Published: November 21, 2009 12:40 am      

Sans Slate, Herd to battle Southern Methodist today

The post-Cody Slate era begins today, a bit sooner than Marshall fans had anticipated.

Marshall (5-5, 3-3 Conference USA) will play its home finale today against Southern Methodist (6-4, 5-1). The game will kick off at 4:30 p.m.

Fifteen seniors will be honored before the game. That includes Slate, whose college career ended prematurely last week when he suffered a severe knee injury against Southern Miss.

Slate finished as the top receiving tight end in school history. He had 199 receptions for 2,619 yards and 23 touchdowns, ranking him sixth, eighth and tied for fifth all-time, respectively, at Marshall.

His playing career is over, but he is still a part of the team.

“We call him ‘coach Slate’ now,” redshirt freshman tight end Jamie Hatten said. “He’s in the meeting room, coaching me up.”

“He is very important in bringing those guys along,” coach Mark Snyder said. “Lee Smith has been waiting his turn, though. He and Cody are the best of friends. But a few times when Cody was out at practice we would put a young guy named Billy Mitchell that we threw in there every now and then at Cody’s spot, and Lee looks at me and says, ‘Don’t even think about it.’ He has been waiting for his turn.

“I think he did a good job stepping in. He is a big target with nice, soft hands and he can run people over.”

Hatten will see his role increase as the No. 2 tight end, a role once held by Smith. Smith, who had six catches for 77 yards against Southern Miss, will move into Slate’s spot.

“I’m going to have to step up and run some of the same routes as Cody and Lee,” Hatten said.

Snyder has faith in Hatten, and so does Smith.

“Just like I told Jamie after the (Southern Miss) game, we can’t go away from our two-tight end packages,” Smith said. “We’ve been a two-tight end (offense) all year. Jamie has to step up, but everybody on the team, from second strings to third strings, is always one play away from playing. … In the pass game he’s got to take on my role and in the run game he’s got to take on Cody’s role.

“He’s only a freshman, and we’re going to work with him and get him ready for these next two games.”

The day will belong to the seniors, who will be trying to attain bowl eligibility in their final game at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

“This is a good senior group,” Snyder said. “They want to leave their mark on this program. The key is to get back to bowl eligibility, to get back to a bowl game.

“Those guys are committed to doing that. It’s Senior Day and I promise you they will play their best game, knowing these guys. This is a good group of seniors.”

SMU, meanwhile, will be looking to hold on to its lead in the Conference USA West Division.

Quarterback Kyle Padron, a true freshman, has started the last three games in place of the injured Bo Levi Mitchell. Padron has completed 54 of 78 passes for 832 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions as the starter.

Senior Emmanuel Sanders is dangerous as a receiver and punt returner. He has 77 receptions for 977 yards and five touchdowns, and has returned 13 punts for an average of 16.2 yards. He returned one 79 yards for a touchdown in a 31-23 win over Stephen F. Austin in the season opener.

“Sanders is a good player,” Snyder said. “You throw the ball to your best players, and the coaches have done a good job of moving him around in the formation. He presents mismatches. He’s a good player.”

The Herd closes out the regular season next week at UTEP.

— E-mail: gfauber@

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