2016 SPRING PREVIEW: 5 Things To Look For

Tomorrow is the official start of Marshall spring practice 2016 edition. Doc Holliday will hold his usual pre-spring press conference with the media this afternoon which for some people may signal the start of the new season.

In any case, 2016 is a new year with new and familiar faces strolling inside of Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Seniors from the 2015 team are moving on and a trio of mid-year enrollees will bring in some new blood early in the process.

As is with any new season there are several questions, storylines, etc. which surround every program starting spring festivities. Over the next two days we will take a look at 10 of those top questions/storylines heading into 2016 and list some of the bigger “things to look for” this spring as it pertains to the new season. Here is part one:

Everyone remembers when the leash was taken off Rakeem Cato by offensive coordinator Bill Legg during the 2012 season. Cato exploded throwing for 4,201 yards, 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 69.5 percent of his passes. Rising sophomore Chase Litton is now in Cato’s position four years later.

Litton had an all-around better freshman season than Cato throwing for 2,608 yards and 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions with a 60.2 completion percentage compared to Cato’s 2,059 yards, 15 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and 59.9 completion percentage. Litton has the confidence you look for at the quarterback position and has the arm to break out like Cato did.

The big question is how the offense will look this season now that Litton has had even more time to learn Legg’s system. Legg gave Litton more and more plays as the season went on last year, but now he has had a couple months to continue to learn those plays and any new plays he was not yet given in 2015. Will the 2016 offense look like the 2012 offense under Cato? Or will Legg throw in some new wrinkles to benefit Litton and his abilities?

Marshall has to replace 1,420 yards and nine touchdowns at wide receiver from 2015 with the graduation of Davonte Allen and Deandre Reaves. The duo combined for 114 receptions and their production will not be easily replaced.

Deon-Tay McManus is the most likely candidate to get the first look as the big-time threat outside heading into 2016. Rising senior Justin Hunt will not be far behind. Doc Holliday always talks about seniors playing their best in their final season in Huntington and Marshall will need Hunt to continue the trend. McManus and Hunt are the only two receivers with any significant playing time (not counting Hyleck Foster who is now at running back).

Two tall targets in Raylen Elzy (6-foot-4) and Michael Clark (6-foot-7) will look to make their presence known along with Nick Mathews, Josh Knight and Gator Green. Talent is there at the position certainly. But, someone has to step up and become ‘the man.’

The Herd will have a plethora of options at running back in 2016. This spring the group will consist of Hyleck Foster, Tony Pittman, Keion Davis and Delvin Weems with 2016 signees JaQua Daniels, Tyler King and possibly Cody Mitchell joining the mix.

With Devon Johnson and Remi Watson both gone, the opportunity for a new clear number one running back is available. There is a ton of talent and different styles among the four backs who will be competing in the spring for carries. Will one separate himself from the pack to get the bulk? Or will Legg use a committee much like last season to keep fresh legs in? I think the latter is most likely given the type of talent Legg and new running backs coach Pepe Pearson will have to choose from. Pass protection and consistency will be two major keys in who ends up where in the pecking order.

Three players enrolled early from the 2016 class: C.J. Reavis, Jeremiah Maddox and Chris Jackson. All three are defensive backs with Reavis and Maddox at safety and Jackson at corner.

Reavis, a former Virginia Tech Hokie, has the biggest chance to make an immediate impact. He and Maddox will battle with Tiquan Lang, Kendall Gant and Corey Neely at safety this spring along with former walk-on Cody Carter. Reavis was expected to start at safety for the Hokies this past season before being dismissed from the school. He has the experience and talent to give Chuck Heater another good option at safety with Lang and Gant. And who knows, all three may be on the field at the same time if the staff decides to try Reavis at corner (which he played some at East Mississippi CC in 2015) to get the best defensive backs on the field.

Given the positions, Jackson has a better chance (in terms of numbers) to make an impression with Chris Williams-Hall and Antavis Rowe both out this spring. He may get a good look and has good speed and ball skills. Maddox is very physical as a safety and I wouldn’t be shocked if he played a ton of special teams as a freshman. His physicality may put him in a position to push for some playing time if he has learned the system quickly in his time at Marshall already.

I expect Reavis to be the only player of the trio to make a major impact, but both Jackson and Maddox have an opportunity to show what they have in terms of their skills and at worst should be viable candidates to help on special teams in 2016.

Tyler Williams was nothing short of special in 2016 and in his four years at Marshall. Time and time again he flipped the field or pinned the opposing offense deep and let his defense feast. He averaged 44.4 yards per punt (70 total punts) during his final season in Huntington.

Unfortunately for Doc Holliday he now has to find someone to fill the giant shoes left by Williams. The likely candidate to be the number one punter starting off is Kaare Vedvik. He was the back-up to Williams last season. Vedvik has a big leg and could replace Williams in that department, but accuracy will be another story. Williams was deadly and would drop punt after punt inside the 20. It will be interesting to see where Vedvik stands in terms of his accuracy. Other candidates vying for the position will include Amoreto Curraj and possibly any walk-on kickers/punters brought in by the staff for the fall. But, I expect this to simply be a Vedvik and Curraj battle.

Keep an eye out tomorrow for the last part of the two-part series, "5 Things To Look For"! Talk about this article with hundreds of Herd fans and much more on the Old Fairfield forum!