as it relates to the line.

But the future looks good.

[DA4Dherd]

12 O-linemen and no seniors....O-line is going to be a work in progress next year...

Actually it looks like MRHERD05 cut and pasted from this year's roster so these are the classes as of the 2004 season.  Bullock, Baynes and Elcess will be seniors in the 2005 season.

[greenday]

I hear Bullock has already dropped about 20 lbs

Heck, Bullock could take a dump and lose 20 lbs.

[herdman]

If Bullock plays left tackle our QB won't make it past the Hofstra game.

[Marco]

just when I thought we were sailing out of the sea of negativity.......you two comedians chime in.  at least you two are witty. :D

[DBSVisor]

I think this is the year Tank moves to the other side of the ball too.  I think that it is fairly evident that others are going to carry the ball ahead of him for the foreseeable future.  Be a team player and move to a position that you can make an impact.

[Marco]

you can make an impact.

I hope that's the case if he moves, not sure it is.

[stubbypop]

Altobello is 6'4" (hasn't been 6'1" since 9th grade) and currently between 310 - 315 lbs. He was 304 lbs in August. He has also increased his bench from 350 lbs to 400 lbs since August.