Topic: Gazette: Battle of the tight ends

[ZackUSAF82]

Who's going to cover Slate, Nelson?

By Doug Smock
Staff writer

HUNTINGTON — Marshall’s game against Southern Mississippi isn’t exactly a 1-vs.-2 battle, what with the Thundering Herd winless in six games.

But there’s one exception: the tight end position. There, we’re talking a marquee matchup.

When the teams tee it up at 8 p.m. Sunday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, the game will pit not only two of the best tight ends in Conference USA, but two of the better ones in the nation. Southern Miss’ Shawn Nelson and Marshall’s Cody Slate won’t face each other on the field, but it will be a heavyweight bout nonetheless.

Nelson wears No. 1, and it’s fitting — he is the champ, so to speak, the reigning first-team all-conference selection. Sporting No. 85, Slate is the emerging contender, an all-freshman pick in 2006 who added to his highlight reel nicely last week at Tulsa.

“Nobody’s asking about [Nelson]. He’s a really, really good football player,” said Marshall coach Mark Snyder. “We threw the ball to Cody last year, and it seemed like they came back, threw it to big No. 1. Coach [Jeff] Bower knows he’s got a good tight end, as we do. They use him about as much as we use Cody. He’s a big part of their offense.”

In the 2006 regular-season finale at Hattiesburg, the statistical battle was as lopsided as the 42-7 score. Nelson had six receptions — almost as many as the Herd had as a team — for 63 yards and one touchdown, a 23-yarder. Slate managed one catch, his 43rd and last of the season, for 15 yards.

Link: http://wvgazette.com/section/Sports/Marshall/2007101840