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Transcription

HerdInsider.com
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Herd football: Coming attractions
HUNTINGTON – A look at the 2015 Marshall football schedule (times still TBA on most games):
Date
Opponent
Time
Sept. 6
Purdue
3 p.m.
“Labor Day Sunday” opener is first
visit by a Big Ten Conference team to
Edwards Stadium
at Ohio
TBA
Last date in six-game contract of
“Battle for the Bell” series; teams
resume rivalry in 2019-20.
Norfolk State TBA
Hall of Fame Weekend; first meeting
with NSU; Herd is 15-1 versus FCS
teams since 1997
at Kent State TBA
First meeting since 2004, when Herd
left Mid-American Conference; Marshall
has won last 10
—
Oct. 9
Southern Miss 7 p.m.
Friday game; series at 5-5, with Herd
winning last four; MU has 59, 61, 63
points in last three
Oct. 17
at Florida AtlanticTBA
49ers are football newcomers to
C-USA, guided by former Herd assistant
coach Brad Lambert
Nov. 7
at Middle Tenn. TBA
Herd leads series 3-1, but last visit to
Murfreesboro brought 51-49 loss on last
play of game
Nov. 14
FIU
TBA
After Herd romps at Miami the last
two seasons, Panthers make first trek
to Huntington
—
North Texas TBA
MU Homecoming; First date as C-USA
foes; Herd won, 7-0, in 1988 Division
I-AA first round
—
at Charlotte TBA
—
Herd has won two in row here – at
0:00 over Owls in 2013, then Boca
Raton Bowl last season
Oct. 24
Oct. 31
—
—
—
Sept. 26
Herd’s Conference USA opener;
Monarchs’ first visit to “The Joan;’
Marshall leads 1-0
—
—
Sept. 19
Old DominionTBA
—
—
Sept. 12
Oct. 3
Nov. 27
at Western Ky TBA
Herd out to avenge lone 2014 loss
on Thanksgiving Friday; first trip to
Western since 1950 win
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HerdInsider.com
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Hall passes
Features
The Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame is about to grow again, as nine
new members were voted in as the 2015 Class. One they’re inducted this fall, it will bring Hall membership to 236
Six and six
Jack Bogaczyk: In an announcement awaited since the New Year,
the Herd made a statement on stability with long-term contract
extensions for AD Mike Hamrick and Coach Doc Holliday
On the mound
Steve Cotton: After spending part of spring training with the parent
Diamondbacks, former Herd star Aaron Blair – newly engaged — is
pitching his way toward the Majors
Sports and marriage
Chris Dickerson: Their sports and academics keep them busy, but
football’s Joe Woodrum and softball’s Alyssa Woodrum have found
time to fit plenty of love into their marriage of Herd sports
Stronger schedule
Herd men’s basketball Coach Dan D’Antoni wants tougher schedules, and the 2015-16 slate has a game at Tennessee, a trip to
Vegas and a marquee team that will be added in coming months
Big hitter
It took a year more than he expected, but Barboursville Cody Carter
finally landed with his “hometown” football team – where he’s been
a regular on special teams for the Herd
Herd shortstop Katalin Lucas (92) makes a throw to first in the
Herd’s recent softball sweep of North Texas at Dot Hicks Field. Lucas,
a junior from Agua Dulce, Calif., was 3-for-5 in the twinbill
Photo by Brad Helton
Plenty of heart
Marshall defensive tackles coach J.C. Price has kept his emotions in
check this spring, while dealing with a heart ailment that put him
into surgery for a fix this week
Outside guy
Once Deon-Tay McManus found his way back to outside receiver
last season, he helped the Herd to its first Conference USA title. He
continues to impress in spring ball
Huskey effort
After making a statement with his play in the C-USA title game last
December, Herd middle linebacker Raheim Huskey hopes to win the
starting job and follow names like Hewitt and Holmes
‘Ning’ finds new home
In Coach Tiffany Prats’ first-year program, women’s golf transfer
Pimrawee “Ning” Huang brings the Herd’s construction plan a player
who has seized a new opportunity
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4
The Herd Insider Magazine
Herd adds nine in 2015 Hall of Fame class
From Marshall Sports Information
HUNTINGTON — The Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame Committee
announced nine members for the 2015 induction class last week. The
additions will bring the “Herd Hall” to 236 honorees.
The 2015 class (in alphabetical order):
Jessica Braga – Volleyball, 1991-95; Chris Deaton – Football, 1990-93; Jim
Glass, Jr. (deceased) – Basketball, 1942-45; Joe Goddard – Baseball, 197071; Johnathan Goddard (deceased) – Football, 2001-04;
Sara Gulla – Softball, 1998-2001; Carl Hewlett – Baseball, 1967-70; Chris
Massey – Football, 1998-2001; Tim Openlander – Football, 1994-96.
“This class represents some of the finest student-athletes in school history,”
MU athletic director Mike Hamrick said. “The contributions of these fine
men and women are truly appreciated by everyone in the Marshall Athletics
family.”
The annual Hall of Fame dinner is scheduled Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.,
in the Don Morris Room of the Marshall University Memorial Student
Center. Tickets are $30 each and are available through the Cam Henderson
Center ticket office (Third Avenue entrance) at HerdZone.com or by calling
1-800-THE-HERD.
The Hall members will be guests of the Marshall M Club at the club’s tailgate
at the southwest corner of Joan C. Edwards Stadium, prior the Thundering
Herd’s Sept. 19 football game versus Norfolk State. The class will be
introduced to the stadium crowd in a pregame ceremony. Kickoff time is still
to be determined.
Tickets to the game also are available through the MU ticket office at the
numbers or website listed above for banquet tickets.
The biographical sketches on the Class of 2015, in alphabetical order:
Jessica Braga (Volleyball 1991-95)
Marshall won its second championship in the Southern Conference during
Braga’s senior season in 1995 (25-11, 12-2 in SoCon). The Herd beat Florida
A&M in the NCAA play-in game, 3-0, before falling in the first round of the
NCAA Tournament at Georgia. The 25 wins that season were the most since
the Herd won 31 in 1980 and most until 2005 team won 26 matches. As
a senior outside hitter, Braga, a native of Fortaleza, Brazil, was Southern
Conference Player of the Year and was named All-Southern Conference and to
the SC All-Tournament Team. She was named All-Southern Conference second
team as a sophomore. Braga was a three-time member of the Academic
Honor Roll (1992, ’93 and ’94) and was named to the Southern Conference’s
25th Anniversary team in 2008. She led Marshall in digs in as a sophomore
with 325. She had 387 as a senior. That season, she also led the Thundering
Herd with 37 service aces.
Chris Deaton, Football (1990-93)
Deaton, from Paintsville, Ky., started 56 consecutive games at offensive
tackle for the Thundering Herd — tied as the leader in starts among all
players at Marshall with fellow Hall of Fame member Aaron Ferguson. During
Deaton’s career, Marshall won a Division I-AA national championship in 1992
and finished as runner-up in 1991 and 1993. The Herd posted four-year
record of 40-16 over Deaton’s four seasons as starter. As a senior captain,
Deaton won the 1993 Jacobs Blocking Award as the top offensive lineman in
the Southern Conference and was also named as a first team All-American
in 1993 on the Associated Press and Sports Network teams. He was AllSouthern Conference second team as a freshman and a sophomore, then
earned first team honors in his junior and his senior seasons. Deaton and
fellow Hall of Famer Phil Ratliff (Louisa, Ky.) were known as “The Kentucky
Headhunters” for the pair’s devastating blocking at right guard (Ratliff) and
right tackle (Deaton).
James Edward “Jim” Glass, Jr., Basketball (1942-45) – deceased
Glass, of Talcott, W.Va., was captain of the 1943-44 and ‘44-45 Herd
basketball teams. He helped Coach Cam Henderson post records of 10-7
in 1942-43, 15-7 in 1943-44 and 17-9 in 1944-45 during World War II. He
was a part-time player as a freshman, but scored 22 points in a 55-49 win
at Cincinnati. He was a starter over the next two seasons, listed as a guardcenter-forward on the roster of the ‘44-45 team. Highlights of his senior
season included wins over Cincinnati and Louisville. As a junior, Glass was
on the squad that defeated Maryland. MU topped the 100-point mark for the
first time by beating Salem 119-55 and Glass had 23 points, following up on
earlier in the year by scoring 23 at Loyola (Md.) on Dec. 16 in a 55-37 win.
He had 15 double-digit games in his Marshall career. After graduating from
Marshall in the class of 1947, Glass became a basketball and football coach
at Leewood Junior High School in Kanawha County. Glass died of a heart
attack on a hot October Homecoming in 1971, when the Young Thundering
See HALL, Page 21
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HerdInsider.com
Long-term deals for Hamrick, Holliday enhance Herd
HUNTINGTON — Stability. Continuity. Growth. Success.
That’s what Marshall University has had in its athletic leadership and in its
marquee program … and those pillars were strengthened last week, when the
Thundering Herd signed Athletic Director Mike Hamrick and football Coach
Doc Holliday to long-term contract extensions.
Hamrick, who returned to his alma mater as AD in July 2009, hired Holliday
in December of that year. Together, the two West Virginia natives – Hamrick
from Clendenin and Holliday from Hurricane — have lifted Herd fortunes
through new and enhanced facilities and record-breaking success on the
football field.
The contracts of both men extend until
June 30, 2021.
“Mike and Doc have stepped up and done their part, and we’re looking to
our great fans and supporters of Marshall athletics to help us continue our
momentum and success.”
Holliday’s previous contract, signed in July 2014, paid the coach $600,000
and ran through the 2017-18 school year.
Holliday’s contract adds three seasons to
his previous agreement, signed last July.
Holliday is the fourth Herd football coach
The university had announced
on Dec. 30 that there were
agreements in principle for sixyear extensions and enhanced
compensation for Hamrick and
Holliday. The formal contracts
were revealed today.
“The renewal of the contracts
of Mike Hamrick and Coach
Holiday is a clear indication of
their commitment to Marshall’s success and growth in Division I athletics,”
MU Interim President Gary White said. “We are delighted we were able to
successfully negotiate continuations that will keep Marshall moving forward.
Hamrick’s six-year extension is for
$300,000 annually, a $30,000 raise.
Holliday’s six-year deal is for a total
package of $755,500 – up from $600,000
— with additional dollars available
through incentives tied to conference
championships, bowls and season ticket
sales.
And it was a big week for the Herd coach.
Two days after his sweetened contract
was announced, The Herald-Dispatch
honored Holliday as the 2014 Lowell Cade
Sportsperson of the Year.
to win the Cade honor from
the Huntington newspaper,
following George Chaump, Jim
Donnan and Bob Pruett.
Last season, he guided the Herd to its first Conference USA championship,
with a 13-1 record and Boca Raton Bowl rout over Mid-American Conference
champ Northern Illinois. Marshall finished Nos. 22/23 in the national polls.
That performance came on the heels of a 10-4 record, C-USA East Division
Mike Hamrick
Photo courtesy Marshall SID
See BOGACZYK, Page 22
6
Blair continues whirlwind trip through pro ranks
HUNTINGTON — No one could fault Aaron Blair if things were spinning a
little too fast in his head these days.
A month in the Arizona
Diamondbacks big league spring
training camp as he begins just his
third pro season, a listing as the
D-backs No. 3 prospect, a win as the
Opening Night starter for the Double-A
Mobile BayBears – it’s a lot to take in.
The event was trumpeted
immediately by the @A_Blair19 twitter
account with a photo of the ring and:
SHE SAID YES!!!
An understatement indeed, but that’s
the way top level athletes succeed –
by maintaining a singular focus in the
thick of surrounding chaos. For Blair,
that philosophy is beneficial not only
when he toes the rubber with two on
and two out, but also in the long term
“My approach is to just go
out and do everything I can
to get better and show that
I’m a good option whenever
opportunities become available
somewhere above me,” Blair
said.
Blair received the invitation to
spend part of spring training at
the Diamondbacks’ big league
camp in Scottsdale after being
named the organization’s 2014
Minor League Pitcher of the
year, logging a 9-5 record and 171 strikeouts over 154 innings spread across
three levels of competition.
Then there was the day amidst all
that – March 28 – when Blair, an avid
golfer himself, proposed to former
Marshall golfer Caitlyn Morrone on
the 18th green at The Phonecian in
Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Exciting to say the least,” is the way
the Marshall alumnus describes his last
two months. “There’s been a lot going
on.”
view of his upcoming season.
It’s a notably quick ascent since Blair made only eleven pro starts the
previous season after being taken in the first round (36th overall pick) of
the 2013 MLB draft. Blair’s stature – he’s 6 feet 5 and 230 pounds – and a
mid-90s fastball combined with a “plus” change-up and good control have
D-backs’ brass already thinking about his big league future.’
Former Herd right-hander Aaron
Blair is back with Arizona’s Class
AA Southern League team, the
Mobile BayBears, to start what
he hopes is a special season;
Blair won on Opening Night last
Thursday
Courtesy photo
Blair made four spring training appearances on the big league side,
including one start, allowing eight hits and six runs in 10 innings of work.
He made his best and most lasting impression against the defending World
Series champion San Francisco Giants on March 14, with three innings of
one-hit, shutout work in a 5-2 Arizona win before a raucous Salt River Fields
record crowd of 13,032.
See COTTON, Page 23
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HerdInsider.com
The Woodrums: A match made in Herd sports
HUNTINGTON — It’s spring, and love is in the air.
The signs nearly are everywhere, even around Marshall’s campus.
But when you think of athletic teams, romance usually isn’t the first thought
that comes to mind.
Joe and Alyssa Woodrum
might change that.
Joe is a redshirt senior
tight end from Bluefield for
the Thundering Herd football
team, and Alyssa, from West
Hamlin, is a redshirt junior first
baseman for the Herd softball
team.
They met on campus, fell in
love and married last summer.
“We actually met at an
FCA (Fellowship of Christian
Athletes) meeting,” Joe said.
“That was in the fall of 2012.”
Was it love at first sight?
“I would say it maybe not at first sight, but it was pretty close,” said Joe,
who turns 23 on April 22. “Actually, she had added me on Facebook before
that FCA meeting. When she first added me, I was like, ‘This girl is pretty
cute.’ But I didn’t think anything of it.
“Then, I saw her at FCA and I was like, ‘OK, there she is again. Maybe I
should go up and say hey to her.’”
They ended up in the same small Bible study group.
Herd football’s Joe Woodrum and softball’s Alyssa (Cook) Woodrum
were married June 28 in Kenova
Photo courtesy Joe and Alyssa Woodrum
“We didn’t really talk in the group, but at the second FCA meeting I actually
went up and talked to her. You know, small talk. Nothing big. We talked for a
little bit.
See DICKERSON, Page 24
8
D’Antoni wants more tests for his hoops team
By JACK BOGACZYK
tourney entrant Wyoming.
Herd Insider Editor
The Wyoming date is part of a four-game multiteam “exempt” event in
which Marshall gets two home games, then goes to Vegas for Dec. 21-22
games in a tournament-style setup. The Marshall-Wyoming winner and loser
will face the Grand Canyon-Houston winner and loser.
HUNTINGTON — The rebuilding continues in Marshall men’s basketball,
and the Herd intends to bring a greater degree of difficulty to the task, too.
Coach Dan D’Antoni wants improvement in all phases of the program in
which he starred as a point guard back in the late ‘60s. The 2015-16 schedule
is an example of that.
With a team that will return only two players – forward Ryan Taylor and
guard Austin Loop – who were on the floor in 2013-14 — Marshall has 11
of its 13 non-league games scheduled to date, and the intention with the
remaining two games is to have a schedule full of Division I programs.
“Dan wanted to play the best possible teams that we can, so we tried
to balance things,” said Jeff O’Malley, Marshall’s associate athletic director
and chief of staff who is the MU men’s hoops administrator. “Some of next
season’s schedule was done already when Dan was hired (a year ago).
“We tried to balance what already was completed with Dan’s philosophy on
trying to get the best possible teams lined up. Then, you also want to try and
build it with some winnable games as well.”
D’Antoni said he doesn’t want to play home guarantee games against nonDivision I teams. Meanwhile, the Herd will play two “buy” road games against
marquee opponents.
The Herd will visit Tennessee on Nov. 19 for a $90,000 guarantee. O’Malley
said Marshall also is in discussions and negotiations with several big-name
power programs for a second “buy” date.
The trip to Knoxville to meet the Vols and new Coach Rick Barnes will be the
first Marshall-Tennessee game since 1945-46, the Herd schedule to date also
includes the Capital Classic in the Charleston Civic Center against rival West
Virginia – on Dec. 17, a Thursday night – and a game in Las Vegas against
defending Mountain West Conference Tournament champ and 2015 NCAA
The Herd hasn’t played Wyoming since 1992-93. Grand Canyon just
finished its second Division I season. Houston – a former Conference USA
foe of Marshall – played against the Herd for the first time on Feb. 1, 1968
at Madison Square Garden, when UH won 102-93 and D’Antoni was in the
Marshall backcourt and the Cougars had All-American Elvin Hayes in the
frontcourt.
That Las Vegas event is under the Global Sports Management umbrella.
O’Malley said Marshall continues to work with Global Sports President Maury
Hanks for its multiteam event scheduling.
The two home dates in the Global Sports event are against Eastern Illinois
and North Carolina Central, which finished its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
season unbeaten, but fell in the MEAC Tournament and went to the NIT,
where it lost a first-round game to eventual runner-up Miami (Fla.). Central
finished 25-8.
Those games are Dec. 9 and 14, respectively.
“We’ve worked with Maury Hanks on our recent multiteam events and he’s
been outstanding in scheduling us and getting us teams,” O’Malley said. “He’s
easy to work with, a man of his word and always comes through.
“It’s not always the case with a lot of those (promoters). What really helps
is getting your multiteam event locked in early, and then you can work
around it. That really works in your favor.”
O’Malley said that besides the four-game event organized by Hanks’ firm,
See TESTS, Page 25
9
HerdInsider.com
Carter proves he belongs with ‘hometown’ team
By JACK BOGACZYK
Herd Insider Editor
HUNTINGTON — It’s not just a nod to the recent Easter season to say
Cody Carter plays like the Energizer bunny for Marshall football.
The redshirt junior plays that way all of the time.
“He just keeps running,” Herd defensive coordinator and secondary coach
Chuck Heater said after a recent spring practice. “He makes plays.”
Carter made a name on special teams for the nationally ranked, 13-1 Herd
last season, after sitting out 2013 following his transfer from the University of
Charleston. What makes it sweeter for Carter is that he’s now playing for the
college team he wanted
to be with all the time.
“I grew up following
Marshall football, was a
fan,” said Carter, who is
from Barboursville and
starred at Cabell Midland
High. “It was a little
discouraging at first to
not get an offer here, and
the only offer I had was
from UC.
“I could have walked
on here, but there was
no scholarship offer. It
was, ‘Hey, I’ve got a
scholarship to a Division
II team, so I’ll take that.’
Everything just worked
out from there.”
As a freshman in 2012, Carter played on special teams in all 11 games for
a 9-2 Golden Eagles’ team that was ranked No. 25. He also saw time in five
games as a backup in the UC secondary. But Carter said he still wanted to
play major college football somewhere.
“I knew in my mind and heart that I could prove to everybody that I knew
enough to play for a Division I team — actually play — and with one that
was my hometown team, Marshall,” said Carter, who was the top preseasonranked prospect in the state prior to his 2011 CMHS senior year. “I got my
release and I had no idea where I wanted to go, but Coach (Mark) Gale (MU’s
football operations director) gave me a call and offered me the chance to
walk-on, and here I am.
“I just come out now, go hard, go 110 percent, and coaches and teammates
notice that, and that’s how I’m getting on the field right now.”
The 5-foot-9, 177-pound Carter played last season on the Herd’s kickoff and
punt teams on both sides of the ball. He played through bumps and bruises
until he was sidelined following a crunching hit in Marshall’s home win over
Rice in mid-November.
That play hasn’t deterred Carter, 21, one bit.
“We love him on special teams; he makes a lot of plays,” Heater said. “He’s
had a few injuries that just wore him out and he wasn’t able to practice at
some points during the season and really couldn’t quite finish the season he
wanted to.
Herd walk-on Cody Carter (36) has
impressed on special teams since his
transfer from the University of Charleston
“But Cody’s a very good player. Now, he’s getting reps at (field) safety and
he’s playing pretty well. He made a couple interceptions (last Friday). He’s
just a good football player. On special teams, he goes really hard, with correct
angles, like a blur sometimes, because he wants to make the play.
“He runs faster than some other guys who aren’t sure they want to make
See CARTER, Page 28
10
By JACK BOGACZYK
Herd’s Price gets to heart of the matter
Herd Insider Editor
HUNTINGTON — There’s been something different about Marshall’s first
three weeks of spring football practice in 2015, and it’s not just the intensely
followed search for a starting quarterback among 11 starters that need to be
replaced.
Only half of a defensive line coaching tandem that leaves emotions pretty
much unchecked is into business as usual. So, while ends coach Sean Cronin,
yells, slaps the top of helmets in encouragement and gets in players’ grills,
tackles coach J.C. Price paces close to the sideline, twirling the lanyard on his
whistle.
On Monday, for the second time in six months, Price was scheduled to
undergo a heart procedure to deal with atrial fibrillation.
During the Herd’s 13-1 nationally ranked2014 season, the former Virginia
Tech All-American nose guard spent several games in the coaches’ box rather
than on the sideline after an Oct. 22 cardiac ablation.
The defensive tackles coach said Dr. Esam Baryun, an electrophysiologist at
St. Mary’s Heart Center, was to do the cauterization procedure.
Price said he was fine for several months, but his symptoms have returned
– and worse this time. He was playing one-one-one basketball – wearing flipflops – with one of his young daughters when he had to call a timeout.
Spring practice has been one of practicing patience for Price.
“Crazy man Price had has to calm down,” said Price — is in his fourth year
on Coach Doc Holliday’s staff – last week. “I’ve had to calm my butt down …
It’s hard to coach, especially at the position we have. It’s hard to coach that
way. I mean, every position is juice, energy, but specifically up front you need
to have the energy.
Marshall assistant coach J.C. Price, who works with defensive tackles
and a former All-America nose tackle at Virginia Tech, is undergoing
his second heart procedure in six months
“And for me to not bring it, I hate it. But the great thing is Doc and
everybody else has been supportive, 100 percent behind me, like they were
the last time. And I hope this is the last time I have to go through this, get it
knocked out and fixed this time.”
Price, 42, said he wasn’t surprised his enlarged heart has gone more than
See PRICE, Page 28
11
HerdInsider.com
After going outside, McManus has inside track
By JACK BOGACZYK
reason, so they put me there and I tried to give 110 percent. Davonte Allen
went down with an injury (in a Week 4 win at Akron) and they called my
number and I just tried to make plays like I always did.”
Herd Insider Editor
HUNTINGTON — Eight months ago,
as Marshall began August camp prior to
its first Conference USA championship
football season, Deon-Tay McManus felt
kind of lost.
Through four games, McManus had no statistics. Allen’s broken collarbone
suffered at Akron gave McManus an opportunity and he seized it, finishing the
season with 26 receptions for 422 yards and six touchdowns.
The Baltimore native’s coming-out party was a five-catch day for 55 yards
and a TD in a romp at ODU.
With 242-pound Devon Johnson having
just been moved to running back from
tight end, the Herd needed depth at
Johnson’s former position – and because
McManus was about 230 pounds, he fit
the profile among the wide receivers.
“It’s way easier now than it was before last season,” McManus said. “I’m
comfortable. I know what I’m doing. I’m more of a leader now. I’m more of a
vet. I’m a guy the young receivers can look up to, and I try to be more like a
big brother.
“It’s easier, too, because the game has slowed down for me. I’m more
experienced, so I’m out here just playing football now.”
That was then. What’s now is that
McManus finds himself running with the
“ones” at wideout on the play side, also
known as the Z receiver.
And why not? The redshirt sophomore
emerged back at outside receiver in
the Herd’s 2014 C-USA opener at Old
Dominion, and by seasons’ end he lead
all six Marshall outside receivers in
receptions – and those catches included
the title-game clincher in a comeback win
over Louisiana Tech.
“Aw man, that tight end thing wasn’t for
me,” the 6-foot-2, 228-pound McManus
said after a recent Herd spring practice.
“But I mean, everything happens for a
Allen is back at the X receiver spot for his senior season, and Coach Doc
Holliday and Co. are now trying redshirt sophomore Angelo Jean-Louis – he
had 21 catches for 490 yards and six scores as a rookie – at slot receiver with
sophomore Hyleck Foster. Tommy Shuler had three stellar seasons at that Y
spot before his Herd days ended last season.
In the final 10 games of last
season, Deon-Tay McManus
(16) made 26 catches at
outside receiver, including
the game-winning TD in the
C-USA Championship Game
“So far this spring, it’s so far, so good,” McManus said. “We accomplished a
lot (last season) but this is a new team, and so far we’re out here trying to
get our rhythm down, our new identity. We’re coming together, trying to get
this (search for a new) quarterback situation and receivers on the same page.
“It’s just a whole new team, so we’ll be trying to put all of the pieces
together and try to have a better team than we had last year, keep taking
care of business.”
See MCMANUS, Page 29
12
Huskey brings ‘charisma,’ swagger to LB spot
By JACK BOGACZYK
Herd Insider Editor
HUNTINGTON — What Raheim Huskey is seeing in Marshall’s 2015 spring
football practice isn’t much different from what he saw on Dec. 6, 2014.
It might seem that in those 19 weekends, Huskey has made himself into
a player at middle linebacker. That’s not quite the case. Thundering Herd
coaches knew the player was there, but Huskey needed that opportunity.
He got it – and tackled it – in a big way in the 2014 Conference USA
Championship Game, when he made the most of 40 defensive snaps with
eight tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in Marshall’s comeback victory
over visiting Louisiana Tech.
Now, four months later, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound redshirt sophomore began
spring drills as No. 1 at middle linebacker, the Herd having lost its top two
inside linebackers in Neville Hewitt, the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year,
and 37-game starter Jermaine Holmes, whose balky hamstring became an
issue in the title game.
“Huskey comes off the bench in the championship game and he just doesn’t
play – he does great,” Marshall defensive coordinator Chuck Heater said. “You
don’t figure on that, but the guy loves football, and he plays like it.”
Huskey joined the Herd in the summer of 2013, but then had to sit out that
season as an academic non-qualifier.
“I missed the game a whole lot then,” Huskey said after the Herd’s Thursday
workout. “I spent the time learning what I needed to learn, going to the
weight room trying to get stronger. I wanted to put myself in a position where
I could play when I got the chance.”
That chance didn’t come early in his redshirt freshman season. Linebacker
coach Adam Fuller had three veterans for the two inside spots, in Hewitt,
Holmes and Evan McKelvey. The first two split time at mike linebacker. Hewitt
and McKelvey split time at will.
However, Huskey opened some eyes with two punt blocks in the first five
games, and when McKelvey suffered the second torn ACL of his career in
a Week 5 win at Old Dominion, Huskey’s door to playing time opened a bit
more – although Fuller was now down to two regulars at two spots.
He was the backup for a reason because I thought Neville and Jermaine
were better,” Fuller said. “ Jermaine got dinged up, and I thought Raheim was
the next-best guy. Go in there and get the job done. You don’t think about,
’Oh, man, he’s not going to play well.’ He’s the next guy. You coach him; you
help him improve; you develop him …. And he went out there and played
well.
“I can’t say I was
worried going into the
game, but did I know
he was going to have
two sacks, nine tackles,
cause a fumble? But
I knew he would help
us. I thought we’d still
need Jermaine in the
course on the game,
and we did (25 snaps).
But confidence, Raheim
has it. I mean, he’s a
football player.
“He blocked punts
Marshall redshirt sophomore linebacker
against ODU and Rhode
Raheim Huskey (45) played 208 snaps in
Island. He made plays
2014, with 97 of those coming in the final
early in the year, but
three games when starter Jermaine Holmes
I’m going to be honest,
was struggling with hamstring issues
I didn’t have ultimate
confidence in him early
in the year … Huskey
hadn’t developed enough early in the year.”
Huskey’s year off the field only added to his inexperience on the middle line
of the defense. He played three seasons in the defensive backfield at Shelby
high in upstate South Carolina, then transferred to nearby Gaffney High for
his senior season – where he was a teammate of Herd slot receiver Hyleck
Foster.
At Gaffney, Huskey was a receiver and safety until he moved to linebacker
for seven games to close his prep career.
“I only had seven games, and making the move is kind of tough at this level
because you’re taking on offensive linemen who are much stronger, but I’ve
got those ball skills from safety and my speed, and so you just convert those
to linebacker. You take a step forward instead of a step backwards. It was
different, but it wasn’t too hard.”
Huskey finished his rookie season with 24 tackles. In the Herd’s first eight
games, he received only 81 defensive snaps, most of those in games in which
See HUSKEY, Page 29
13
HerdInsider.com
‘Ning’ transfers and finds golf opportunity
By JACK BOGACZYK
I look at the map and it takes me like 5 minutes to walk to
class.”
Herd Insider Editor
It’s the same distance for Huang to head to the Henderson
Center’s golf hitting room – a place she spent a lot of time
before Marshall began a season that closes April 20-22 in the
Conference USA Championships in Fort Myers, Fla.
HUNTINGTON — She came to Marshall sight unseen, but
not long after Pimrawee Huang arrived on campus – and
figured things out – she figured she had found a home for
more than her golf game.
“She never came to campus here, and I’d never seen her
play,” Prats said, who talked to ISU coaches about Huang
before her release and transfer. “All I’d seen were her scores,
and pretty much everything said about her has been true.
Huang – nicknamed “Ning” – moved to Marshall this
semester after three semesters at Iowa State, where she
was basically the No. 6 player in a top 40 program that
pretty much plays the same five in every event.
“She’s gotten here, been a great addition personality-wise,
golf-wise, work ethic; she’s just a great kid. And I think it
was great for us to get someone like Ning who had a little
bit more experience and maturity behind her. She’s played
on the big college level, one of top programs in the country,
so she’s seen how they prepare. And I think as a coach, that
helps me, too.
Huang, from Nakornpatom, Thailand, did plenty of research
on schools and picked the Herd and its rebounding program
under first-year Coach Tiffany Prats – who never had met
Huang. The sophomore found better weather – even through
this cold winter, she said – and a chance to play.
It also helped, especially in her early days on campus, that
one teammate was senior Korakot “Gone” Simsiriwong, a
fellow Thai native. When Huang and her mother arrived in
the pre-semester days, a couple of other teammates drove
them around Huntington.
“This is so funny,” Huang said in an interview in the Herd
women’s golf office. “They picked my mother and me up
at the hotel, and for me it looked like buildings here are all
the same. We drove from the hotel right down to Walmart,
down to Pullman (Square). I thought from 7 Eleven (on Fifth
Avenue) to Pullman is all campus. I came from a bigger school.
Pimrawee ‘Ning’ Huang of
Thailand joined the Herd
women’s golf program in
January and is finishing her
first spring season in next
week’s C-USA Championship
Photo courtesy Marshall SID
“Then when I was here for a while, I figured it out, ‘Oh, campus is not
that big.’ The stupidest question I asked Gone, who’s a senior, was, ‘Gone, I
thought we had a bus here, like the school bus.’ Gone’s like, ‘Ning, you don’t
really need a bus here; you don’t really need a car. Get the school map.’ And
“When we were practicing (at MU’s new indoor facility),
she’d say, ‘Hey, we did this drill (at Iowa State),’ and it’s
not necessarily stuff that I knew. So, it’s helped me with
practices. And just the way she can talk to the team on
things like, ‘This is what it really takes.’
“Brian (Levi, graduate assistant coach) and I saw — the
first two weeks she was here – that every single day she was
in the hitting room practicing. We weren’t having practice,
but she was there, and I think it’s helped the team that they
saw how hard she was practicing, and they’ve stepped up their games as
well.”
See NING, Page 30
14
Marshall sophomore Morgan Zerkle (18) makes contact and is speedily off to first base with a hit in a recent win over North Texas. Zerkle, from
Milton, entered last Sunday’s game at Middle Tennessee with 40 stolen bases, ranking No. 2 nationally in Division I
Herd freshman catcher Taylor McCord (20), has thrown out five of 15 attempted base stealers this season. The Gilbert, Ariz., resident has
helped Marshall to a 27-10 recordPhoto by Brad Helton
HerdInsider.com
15
Redshirt sophomore Rodney Allen (34), a former receiver now playing
cornerback, goes high to attempt an interception in one of Marshall’s
few outdoor practices at Edwards Stadium in a damp spring
Rising senior running back Steward Butler (20) is getting plenty of
first-unit reps this spring for the Herd as starter Devon Johnson is
limited after shoulder surgery. Butler has 2,063 career rushing yards
despite making only one start in three seasons
16
HerdInsider.com
17
The Herd took football drills on the road last Saturday, visiting The Greenbrier
and the NFL New Orleans Saints’ summer camp home for a scrimmage.
Running back Steward Butler (20) gets the ball on this play. An estimated 300
fans came to watch Coach Doc Holliday’s team in White Sulphur Springs
Photos byBrad Helton
18
Sophomore slot receiver Hyleck Foster (2) gets his photo taken with a young fan last Saturday at the Herd’s scrimmage session at The
Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs
Photos by Brad Helton
True freshman quarterback Chase Litton (14) uncorks a pass during
Marshall’s intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday in White Sulphur Springs.
HerdInsider.com
19
20
Marshall headed to the eastern West Virginia mountains for spring football practice last Saturday, visiting The Greenbrier for an intrasquad
scrimmage in White Sulphur Springs. Offensive linemen Sandley Jean-Felix (67), Will Mendoza (61) and Sebastian “Swede” Johansson (71)
take a break from drills in the session at the AdvoCare Sports Performance Center
21
HerdInsider.com
HALL
From Page 4
Herd beat Bowling Green team, 12-10, knocking the
Falcons from bowl consideration.
Joe Goddard, Baseball (1970-71)
Goddard, from Sophia, W.Va., parlayed two seasons as a Marshall catcher
into an eighth-round Major League Baseball Draft selection and a trip to the
majors with the San Diego Padres in 1972. He played six years of minor
league baseball, from short-season Class A ball in the Northwest League
following his junior year at Marshall in 1971 to finishing up in the Texas
(AA) and Pacific Coast (AAA) leagues. His career ended as a player-coach
at Amarillo in the Texas League. Goddard had three doubles with the 1970
Thundering Herd, with two triples and a home run — driving in seven runs.
In 1971, he hit .286 with 32 hits, 17 runs scored, nine doubles (second on
squad), a team-leading three triples, four homers, four RBI and a stolen
base. Over two seasons, he drew 12 walks. He also pitched one inning,
walking two but allowing no runs. He earned his degree at MU after the 1973
season. He began coaching at Independence High School in 1976 (the year
it opened) and spent 36 years there and won the 1990 state title among six
State Tournament trips.
Johnathan Goddard, Football (2001-04) – deceased
Goddard, from Jacksonville, Fla., was a first team All-American in 2004
on the Football Writers (FWAA) team and was named second team by the
Associated Press, CBSSports.com and Walter Camp-American Football
Coaches Association, as well as first team All-Mid- American Conference and
the MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Goddard was selected for two senior
games, the Gridiron Classic as well as the Hula Bowl and was a five-time
winner of the MAC’s Defensive Player of the Week. Goddard returned two
fumbles for touchdowns in 2003, including a 40-yard return vs. Ohio in a 28-0
shutout and an 87-yard fumble for a score in the Herd’s historic upset at No.
6 Kansas State. He is second at Marshall in career tackles for loss with 63.5
(minus-275 yards) and third in sacks with 27.5 (minus-179 yards). In 2004,
he set the Herd single-season record with minus-162 yards (on 28.5 tackles
for loss, just 0.5 behind William King’s 1993 mark of 29) and minus-113
yards on 16 sacks (second to only Cecil Fletcher’s 17 sacks in 1986). A sixthround NFL Draft pick by Detroit in 2005, Goddard played in one NFL game for
Indianapolis in 2006. Goddard was killed in a motorcycle accident in Florida in
2008, and there is a scholarship established with the Big Green and a yearly
golf tournament in his honor.
Sara Gulla, Softball, 1998-2001
Gulla, from Huntington Beach, Calif., is second in career nnings pitched at
MU with 682 1/3 and is No. 2 in strikeouts with 727. At the end of her career,
Gulla was only the second player in the Mid-American Conference to finish
with more than 700 strikeouts. She is first in MU annals in single-season ERA
(1.01 in 2000) and is third in single-season shutouts (8 in 2000) and fourth in
complete games (27 in 2001). With 270 strikeouts in 2001, Gulla ranks No. 2
in a Herd single season. Her career 1.83 ERA is No. 1 for the Herd (200-plus
innings pitched) and she’s also tops in walks per 7 innings (1.58) in a career.
Her 7.46 strikeouts per game (7 innings) is No. 2. She is No. 6 with 48 career
wins. Gulls pitched in 124 MU games, with 96 starts (No. 4 career) and her
22 shutouts rank No. 2. Gulla was named All-MAC in 2000 and 2001 and
helped MU to win the MAC East Division for the first time in 2000. Gulla was
named to Herd softball’s 20th Anniversary Team in 2013.
Carl E. Hewlett, Baseball (1967-70)
One of Marshall’s greatest pitchers, Hewlett played professional ball with
the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Hewlett pitched in 11 games for the
Herd in 1968, with two complete games and one combined shutout (with
Tom Harris). He worked 35 1/3 innings, allowing 13 runs (9 earned) on 17
hits, 28 strikeouts and 22 walks, posting a 2.30 ERA and a 4-0 mark for the
18-7 Herd. In 1969, Hewlett tossed three complete games and posted a
2.88 ERA. In 1970, Hewlett had a 4.15 ERA in 69 1/3 innings. In his Marshall
career, Hewlett was 14-6 all-time, throwing 161.0 innings, allowing only 59
earned runs and 106 hits, while striking out 127 batters with a career ERA of
3.29. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates (44th Round, June Amateur
Draft) in 1970 and played for the 1970 Tourists in the Gulf Coast League. In
1971, Hewlett played for the Monroe Pirates in the Class A Western Carolinas
League, posting a two-year total of 5-3 with 3.97 ERA in 15 games, with 61
strikeouts and 29 walks.
Chris Massey, Football (1998-2001)
Eventually an All-American long snapper, Massey, from Chesapeake, W.Va.,
began his Marshall career as a reserve linebacker in 1998, helping the Herd
win its first bowl game in over half a century. He moved to long snapper in
1999 and found a home for the remainder of his career. In 1999, he was
named as a District II GTE Academic All-American and had six tackles for the
No. 10 Herd (13-0). He snapped for the Herd and had six tackles in 2000,
when MU won the Motor City Bowl over Cincinnati, before being named a
senior captain in 2001, a season that saw him post a career-high 19 tackles
as Marshall went 11-2. He finished with 31 special teams tackles in his career
and over 500 snaps without a miscue. He was taken in the seventh round of
the NFL Draft in 2002 by the St. Louis Rams where he played nine seasons
before finishing his career with the Chicago Bears in 2011. He had clean
snaps on 840 of his 841 snaps, including a string of 528 consecutive clean
snaps from September 2002 through December 2006, with the Rams.
Tim Openlander, Football (1994-96)
Openlander shares the Marshall single-season extra point and field goal
records. His extra-point record of 82 was tied by Justin Haig during the 2014
season. Openlander’s 19 field goals in 1995 tied the school mark (with Dewey
Klein and David Merrick). His 211 career PATs from 1994-96 (second to Haig’s
220 from 2011-14) and 42 field goals (second to Klein’s 54 from 198891), and his 337 career points are No. 2 behind Haig’s 346. Openlander’s
career PAT percentage was .977 (211-of-216) and he owned a .750 field
goal percentage (42-of-56). His career-long 52-yard field goal (1996 vs.
Howard) ranks tied for fifth-longest in Herd annals. He was a second team
All-American in 1996. He was a first-team All-SoCon selection in 1995 and
1996, and was All-SoCon second team in 1994. Openlander originally came
from Tampa, Fla., to Marshall to play soccer, and scored six goals and had two
assists for the 1993 Herd.
22
BOGACZYK
From Page 5
title and Military Bowl win over Maryland in 2013.
“Doc has made Marshall football relevant again
for the first time in a long time, with the success he has had in the last two
seasons,” Hamrick said. “The recent past – 23-5, two big bowl wins – has
been great and the promise of the future is great. He runs an excellent
program, with a commitment to doing things right on and off the field.
“We have the premier program in Conference USA and one of the best in
the nation, as the final rankings showed. That’s a credit to Coach Holliday and
his staff, and I’m looking forward to us having big success for a long, long
time.”
Holliday, who turns 58 on April 21, brings a 40-25 coaching record into
2015, his sixth season guiding the Herd. His teams are 3-0 in bowls and have
won 14 of the last 15 games at Edwards Stadium.
The extension ranks Holliday third among Conference USA football coaches,
behind Rick Stockstill of Middle Tennessee State ($803,129) and Rice’s David
Bailiff ($780,243). Stockstill and Bailiff are entering their 10th and ninth
seasons at their posts, respectively.
“I’m as happy as I’ve ever been coaching football in my career, right here
now at Marshall University,” Holliday said. “I just appreciate the commitment,
starting with (late MU President) Dr. (Stephen) Kopp, who’s sadly no longer
with us. He gave me the opportunity, along with Mike Hamrick, and they
made the commitment to winning championships here.
“With the great facilities we have now and the opportunity to have and keep
the staff I have now, it’s just a great, great situation to work in. Gary White,
our interim president, has been very supportive, and I’m just really proud to
be the coach here at Marshall.
“Mike and I have made a long-term commitment to Marshall and our
community in the Tri-State area. I’d hope we can continue to build as we
have, with an increase in support from our community. I hope we can build
our fan base. We play an exciting brand of football, and I hope we’ll see more
fans in the seats in coming seasons at Edwards Stadium.”
Holliday’s new contract includes a base salary from the university of
$175,000. He also is guaranteed $330,500 annually for appearances on his
weekly radio and TV shows and $200,000 (beginning this July) for annual
appearances at Big Green Scholarship Foundation fundraising functions and
another $50,000 from the Herd’s Football Enhancement Fund.
The contract has a maximum of $100,000 tied to success in C-USA (division
and league titles) and bowls, plus a $25,000 incentive tied to MU football
season ticket sales.
Holliday’s buyout is $725,000 – up from $600,000 — unless he moves to
the head coaching position at state rival West Virginia, his alma mater. In that
case, the buyout increases to $3 million. If Marshall terminates the contract,
the MU buyout is $755,500 for each remaining year of the deal.
Hamrick came to Marshall after AD stints at Arkansas-Little Rock, East
Carolina and UNLV. He will be entering his seventh year as the Herd athletic
chief this summer, and with his leadership Marshall has made more than $42
million in athletic facility construction and enhancement.
The former Herd linebacker has spearheaded the ongoing Vision Campaign,
which has raised in excess of $28 million in private funding for the
centerpiece of the campaign, the Chris Cline Athletic Complex.
The 101,000-square foot Cline Complex includes an indoor facility that
houses a full-length football field and the 300-meter Jeff Small Track; the
Buck Harless Student-Academic Program home (scheduled to open this
summer); the Marshall University Sports Medicine Institute; and the first
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame.
The Vision Campaign also allowed the Herd to build Hoops Family Field at
Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex, a 1,006-seat facility that is one of the
finest in the nation and is used not only by Marshall but other community
organizations.
Hamrick also has enhanced Herd football schedules, scheduling home-andhome series with Purdue, Louisville, North Carolina State, Pitt, East Carolina
and Navy. He also has renewed series with former MAC foes Ohio, Miami
(Ohio), Akron and Kent State.
Hamrick’s years at Marshall also have included a commitment to NCAA
compliance and academic success, which is displayed through the NCAA’s
Academic Progress Rate (APR), graduation rates and C-USA academic awards
for student-athletes.
“I’m very humbled and appreciative that my alma mater, Marshall
University, would give me the opportunity to continue in a job that I love,”
said Hamrick, 57. “I appreciate the support I’ve received over the years from
Dr. Kopp, who was a great president for us, and now from Gary White and
our Board of Governors.
“Our intent is to continue to move forward and continue to build on our
recent success. The university has made a long-term commitment to Coach
Holliday and to me with these contracts, and we are committed to Marshall.
Our fan base and our community want a successful athletic program, which is
what we want.
“We’re going to be here, and we need more of you to be here, too.”
23
HerdInsider.com
COTTON
From Page 6
“The coolest moment was when I faced Buster
Posey and I got a former MVP to fly out,” Blair said.
“That’s just a great feeling. But even bigger than that in the long run was just
being around Major League players all day long, every day.
“That’s a tremendous opportunity for a younger player, to talk with
them and even just to watch and observe them, to see how they handle
themselves. I tried to take advantage of all that time and use it to make
myself better.”
Eventually the time came when the big league starters needed to throw
more innings, Blair needed to throw more innings and there weren’t enough
opportunities for everyone in the Major League games. Blair was reassigned
to the minor league camp March 15, but not before he’d made sure he’d be
remembered.
“I got sent down the morning after I’d pitched the three scoreless innings
against the Giants, so I’d had that high note and then got sent down,” Blair
said. But I knew it was coming because it was just the time those moves are
made.
“When I had my exit meeting, the manager and general manager and
pitching coach said I left a ‘lasting impression’ with them.
“They told me to just keep on doing what I have been and that they now
know what I can do and if the situation arises that from now on they wouldn’t
hesitate to call me all the way up. But I just needed to go back down to the
minors right now to get innings and keep developing.”
Ultimately, Blair was sent back to Mobile, starting this season at the same
place he made his final eight starts last season, going 4-1 with a 1.94 ERA.
He sees a methodology as to why the Diamondbacks sent him back to a level
at which he’s already had success.
“Two years ago I finished the season with a few games in South Bend,
then that’s where they sent me to start last season,” Blair said. “The first
time I was there it was all new, then when I returned last spring there was
familiarity and a comfort level right from the start.
“That’s the same now. Mobile isn’t new to me and hopefully I pitch as well
here to start this season as I did in South Bend last year.”
So far, so good as Blair tossed six innings, allowing three hits, and picked
up the win as Mobile beat Birmingham in last week’s Southern League season
opener. As if he needed more motivation, those few weeks of life at the big
league camp simply whet Blair’s desire to get back there for good.
“It was very exciting both to spend time with the Diamondbacks’ big league
guys and also to pitch against Major League hitters for the other teams,”
he said. “It’s really an unusual feeling to go out on the mound and pitch
against guys you’ve been watching on TV for years. For me personally it was
important to go out there and pitch well and I’m excited for what’s ahead.”
He’s resisting the urge, however, to set any timetable for getting a
promotion to Arizona or even the organization’s Class AAA affiliate, the Reno
Aces.
“Of course, I want to make it to the big leagues, but I haven’t specifically
set that as a goal for this year because that’s not something I can control
all by myself,” Blair said. “All I can control is how I pitch and how I prepare
myself every day, so that’s my focus.”
At some point, Blair and his fiancé also will start making wedding plans –
they’ve not yet set a date – but a big question remains:
Does Marshall have dibs on any future children from the Herd couple,
the baseball star and the golfer, whose twin sister, Kristyn, also played at
Marshall?
“Maybe,” Blair said, laughing, “but we don’t have any scholarship offers
yet.”
Veteran Marshall play-by-play broadcaster Steve Cotton – a record 10-time
West Virginia Sportscaster of the Year — is finishing his 22nd season on the
Thundering Herd/IMG Sports Network. Contact him at [email protected].
24
DICKERSON
From Page 7
“Later that night, I was thinking, ‘This girl is pretty
cool.’ So, I messaged her on Facebook because I
didn’t have her number. We talked there a little bit, I
asked her for her number. Then we started texting and hanging out.”
The former Alyssa Cook said the first time Joe suggested getting together,
she blew him off … but said she had a good excuse.
“I was with one of my teammates, and he was with one of his teammates,”
Alyssa, 21, said. “I didn’t want to hang out because it was Taco Tuesday, and
we were planning to watch a Disney movie.
So, I blew him off for tacos.”
Despite Alyssa’s love of Mexican food, the relationship blossomed. They
were married June 28, 2014 in Kenova in a nice outdoor ceremony at the
home of Alyssa’s aunt, Connie McCoy. It’s the same place her parents – Keith
and Bobbi Cook — were married.
Both said being a student-athlete doesn’t make their marriage more
difficult. The only challenge apparently is feeding Joe. It take a lot of tacos –
or anything else – to satisfy a college football player’s appetite.
“The amount of food intake that Joe requires,” Alyssa said with a chuckle. “I
have never had to cook before we got married. Now, I have to cook, but it’s
not just for two!”
Now, as the couple approaches their first anniversary, both of them are
busy. Alyssa is in the middle of softball season. Joe is in the middle of spring
practices.
The NCAA and Marshall don’t keep track of the number of student-athletes
who are married. But the number of married collegiate athletes is small, and
the number of those married to another college athlete is even smaller.
In addition to athletics, the Woodrums both have a full plate of school work.
Alyssa is a senior academically majoring in communications disorders. Joe is
working on his MBA after earning a degree in finance.
In many ways, the Woodrums already are “an old married couple.”
“Sometimes, when we both have busy days, we’ll just be seeing each other
at night,” Joe said. “She’ll have classes, meetings and practice or a game. We
try to go out to dinner together. We try to hang out at night mostly.
“We’re pretty boring, actually.”
Alyssa agreed.
“We try to get all of our stuff done so we have our evenings as free as we
can,” she said, noting they spend a lot of their down time together at their
apartment with their golden retriever, Gracie.
They said having their athletic seasons at different times of the year helps.
“When I’m really busy, she’s not as busy,” Joe said. “And when she’s really
busy, I’m not as busy.”
And, they try to make as many of each other’s games as they can.
“When she’s playing at home, I’m usually right there,” the Herd tight end
and special teams regular said. “It is hard to get to a lot of the away games
with classes and spring ball.
“She is (majoring) in communication disorders, so she’s packed with a lot of
school work. I am too, but hers is more demanding. I’m in the MBA program
right now, studying finance. In the MBA program, you are only allowed nine
hours, but they’re challenging.”
Last Wednesday, for example, the softball team was scheduled to play at
Kentucky, a game that was curbed by weather. Joe didn’t have spring drills
that day, so he planned to drive to Lexington with offensive lineman Tom
Collins to watch the game.
The Woodrums are excited about their future together. First on the radar is
their first anniversary this summer.
“We’re still thinking about what we want to do,” Joe said. “We love going up
to the Summersville/Craigsville area. We might just do that. It’ll be good.”
After that, Joe said he has another year of grad school. Alyssa also plans to
start grad school. They see kids in their future, but not immediately.
“I’m thinking I’ll probably do something at a bank, or I might do some
financial planning,” Joe said. “There are a couple of tests I’d have to take, but
I’ve been considering that. There are a lot of options.”
“I want to be a speech pathologist and work in nursing homes for people
with strokes,” Alyssa said.
“We’re going to stay here in West Virginia,” Joe continued. “We both love
the mountains. It’s home.”
The Woodrums said their marriage is proof that it can be done.
“If we can do it, anybody can do it,” Joe said. “We’re married. We have
a dog. We both play a sport. We’re both studying with hard majors. We’re
defeating the odds.”
Chris Dickerson, a Marshall graduate and former sportswriter and city editor
at two West Virginia daily newspapers, is editor of the West Virginia Record
and an adjunct journalism professor at MU.
25
HerdInsider.com
TESTS
From Page 8
the 2015-16 games already set when D’Antoni took
the job were a home game with Akron (date TBA)
and a game at Morehead State (Nov. 24) – both
dates end four-game contracts – and the Capital Classic.
return game to Eastern Kentucky and “we’ve agreed in principal to extend
Akron – another four years – but it’s not done (contractually) yet. He said the
Herd also is working a multiteam event that would provide three home dates
in tandem with a road game at a power conference foe.
“Since Dan came in, we went out and got the Tennessee game,” O’Malley
said. “We also locked down a home-and-home with Eastern Kentucky, starting
here (Dec. 12), and then next year on the road, and did a home-and-home
with James Madison in the same year (Nov. 27 home, Dec. 5 road).”
Marshall’s 18-game Conference USA schedule remains in limbo. O’Malley
said C-USA scheduling in most sports remains uncertain until university
presidents in the league decide whether C-USA Tournament champ UAB will
remain in the league or be forced out after dropping football following last
season.
Asked about playing a home-and-home in the same season against a nonleague foe, O’Malley said, “If you have a good opponent and it’s regional, I
don’t mind it, and it knocks out two of the games you need to get.”
The final piece of the puzzle is a home-and-home O’Malley and D’Antoni
hope to land against a mid-major or power conference team. That game,
whether it’s home or road, would be played Nov. 13 or 14.
If it’s a Henderson Center date, it would be Nov. 13, because Marshall has a
home football game against FIU the following day.
“Hopefully we’ll get another home-and-home,” O’Malley said. “That’s what
we’d like, and if it’s a good fit for home-and-home we’ll do it. That’s what
we’re looking at right now. We’re kind of waiting. Some things will fall late –
they always do – and that’s how we got the South Carolina home-and-home
(in the last two seasons). Some things always break late.”
O’Malley said D’Antoni also wants to play two exhibition games that haven’t
been scheduled to date.
For the following season (2016-17), O’Malley said the Herd already has the
The 2015-16 Marshall men’s basketball non-conference schedule (to date),
with two games remaining:
November
19 — at Tennessee; 24 – at Morehead State; 27 — James Madison.
December
5 — at James Madison; 9 —
Eastern Illinois; 12 — Eastern
Kentucky; 14 – North Carolina
Central; 17 — West Virginia at
Charleston CC; 21 – Wyoming, at
Las Vegas; 22 — Grand Canyon or
Houston, at Las Vegas.
TBA
Akron
Jeff O’Malley (left), the Herd associate AD and Chief of Staff, visited the ESPN SportsCenter set at the recent
Final Four in Indianapolis with his son, Austin, 10, and his father, Jerry O’Malley, of Clarks Summit, Pa.
Photo by David Scott, ESPN
26
Marshall Athletics schedules, 2014-15
BASEBALL
DateOpponentSiteTime
Feb. 13
at Florida A&M
Tallahassee, Fla.
L, 4-3
Feb. 14
at Florida A&M
Tallahassee, Fla.
W, 24-2
Feb. 15
at Florida A&M
Tallahassee, Fla.
W, 10-9
Feb. 20
Alabama A&M
Starkville, Miss.
L, 8-3
Feb. 20
at Mississippi State
Starkville, Miss.
L, 6-2
Feb. 22
Alabama A&M
Starkville, Miss.
L, 8-1
Feb. 22
at Mississippi State
Starkville, Miss.
L, 7-4
Feb. 27
Towson
Winston-Salem, N.C. W, 2-1
Feb. 28
Towson
Winston-Salem, N.C. W, 7-6
Feb. 28
at Wake Forest
Winston-Salem, N.C. L, 6-5
March 1
at Wake Forest
Winston-Salem, N.C. L, 8-3
March 7
George Mason
Thomasville, N.C.
W, 5-4 (13)
March 8
George Mason (DH)
Thomasville, N.C.
S, 4-6, 9-6
March 13
UTSABeckleyL, 2-0
March 14
UTSABeckleyL, 10-5
March 15
UTSABeckleyL, 16-8
March 17
at Eastern Kentucky
Richmond, Ky.
L, 8-4
March 18
Morehead State
Huntington
L, 7-1
March 20
at UAB
Birmingham, Ala.
L, 5-2
March 21
at UAB (DH)
Birmingham, Ala.
S, 7-6, 1-2
March 25
at Ohio
Athens, Ohio
L, 11-8
March 27
FIUCharlestonL, 7-4
March 28
FIUCharlestonW, 5-4
March 29
FIUCharlestonL, 3-1
April 1
at Miami (Ohio)
Oxford, Ohio
W, 16-3
April 3
at Florida Atlantic
Boca Raton, Fla.
L, 9-4
April 4
at Florida Atlantic
Boca Raton, Fla.
L, 10-3
April 5
at Florida Atlantic
Boca Raton, Fla.
L, 6-1
April 7
Miami (Ohio)
Huntington
Cancelled
April 8
OhioHuntingtonL, 4-2
April 10
Charlotte
Beckley
W, 5-1
April 11
Charlotte
Beckley
L, 5-4
April 12
Charlotte
Beckley
1 p.m.
April 14
at Akron
Akron, Ohio
3 p.m.
April 17
at Old Dominion
Norfolk, Va.
6 p.m.
April 18
at Old Dominion
Norfolk, Va.
3 p.m.
April 19
at Old Dominion
Norfolk, Va.
1 p.m.
April 21
at West Virginia
Morgantown
6 p.m.
April 24
Middle Tennessee
Charleston
1 p.m.
April 25
Middle Tennessee
Charleston
7 p.m.
April 26
Middle Tennessee
Charleston
10 a.m.
April 28
West Virginia
Charleston
6 p.m.
May 1
May 2
May 3
May 8
May 9
May 10
May 12
May 14
May 15
May 16
May 20-24
at Southern Miss
at Southern Miss
at Southern Miss
Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky
Eastern Kentucky
at Louisiana Tech
at Louisiana Tech
at Louisiana Tech
C-USA Tournament
Hattiesburg, Miss.
Hattiesburg, Miss.
Hattiesburg, Miss.
Charleston
Charleston
Charleston
Huntington
Ruston, La.
Ruston, La.
Ruston, La.
Hattiesburg, Miss.
7 p.m.
3 p.m.
Noon
1 p.m.
1 p.m.
10 a.m.
3 p.m.
7 p.m.
4 p.m.
2 p.m.
—
MEN’S GOLF
Spring 2015
DateTournamentSite/Finish
March 2-3
Davidson (N.C.) Invitational
6th of 12 teams
March 13-15 Pinehurst Intercollegiate
2nd of 11 teams
March 22
Blue Devil Shootout
7th of 15 teams
March 27-29 Furman Intercollegiate
16th of 18 teams
April 3-5
Red Wolves Intercollegiate
10th of 21 teams
April 13-14 Greenbrier Intercollegiate
Old White TPC
April 26-29 Conference USA Championship
Texarkana, Ark.
WOMEN’S GOLF
Spring 2015
DateTournamentSite/Finish
March 1-3
Kiawah Island Classic
13th of 40 teams
March 13-15 3M Jaguar Intercollegiate
11th of 13 teams
March 30-31 Hoya Women’s Invitational
2nd of 13 teams
April 6-7
Chattanooga Classic
5th of 10 teams
April 10-11 Murray State Invitational
5th of 11 teams
April 20-22 Conference USA Championship
Fort Myers, Fla.
SOFTBALL
DateOpponentSiteTimes TBA
Charleston Challenge
Feb. 6
Army
Charleston, S.C.
W, 10-4
Feb. 6
at College of Charleston Charleston, S.C.
W, 3-1
Feb. 7
Bethune-Cookman
Charleston, S.C.
W, 2-1
Feb. 7
UMass-Lowell
Charleston, S.C.
W, 3-0
Feb. 8
UNC Greensboro
Charleston, S.C.
W, 8-0
—
See SCHEDULES, Page 27
27
HerdInsider.com
SCHEDULES
From Page 26
Pirate Snow Classic
Feb. 12
at East Carolina
Greenville, N.C.
Feb. 13
Towson
Greenville, N.C.
Feb. 14
Bucknell
Greenville, N.C.
Feb. 14
East Tennessee State Greenville, N.C.
—
USF Tournament
Feb. 20
Dartmouth
Tampa, Fla.
Feb. 20
at USF
Tampa, Fla.
Feb. 21
Auburn
Tampa, Fla.
Feb. 21
USF
Tampa, Fla.
Feb. 22
Dartmouth
Tampa, Fla.
—
Gamecock Invitational
Feb. 27
Tennessee State
Columbia, S.C.
Feb. 28
Charleston Southern Columbia, S.C.
Feb. 28
at South Carolina
Columbia, S.C.
March 1
South Alabama
Columbia, S.C.
—
March 7
at FIU (DH)
Miami
March 8
at FIU Miami
March 14
Western Kentucky Dot Hicks Field
March 15
Western Kentucky (DH) Dot Hicks Field
March 19
Ohio
Dot Hicks Field
March 21
at Charlotte (DH)
Charlotte, N.C.
March 22
at Charlotte
Charlotte, N.C.
March 28
at Furman (DH)
Greenville, S.C.
March 29
at Furman
Greenville, S.C.
March 31
Wright State (DH) Dot Hicks Field
April 4
North Texas (DH)
Dot Hicks Field
April 8
at Kentucky
Lexington, Ky.
April 11
at Middle Tennessee (DH) Murfreesboro, Tenn.
April 12
at Middle Tennessee Murfreesboro, Tenn.
April 18
Florida Atlantic (DH)Dot Hicks Field
April 19
Florida Atlantic
Dot Hicks Field
April 22
Northern Kentucky (DH) Dot Hicks Field
April 25
at UTEP (DH)
El Paso, Texas
April 26
at UTEP
El Paso, Texas
April 28
Liberty (DH)
Dot Hicks Field
May 2
UAB (DH)
Dot Hicks Field
May 3
UAB
Dot Hicks Field
May 7-9
C-USA Tournament Miami
W, 5-4
L, 3-1
W, 11-3
W, 3-0
W, 9-0
W, 6-4
L, 5-4
L, 18-5
W, 1-0
W, 9-1
W, 6-1
L, 2-0
L, 5-3
W, 13-5, 13-3
L, 9-1
W, 2-0 (10)
L, 3-2, 9-5
W, 18-3
S, 0-4, 7-2
L, 8-1
W, 3-0, 3-0
W, 2-1
W, 3-2, 11-2
W, 1-0, 16-8
Cancelled
W, 9-0, 14-7
1 p.m.
1 p.m.
Noon
2 p.m.
4 p.m.
2 p.m.
2 p.m.
1 p.m.
3 p.m.
—
TENNIS
Spring 2015
DateOpponentSiteTime
Jan. 17
College of Charleston Huntington TC
W, 6-1
ITA Kickoff Weekend
Jan. 24
at UCLA
Los Angeles
L, 4-0
Jan. 25
Cal-Irvine
Los Angeles
L, 4-1
—
Feb. 7
Morehead State
Huntington TC
W, 7-1
Feb. 7
Eastern Kentucky
Huntington TC
W, 6-1
Feb. 13
Louisville
Huntington TC
W, 5-2
Feb. 15
Minnesota
Huntington TC
W, 4-3
Feb. 21
at Liberty
Lynchburg, Va.
W, 5-2
Feb. 22
at Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Va.
L, 6-1
Feb. 28
Penn State
Huntington TC
W, 4-3
March 2
Utah
Huntington TC
L, 4-3
March 6
at Cincinnati
Cincinnati
W, 5-2
March 8
at West Virginia
Morgantown
W, 5-2
March 13
Miami (Ohio)
Huntington TC
W, 4-3
March 15
Winthrop
Huntington TC
W, 7-0
March 18
at Rice
Houston
L, 5-2
March 22
at Houston
Houston
L, 5-2
March 28
at FIUMiamiL, 4-3
March 29
at Florida Atlantic
Boca Raton, Fla.
W, 4-3
April 3
DePaul
Huntington TC
W, 5-2
April 5
William & Mary
Fox TC (campus)
W, 4-2
April 10
at Old Dominion
Norfolk, Va.
L, 7-0
April 11
at Virginia Commonwealth Richmond, Va.
L, 4-3
April 16-19 C-USA Tournament Houston
TRACK AND FIELD
Outdoor
DateMeetSiteFinish
March 19-20 USF Bulls Invitational Tampa, Fla.
No team scores
March 27-28 Raleigh Relays
Raleigh, N.C.
No team scores
April 4
Cherry Blossom Inv. Athens, Ohio
No team scores
April 11
WKU Hilltopper Relays Bowling Green, Ky.
No team scores
April 17-18 Virginia Challenge
Charlottesville, Va.
April 18
JMU Quad
Harrisonburg, Va.
April 23-25 Penn Relays
Philadelphia
May 2
Kentucky Relays
Lexington, Ky.
May 14-17 C-USA Championships El Paso, Texas
May 28-30 NCAA Outdoor Prelims Jacksonville, Fla.
June 10-13 NCAA Outdoor Champ. Eugene, Ore.
28
CARTER
From Page 9
the play. So, he appears kind of quick, kind of fast,
uses his body. He’s kind of a reckless guy, and not
everybody’s about that.”
Heater said it doesn’t take long to tell if an erstwhile Division II player can
make it on the bigger stage.
“Well, some guys look like Division II players and don’t look like they belong
here,” Heater said. “He does not look like he doesn’t belong here. He didn’t
belong there (in Division II). He looks like he probably should have been
somewhere like Marshall, frankly.
“He’s a very functional player, plays really hard. He’s one of those guys
who’s easy to overlook. He’s a little guy — they get overlooked all of the time.
But in reality, they show up many, many times, and he’s one of those guys
where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”
What he’s doing now is is very different from his years down U.S. 60 in Ona.
As a Cabell Midland High senior, Carter was a Class AAA All-State first team
choice as a utility player on offense. For the Knights’ state playoff quarterfinal
team, he rushed 150 times for 1,213 yards and scored 20 touchdowns, and
had five interceptions as a defensive back
That was then. A season later, Carter said he learned the hows and whys of
playing on all special teams at UC and has tried to use that experience for the
Herd, for whom he remains a walk-on.
“I was on every special team at UC, too, and that was a whole year of
learning,” he said. “You get used to that, how to be on special teams, what to
do, how you play it, and I took that and translated it to here.
“Football at this level is obviously faster and people are a lot stronger and a
lot more athletic. Everybody here is on scholarship, so you’re running against
the best of the best. You have a couple of walk-ons who can pop through the
holes, and that’s where I am right now.
“My main goal is to play on every single special team, and get into the
rotation at safety to help out.”
Carter, a sports management major, had nine tackles (four solos) for the
Herd last season. He said he prepped for that by using smarts, speed and skill
during his transfer sit-out year.
“When I was sitting out, I was on every scout team,” Carter said. “I wanted
to show what I could do. The only way to open eyes is to go your hardest
every day, and coaches noticed that. I felt like I could be an asset on special
teams, because I could run down there just as hard as I can, go to the ball.”
As Heater said, special teams aren’t for everyone. Carter understands, but
he loves being able to make an impact in more ways than one.
“I guess kickoff is my favorite (special team) because you just run down
there 100 miles per hour,” he said. “I’m toward the middle (of the kickoff
formation), the hitter, the missile. I run straight for the return man, fast as I
can, and hit somebody.
“You’re running through double teams, and people are trying to blindside
me, so I’ve got to keep my eyes open, keep my head on a swivel.
“Being on special teams, you’ve got to be really … uh … a little crazy in the
mind with the hard hitting, running down there and giving everything. It’s all
about being tough.”
PRICE
From Page 10
a-flutter.
“The heart is like an electrical circuit, and like any
circuit that connects and it’s not working, they try
to break it, basically burn a line in the top part of your heart and it interrupts
the electrical circuit so your heart doesn’t fire or fire as often as much.
“I knew there was a percentage of chance that it wouldn’t be successful,
that they wouldn’t get it all on the first try with what they called a ‘light burn.’
This is basically the same procedure although it might be a larger burn.
“The last time they went in through my femoral artery (in the thigh) with a
scope and a laser and they burn part of your heart. I’m not sure how they’ll
do it this time, through my groin or my armpit, but that’s a guess. The last
time it was outpatient, but this time they say I may be staying in the hospital
one night.”
He’s hoping to not miss much work, as Holliday’s team went into Week 4
of five weeks of spring drills this Tuesday. But the priority for Price is getting
back to what he loves without issues.
“Actually, it’s quite common,” Price said when asked about his heart issues.
“I have an enlarged heart due to being an athlete. I think a lot of athletes
deal with this, and something I didn’t know, a lot of people with sleep apnea
can have it.
“I’ve been checked for sleep apnea, but don’t have the results yet. If you’re
a bad snorer, you might have sleep apnea and if so, maybe you should get
checked for a-fib, too.”
He said he might have waited until spring drills end on April 25 with the
Green and White Game, but it reached the point where he couldn’t function in
his job the way he wants.
“It’s something I could have put off, but my symptoms have gotten
progressively worse, especially during practice,” Price said. “So, it’s something
you want to get taken care of so I can start to get back to normal. You get
tired of trying to live your life in third gear.
“It’s to the point where I can’t stop it (irregular heartbeat). When I’m at
practice, sometimes I can feel my heart start racing and I can stop talking
and kind of chill out for a minute, stop what I’m doing and it kind of goes
away.
“But there have been times at practice where I try to do that and I haven’t
stopped the symptom and I go into a-fib and get lightheaded. And when I do
that, then that’s when I’m in danger.
“When you’re 42, you don’t want to take pills the next 40 years of your life.
I’ve tried different medications and that hasn’t really seemed to fix it, either,
so we go back in. Dr. Baryun is one of the top doctors to do this in the region
and hopefully we’ll knock this out.”
Price said he never knew he had an enlarged heart “until the last two or
three years” and didn’t know the upper chamber of his heart was faulty until
his symptoms last year.
“One thing I did know,” Price said with a grin. “I always knew I had a lot of
heart.”
HerdInsider.com
MCMANUS
From Page 11
Mike Furrey, the Herd’s third-year receivers coach
and former NFL receiver, likes what he sees this
spring from McManus.
“He’s improved,” Furrey said. “I think he brings us that physical attribute.
When you’re 6-2, 225, 235, can run, and he has a great catch radius. So,
he’s a guy who is a pretty big target for a quarterback. He loves to play the
game, loves to compete, and he’s hungry. He’s picked up pretty well what we
do offensively, and he’s got a lot of things going on right now that are good to
see.
HUSKEY
From Page 12
29
Coach Doc Holliday’s team was comfortably in front.
Of his 208 snaps for the season, more than one-third
(72) came in the C-USA title win and Marshall’s Boca
Raton Bowl triumph over Northern Illinois to cap a 13-1, nationally ranked
season.
“I just wanted to come in, have fun because I love football, help my team
be successful, win games,” the 20-year-old Huskey said. “I just love ball, and
my coaches help me a lot, Coach Fuller, Coach Heater, all of them. I just have
a great love for the game.
“Now, we don’t really know until we line up against Purdue (the Sept.
6 season opener at Edwards Stadium), but I like the direction Deon-Tay’s
heading right now and really the ownership he’s taken. It’s like, ‘Now I’m
a wideout and I want to be the best I can possibly be,’ and he’s kind of the
adult in the room.
“What I learned with the championship game is be ready. You never
know when your opportunity is going to come. I never played for 10 games
straight. A big-time senior went down and I had to go in and make plays.”
“He’s not a true ‘freshman freshman’ going into a true sophomore year.
He’s a 21-year-old kid – man, really – and there are a lot of things in that
demeanor that I really like and I’m glad to have in that room.”
“I wasn’t expecting to be a starter now, but you’ve got to go out every day
and show what you can do. You have to keep working hard.”
McManus’ numbers helped the 2014 Herd place among the top freshman
pass-catching performances in major college football. McManus, Jean-Louis,
Foster and tight end Ryan Yurachek combined for 17 touchdowns, which tied
College Football Playoff runner-up Oregon for tops in the nation. The Herd
ranked fifth in yardage (1,315) and 13th in freshman catches, with 82.
“My goal this season? I’m trying to put up some crazy numbers,” McManus
said. “Last season, a lot of balls went to Shuler (110, 106 and 92 in his last
three years) because of the type of player he was and the kind of chemistry
he and (quarterback Rakeem) Cato had back to when they were (growing up)
in Miami.
“But now, everybody can touch the ball. It’s not just one person getting the
ball most of the time. My mindset is what everybody’s mindset is among the
receivers – we just want to make a lot of plays.”
McManus said this spring is different for all of the receivers because Cato is
gone after four years as a starter, and Gunnar Holcombe, Michael Birdsong,
Cole Garvin and Chase Litton are sharing reps so far while competing for the
starting job and ultimately, the QB pecking order.
“Patience is a key for us at receiver, I think,” McManus said. “We’re so used
to Cato, and what we have to understand as receivers is Cato was in the
system for four years, and starting, and these are new quarterbacks so it’s
going to take a little more time.
“So the key for us at receiver is just having patience, and knowing that
everything will come together at the end of the day.”
His 5-yard reception of a Cato pass with 1:50 to go in the Dec. 6 title game
gave the Herd its final lead for its first C-USA crown, but he said some big
plays and his numbers once he became a regular weren’t all his rookie season
was about.
“The biggest thing I learned last season – and what I’m trying to do now
– is just bring the intensity and effort every day,” McManus said. “Bring that
110 percent to practice. It starts in practice, not on Saturdays.”
It started for McManus when he went back outside.
He said he was surprised to begin spring practice with the ‘ones’ on
defense.
Asked about opportunity and trying to make a name for himself as a firstyear player on a talented 2014 team, Huskey said he thought his two punt
blocks “helped a little bit, but that wasn’t enough. It was every day, going out
and working hard, keep getting better at my craft.”
Fuller said Huskey brings a certain attitude to the field that helps him. The
Herd linebacker coach and Heater saw that part of Huskey’s “game” even
back during the time the player had to sit out.
“He’s got a charisma; he’s got an energy, a personality,” Fuller said. “All
these guys have got stories; they’re all from different backgrounds. But when
you talked to him — and no matter what was on his mind, no matter what
he was going through — he always had a great smile, a personality, sort of a
glow to him.
“Raheim was pretty confident about himself, so you knew he loved ‘ball.’
He’s a real genuine kid. You can coach him, talk to him; he’s honest. Those
are the factors we saw in him besides him moving around.
“Football isn’t a sport you just go out and play. You can’t go out and play
linebacker on the street like the rest of the stuff. It does take time. He only
played linebacker for seven games at Gaffney High School. He was a safety.
But we felt like he played a lot of football. You recruit ‘em all because you
think they have talent, but you just don’t know who’s ready. You have no idea
who has ‘it,’ because if you don’t have ‘it,’ you’re probably not playing, no
matter how fast or strong you are.”
Heater said Huskey’s practice and play last season underscored what Herd
coaches already had seen in the linebacker.
“He made a lot of progress, huge amounts,” Heater said. “He’s a football
player. Some guys, when the lights come on, you don’t know. He plays
football. There can be a lot of pieces in between that get the way with some
guys. He’s always liked football. When he first came here and had to sit out,
you just liked him. Before he had to sit out, you saw energy the way he went
about things.
“There was a lot of work to be done, but Huskey liked football. Some guys
are good right up until the lights come on. Then when the lights come on,
they don’t have it. It’s a good thing when a guy has it. If you like football,
then football is easier. He makes it easier.”
30
NING
From Page 13
Huang, who turns 20 on April 22 – the final day of
the C-USA tourney – did her homework on finding
the opportunity she wanted.
“Before I decided to transfer, to be honest, I talked to a lot of schools, read
through it all,” Huang said. “When I talked to Coach Tiffany on the phone, I
could feel her vision and plan and I felt like she knew what she was going to
do.
“She knew all the resources, how she would help me. Even though it’s her
first head coaching job, she has a lot of experience. She was at Maryland (as
an assistant coach) and I have a friend at Maryland (sophomore golfer Panitta
Yasabai) so she talked to me about Coach Tiffany. I heard good things.”
Huang said she has just about settled on a major in finance and
international business, and going to college halfway around the world from
her home was part of the plan long ago.
“Since I was little, I have had a dream of studying abroad,” the Herd
sophomore said. “And then I started playing golf when I was 12. When I was
15, I talked with people from the Thai Student Federation and I learned that
it was actually not bad to come study in the States.
“You have more opportunity to play golf here, you have workouts that make
you stronger, all the programs to improve yourself – and especially if you
want to go pro after college. It’s easier than trying to go from Thailand. And,
of course, you also learn another language, which helps a lot.”
Since arriving, Huang has played No. 3 in the Herd lineup, behind seniors
Simsiriwong and Sarah Helly of Ireland. She hopes to grasp a leadership role
in coming seasons as Prats infuses the program with new talent.
She was one of the top junior golfers in Thailand, but she finds the
American college game different … and appreciates that difference, she said.
“Playing college golf is totally different,” Huang said. “When I played junior
golf, you’re playing for yourself and here, you’re playing as a team, so
every single stroke counts. Whether you do good or bad in your mind, you
concentrate on every shot. Like Coach says, even though I hit a bad shot,
everything counts, so I have to push hard and bring myself back into the
game.
“My mental game has improved a lot since my freshman year in Iowa.
I struggled then with mental game and I was putting a lot of pressure on
myself and I cannot be myself on the golf course and kind of worried about
things I can’t control.
“Here, Coach Prats has told me it’s about one shot at a time, and focus on
the things that you can control. So, that’s kind of helped me come back to my
game and focus on my game rather than other things around me. It makes
my game a lot better.”
So, that leaves but one question to which even Prats didn’t know the
answer … How did Pimrawee Huang get her nickname?
“OK, Ning,” Huang said with a grin. “I’m half Taiwanese, Taiwan-Chinese.
And mostly the Thai people have a long name, so you see nicknames like
Gone, Ning. Actually, my dad came up with mine, and it comes from my
Chinese name. It’s Huang – you say last name first (in Chinese) — so my
name, it’s Huang Yi-Ning. That’s what Ning is from. I never told anyone
before my nickname is from Chinese.”
Herd apparel sale
scheduled April 25
From Marshall Sports Information
HUNTINGTON — Marshall University, on behalf of Marshall Athletics, will
conduct a public sale of Thundering Herd sports gear on Saturday, April 25
from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. The sale will be held at the Chris Cline Athletic Complex
located next to Edwards Stadium, where the Green and White spring football
game is scheduled at 2 p.m.
Items for sale are from
Marshall football, men’s
and women’s basketball,
baseball, softball, soccer,
tennis, track, volleyball
and golf teams. This items
included are no longer
used by Herd teams
Items included in the
sale are athletic apparel
and equipment such as
jerseys, T-shirts, shorts,
sweats, jackets, sportspecific competition shoes and various training shoes.
All items are priced and will be sold as is. All sales are final. MU reserves
the right to reject any and all offers if the minimum price is not met. The
accepted method of payment will be cash, check or credit card.
Additional information concerning the sale is available from Rich Worner,
Marshall’s head equipment manager, at [email protected].
HerdInsider.com
31
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plenty of Herd sports photos. We hope you enjoy

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