By Gary Fauber
Assistant Sports Editor
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With the season opener looming, first-year Marshall coach Doc Holliday was asked if he was worried about his team being too jacked up for tonight’s game at second-ranked Ohio State.
Not a chance.
“I don’t know if we will have that problem,” he said. “That doesn’t bother me. I hope they are jacked up. You just have to prepare. It is (the coaches’) job to make sure that this is a very well prepared football team.”
No matter how good the Buckeyes prove to be, nothing this preseason has indicated the Thundering Herd won’t be ready.
Kickoff — for the season, and for Holliday’s head coaching career — will be 7:30 p.m.
Senior quarterback Brian Anderson is entering his second season as the starter, one year after throwing for 2,646 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The Herd went 7-6 in Anderson’s first season and won a bowl game for the first time since 2002.
Anderson won’t have two weapons he had last year in tailback Darius Marshall and tight end Cody Slate. But he does have Slate’s replacement in Lee Smith, as well as talented sophomore Andre Booker in the backfield, plus a multitude of wide receivers, including sophomore Antavious Wilson and seniors Chuck Walker and Wayne Bonner.
Under Holliday’s spread offense, those receivers are likely to figure more into the game plan than last season. With coordinators Bill Legg and Tony Petersen at the controls, Holliday isn’t concerned about offensive creativity.
They will need to be creative, Holliday said, to render Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor a spectator as much as possible.
“Yes, without question,” he said. “We are not going to line up and be able to knock them off the ball. We have to be a little creative both offensively and defensively. Billy Legg will do a good job with that. We have to do some things to try and help our (offensive) line out.”
Among the several challenges presented by Ohio State’s defense comes in the form of senior defensive end Cameron Heyward. The All-American who is on watch lists for several postseason awards had 46 tackles last year, 10 of them for loss, including 6 1/2 sacks.
“You look at that Ohio State team,” Holliday said. “They’ve got a great player at every position, both offensively and defensively. I’m sure they’re going to line up and do what they do best.”
Holliday said his team is nearly 100 percent healthy. Linebacker Kellen Harris, who missed much of preseason camp with an injury, will be a game-time decision.
Tonight’s game will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
“Everybody is excited to be going up there and it will be a great experience,” Anderson said. “But we’re definitely going for one reason, and that’s to win.”
— E-mail: gfauber@register-herald.com
