HUNTINGTON - When the spring rosters were posted online in late March, a mysterious mini-panic ensued among Marshall Twitterdom.
More than once was I asked, "Where's Jaquan Yulee??!!"
Shaking my head, I told the fan that Yulee was a nonqualifier and will be eligible after he completes his second semester.
But the question kept coming. I realize Thundering Herd devotees are shellshocked by the 3-9 season, but this is a routine matter seen every year - athlete comes to campus, makes his grades in his first two semesters, gains eligibility and moves on to his football career.
I was asked over the summer how Yulee was looking. Didn't know; the man didn't take his first college rep until July 27.
When I quit shaking my head, I realized that what I had previously written is true: Yulee is the most anticipated defensive player since Vinny Curry and Mario Harvey.
Yulee, who was often present at practices and other campus events last year, has heard the buzz.
"I feel like they were more excited for me to get on the field than I was," he said Saturday night after the Herd's scrimmage. "That's a blessing to have people waiting to see me play, see my talent."
The native of Chesapeake, Virginia, is listed at 6-foot-1, 248 pounds, and looks the part. The former Alabama and Maryland commitment does not follow Marshall's tradition of fast and feisty but undersized linebackers.
(Bonus points for identifying Chesapeake as the hometown of safety Chris Crocker, the longest-tenured NFL player from the 2002 Herd team. Not the same high school, though.)
Think about it - D.J. Hunter was generously listed at 6-foot, 204 in his freshman year of 2012. Evan McKelvey was a sophomore that year, listed at 6-1, 208. Neville Hewitt was 6-2, 220 when he came from junior college in 2013.
Yulee looks almost out of place on the Herd's second level, until the ball is snapped. In the many full-team reps he has received this camp, he is around the ball more often than not.
I find myself guilty of wanting to see him deliver a monster hit, pile-drive a running back on every play. Then I remember the development of Harvey and Curry.
Harvey took a year to become 'Rio, one of the heaviest hitters I've seen in a green uniform. Curry took a year to be Vinny, a man-child of a defensive end who could singlehandedly turn a game in the Herd's favor.
Does Yulee need a year to be what fans expect, the big-bodied No. 2 with a wide range who never tires until the last whistle blows?
He has digested a lot since he arrived at Marshall. First, he had to learn how to take a better approach to academics. Second, he had to lift weights, which he didn't do much of in high school.
Back that up - he had to learn how to lift. Nowadays, he can bench-press 340 pounds and squat 600, high among the linebackers.
"When I first go here, [strength coach Luke] Day was like, 'Man ...'" he said. "Once they taught me the technique to it, everything's coming along more and more. They taught me how to breathe with it, and how to arch it back, the tempo to keep me pushing."
On the field, coaches aren't cheating him on reps. He has not worked with the first team but is playing nearly every snap otherwise, whether on the second unit or what I call the "two and a half" string. He is working on the kicking units.
He must learn quickly. In September, he probably won't replace suspended middle linebacker Juwon Young position-for-position, but he'll be in the picture and has to produce. This month is not an instruction period, it's an immersion.
"Thirteen days. I learned a lot in 13 days," Yulee said. "As [position] coach [Adam] Fuller tells me, all I have to do is be physical. If I body somebody on the line, nine out of 10 [times] somebody beside me is going to make the play."
Yulee doesn't have to learn to love the game. His enthusiasm reminds me of Curry and it will rub off on his teammates, if it hasn't done so already. Shoot, Yulee's enthusiasm has rubbed off on other Marshall teams - he has been seen whooping it up at softball games and other events on campus.
Experience teaches me to be cautious on hyping athletes, but I think Herd fans will love this guy if he reaches anywhere close to the Curry/Harvey level. Yulee already loves the fans, and the Marshall community.
"I smile every day. I just like to have fun," he said. "When you play the game of football, you don't get tired."
Contact Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsmock@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @dougsmock and read his blog at http://blogs.wvgazettemail.com/dougsmock/.