HUNTINGTON - Marshall fans should remember this as they watch their team's defense: Potential star middle linebacker Juwon Young isn't even playing until October.
As it is, this unit has been fun to watch.
Perhaps the Thundering Herd's 21-0 blanking of Kent State should be kept in perspective. The Golden Flashes may be the 11th-best team on Marshall's 12-game schedule (hey to Charlotte), and they lost a good option quarterback early in the game.
The Herd's Sept. 30 game at Cincinnati - again, without the NCAA-suspended Young - will recalibrate things. If you missed it, the Bearcats beat Miami (Ohio) 21-17 on an interception return for a touchdown with 1:42 left.
The trip to Nippert Stadium, with game time expected to be set Monday, is a little ways off. With that, let's go over what is making this defense tick.
I put the pass rush above all, and not just because the Herd sacked Kent St. QBs seven times. The Herd had four sacks in the first two games and seemed to be on the edge of mayhem.
And when discussing the linebacker corps, where do you start? Again, remember that Young won't take his spot at "Mike" until Oct. 7 at Charlotte.
Chase Hancock is leading with 31 tackles, and the Beckley native is everywhere. Artis Johnson has impressed from day one and he hasn't let up. He should end up an all-conference contender.
"He'll get better every week because he's serious," defensive coordinator Chuck Heater said last week. "He's not cluttered, doesn't have any other issues going on. He's just about going to school, playing football and trying to find away to get better."
Even without Young, the linebacking corps is running a full two units across, deep enough to bring along Jaquan Yulee oh-so-patiently.
The safeties had another big game, led by freshman Brandon Drayton. The big news Saturday was Nazeeh Johnson, who broke through with three tackles and a sack.
On the line, Damien Dozier had three sacks, Davon Durant had another for the ends, and tackle Ryan Bee had two.
How about that Bee? He is successfully pairing the athleticism he had in his former defensive end position with the brawn required at tackle. He had 10 tackles, spanning the distance from sacks to downfield pursuits on what could have been longer gains.
Herd coach Doc Holliday said, "I talked to J.C. [Price, defensive tackles coach] after the game, and he said Ryan Bee was sensational. J.C. doesn't compliment a whole lot of players, but he must have been really good."
The ride will be bumpy, but that Herd defense just might be really good. They're fun to watch; I do know that.
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From time to time, I see two problems with college punt returners.
One, many think they can dance around pursuers. Truth is, they usually cannot dance anywhere, even on the dance floor.
(I just had a bad flashback to a 2011 bowl-game activity in St. Petersburg, Fla., in which the teams had a poolside dance contest. Marshall's entrants were waxed by the gentlemen from Florida International.)
Two, many returners think they can run backwards to elude the first few defenders and break a long one. Chances are, they did it in high school and a spectacular video was posted on a recruitnik site.
That brings us to Trey Rodriguez, who turned in the strangest punt-return stat line I've seen in a long time: five attempts, zero yards, long of 20.
Yes, he lost 20 yards on the other four returns. In those four punts, Kent's Derek Adams emerged with nets of 61, 45, 55 and 57 yards.
I may be wrong, but I don't recall Deandre Reaves going in reverse in the year he added punt returns to his duties, 2015. That's the year he had three return TDs, one on punt and two on kickoffs. Caught the ball, found a crease if one was there, put a foot in the ground and blew through it.
Perhaps the Herd should revisit who catches punts. I don't know who is the best candidate, but I do know Hyleck Foster has fresh legs.
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The verdict on Marshall's attempt to televise itself?
TV production quality is something I don't have a good feel for, since I attend all games in person. Twitter followers bring instant feedback on production, announcers, etc.
I heard only one thing: Frustration over screen freezes and buffering. My timeline erupted after Marshall's first-half touchdown, as screens apparently froze before the play.
Consistency is the first keyword Herd coaches stressed in spring and preseason practice, and it remains elusive in the wide world of streaming.
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I do have a feel for the team's pregame entrance and right now, Herd players might as well leave the locker room randomly and walk to the bench. The current production is drawn-out and dull.
Players and coaches exit the building under an inflatable tunnel, which is fine, but they are forced to stand there forever, waiting for a video presentation to end. From above, it looked like such a buzzkill.
However you do it, players should be charging out of the Shewey Building with their helmets on fire. Figuratively, of course - I don't want to give anyone any ideas.
And I dearly miss the "Marcomobile," or whatever that custom motorcycle decked out with the buffalo head was called. That was too cool.
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.