Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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September 24, 2009

True freshmen playing for Herd

By GARY FAUBER

BECKLEY — With Troy Evans out for the year with a broken ankle, that might open the door for true freshman Michael Rhynes to see some playing time.

Head coach Mark Snyder doesn’t necessarily want to burn Rhynes’ redshirt, but he seemingly would be the next in a line of true freshmen pressed into action because of the need to stay six players deep at wide receiver.

“We were flirting with that anyway, that if the situation arose where he could play, we were going to treat him a lot like (defensive end) John Youboty,” Snyder said. Youboty wound up not playing last year and got to keep his redshirt. “We were going to get him ready to play but try to not play him.

“We will continue to work (Rhynes) like he is going to play and we will see what situation comes about. I can say this though, if someone else gets dinged just a little bit he is definitely going to have to come on. We have been doing that the past two weeks anyway, getting him ready to play."

Rhynes, who played at Independence High in Charlotte, N.C., was having a good preseason before injuries slowed him down.

Evans, by the way, does still qualify for a redshirt because his injury occurred within the Herd’s first three games. The same happened to defensive tackle Montel Glasco, who injured a knee during the third game of the 2007 season, against New Hampshire.

•••

Should he eventually play, Rhynes would join Andre Booker and Aaron Dobson as true freshmen in the fold. Booker and Dobson both had their shirts shed at Virginia Tech.

Booker saw somewhat extensive action last week against Bowling Green and had two catches for 29 yards and a 9-yard run. Snyder had been considering using Booker since before the season opener against Southern Illinois.

"I thought he did well,” Snyder said. “He got his feet wet in a college football game, caught some passes, had a punt return .It was not a bad game for a true freshman. He has a pretty good pair of hands and good ball skills."

Dobson, meanwhile, was thrown to one time against Bowling Green. It resulted in Brian Anderson’s only interception of the game.

“The route wasn't the best in America,” Snyder said. “We had a young receiver that didn't run a crisp route and the DB made a great play. It was all of those things. It was a great break by their DB. It was a great play but he was also unimpeded."

•••

Last year, after giving up 51 points at nationally-ranked Wisconsin, the Herd returned home and scored 17 in a win that required a defensive stand at the end of the game.

This season, after nationally-ranked Virginia Tech posted 52 on the board, Marshall went back to Huntington and, again, scored 17 in a win that required a defensive stand at the end of the game.

The win last year came against Memphis in Marshall’s Conference USA opener. This year, the teams meet a week later but, again, it will be Marshall’s first conference game of the season.

•••

Snyder said both defensive lineman Delvin Johnson and cornerback T.J. Drakeford will play against Memphis at 1 p.m. Eastern time Saturday.

Johnson was injured during the Bowling Green game, while Drakeford didn’t even dress, still bothered by a lingering foot injury.

Wide receiver Courtney Edmonson, injured early against Southern Illinois, will not play Saturday. The hope is that he will be ready for the East Carolina game Saturday, Oct. 3.

—E-mail: gfauber

@register-herald.com







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