After a disappointing campaign last season, the Thundering Herd hopes to roar back to its winning ways in the fall.
After a disappointing campaign last season, the Thundering Herd hopes to roar back to its winning ways in the fall.Let’s get this out of the way now —— last season wasn’t great. After a good first year without Rakeem Cato, the hope for an even better second season following the star’s departure faded quickly as the Thundering Herd went 1-4 to start the season. They went on to finish the season with a 3-9 record, something totally unfamiliar to Herd fans in the Doc Holliday era. But, you know what? It happens, even to the best of programs. And with a new season just around the corner, it’s time for Herd fans to wipe the bad taste out of their mouths and look forward to what could easily be the season that rights the ship.
It’s not wishful thinking that should have Herd faithful feeling confident about predicting a string of great games, it’s the hard work and long hours players and staff have put into shoring up the weak spots on both sides of the ball, and the focus on not just improving individual players, but the team as a whole.
“One of the biggest things we’ve improved upon in the last six months is becoming a better team,” said senior tight end Ryan Yurachek. “We’ve done a lot of team building this off-season, just trying to build a bond. I think that’s something that will help us a ton come September.”
Another thing set to help the Herd this season is a roster of talented players. Yurachek is expected to be a prime target for junior quarterback Chase Litton, who attended the Manning Passing Academy this summer. Head Coach Doc Holliday said he expects his third-year starter to use that experience to improve not only his performance, but his leadership both on and off the field.
The focus on leadership and teamwork was constantly mentioned during media interviews with Holliday and Yurachek. A common complaint among Herd fans last season was that things seemed awry both on and off the field. As such, a lot of work has gone into improving coaching, play calling, performance and team chemistry.
The 2017 season has a number of games on the schedule to keep an eye on, including a clash on the road against NC State in week two, and conference rival Western Kentucky in November at the Joan. Deciding which of those games that Holliday anticipates the most would be tough. NC State brings the prestige of a Power 5 conference, while Western Kentucky ruined the Herd’s perfect 2014 campaign and has yet to lose in Huntington since joining C-USA.
As it turns out, neither of those games are the ones Holliday is focused on at the moment. His eye is on the first game of the season.
“The only team we are really focused on right now is Miami of Ohio,” Holliday said. “They are bringing back a lot of their starters, and this is a team that almost beat Mississippi State last year in their bowl game. We really aren’t looking past that right now, because if we don’t beat them, we are going 0-1 heading into NC State.”
While the Herd is bringing back many experienced players this season as well, and Holliday expects them to play and lead like the veterans they are, he also said he’s looking forward to seeing some of his younger players on the field this season. And while he didn’t want to name any particular players yet because they haven’t yet had the opportunity to get out there and show fans what they are worth in real games, he said that those watching should expect to see some talented results from his staff’s recruiting labors.
The Herd follows Miami and NC State with two more non-conference games, playing Kent State at home before traveling just down the Ohio River to play the Bearcats in Cincinnati. Both teams had similar records to Marshall last season and are also looking to bounce back and gain more Ws this year, so those should be interesting games to watch. Fun fact: all four non-conference games on the schedule are in September.
October kicks off with another trip to North Carolina where the Herd will take on the 49ers of Charlotte. Continuing the back and forth between home and away they’ll endure all season, the team then heads back home to take on Old Dominion before heading out to Middle Tennessee and back to Huntington for their game against FIU.
As always, November is a special month for Thundering Herd football. They play their first game of the month at Florida Atlantic on Nov. 3, before coming home to join their fans and the community to honor the plane crash anniversary when they play Western Kentucky Nov. 11. Yurachek said this game is always special, but this year he hopes his team can also add a little celebration to the day by ending the Hilltoppers winning streak against the Herd.
After Western Kentucky, the team heads west to duel with University of Texas — San Antonio on Nov. 18 and then comes home to end the regular season against Southern Miss on Nov. 25.
Another fun fact for those curious: the Herd plays exactly four games each in September, October and November. And who knows, maybe there will be two more games added to the schedule for December (a conference championship and a bowl game). Regardless of the outcome, this season seems to be shaping up to be a good one. Both players and staff are excited to get going after an intense off-season. So, start warming up those vocal cords now, because it’s almost time to shout “Go Herd!”
Shane Arrington is a freelance writer living in Charleston, West Virginia.
Photos: (From top) Quarterback Chase Litton attended the Manning Passing Academy this summer. Senior tight end Ryan Yurachek enters this season with a streak of 29 consecutive games with a reception. “The only team we are really focused on right now is Miami of Ohio,” Coach Doc Holliday said. “If we don’t beat them, we are going 0-1 heading into NC State.” Offensive lineman Levi Brown wears one of several options of the new Marshall football uniforms, with black pants for both home and away games. Photos by Marilyn Testerman-Haye and courtesy of the MU Alumni Association.