The best place to start today's recap is with the injury report as there are several notable players who are out.
Injury Report
Tom Collins remains out with an apparent knee injury as he still has the brace and crutches.
Clint Van Horn still has the split on the right foot but appears to be moving well. His return looks favorable.
Staying with the offensive line woos as both starting guards in Michael Selby and Blake Brooks sat out today. Both were seen wearing sunglasses on the sideline.
Running back Brandon Byrd was on the sidelines today and worked out on the bike during practice. This is the first time I've seen him without sunglasses after returning to practice after a devastating hit last week in practice sent him to the hospital.
Freshman tight-end Ryan Yurachek worked on a bike today but did not partake in practice.
Linebacker Kent Turene continues his absence from the field for a third day. Turene worked out on the bike and was dressed but did not work in contact drills.
Donaldvan Manning remained on the sideline working with trainers once again. No word on when the VT transfer looks to make it onto the field.
Deon-Tay McManus left the field during a drill today and worked with the trainer on the sideline. McManus appeared to have tweaked something in his left leg Monday running a route in the end zone. No word on his condition.
A new look line
With 60 percent of the offensive line currently being off the field due to injury, several guys have been forced to step and make an impact. The starting line this morning was Swede and Jean-Felix at the tackles, Trevor Mendelson and Cody Collins at the guards and Jasperse at center. Mendelson did a good job working at guard as Cato's protection was good enough to allow him to go down field. The line also opened several running lanes including one that allowed Stew Butler to walk into the end zone from 10 yards out untouched. While the hopes are the starting line will be 100 percent in tack come Miami, the depth of the offensive line continues to grow.
From the hands to the doghouse
The easiest way to end up in doghouse on this team is give away the ball with a turnover. For Stew Butler and Remi Watson, they took turns in the doghouse as they both put the ball on the turf during the red zone drills. Butler got a chance to work with the twos this morning and punched in a touchdown from the 10 after a gaping hole opened on the right side. However, Butler appeared to be on a different snap count as Cato on the next play and never moved when Cato tried to give him the hand-off. Timing was definitely an issue. Butler did make a nice run on the next series, making a hard cut off the edge to turn up field.
Watson had a morning to forget. After putting the ball on the turf, Watson found himself on the wrong end of Coach Barclay's wrath. Butler promptly replaced Watson in the backfield while Watson pleaded his case to no avail. Watson was visibly distraught and was 'halfheartedly' doing his up-downs.
Taj falls victim to the Rock...again
For the third time this week, Taj Letman ended up on the losing end of a Devon Johnson run that drove Letman to the turf. Letman laughed about the run ins with Rock during the 11-on-11 drills and said that Rock is his boy and that is football.
Scouts Honor
It appeared some scout work took place this morning during practice as the first team offensive worked against the second team defense and visa-verse. Cato lined up in the backfield with Johnson while working with Davonte Allen, Tommy Shuler and Angelo Jean-Louis as the receivers and Eric Frohnapfel at tight-end. The twos ran with Watson in the backfield while Deandre Reaves, Demetruis Evans and Craig Wilkins were the receivers and Joe Woodrum in a tight-end with the absence of McManus. Woodrum did get a few reps with the ones and made a great catch on a post route that led him into heavy contact from Cato. The gain moved the ball from Cato's 5-yard line to the 25.
Stop pickin' on me
Freshman quarterback Cole Garvin's struggles continue after throwing another pick this morning. Defensive tackle Arnold Blackmon pulled in the interception, his first of camp, as it appeared Garvin never saw him. Garvin has thrown several picks in camp including multiple pick-6s.
This and Thats
Darryl 'Swagg-D' Roberts continues to show he will be a force to be reckoned with this season in the Herd secondary. Roberts blanketed Reaves on a deep crossing route and was able to swap the ball away without making heavy contact on Reaves. Roberts has played solid thus far in camp and has gotten the better of the receivers that come his way.
SI.com has Marshall ranked at #25 in their preseason poll. The report can be found here: http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/08/11/marshall-thundering-herd-preview
The USA Today Preseason rankings have worked up to #24 and Marshall has yet to be mentioned. With the given clue of #23, it appears the Herd will continue to move higher up the charts. Reports I've heard about the USA Today rankings had Marshall at #19.
Practice resumes at 4 p.m. today.
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