By GARY FAUBER
HUNTINGTON — For Marshall’s seniors, bowl eligibility carries with it a sense of fulfillment. Four and five years of suffering through losing the likes of which the Herd faithful is unaccustomed has been replaced with, they hope, the rewards for their hard work.
The freshmen and sophomores, meanwhile, view it as the start of a return to normalcy.
The Thundering Herd gave everyone a glimpse of what the future holds in last Saturday’s 34-31 win over SMU. It gave Marshall its sixth win, a first in the Mark Snyder coaching era. Nothing is set yet, but the Herd (6-5, 4-3 Conference USA) is at least in the bowl conversation.
“That’s all I ever wanted in college was to be bowl-eligible,” true freshman Aaron Dobson said. “Being bowl-eligible in my first year feels good.”
Dobson is a big reason why Marshall is in the postseason mix. His 127-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Mustangs — who are probably now a lock for coach June Jones’ goal of playing in the Hawaii Bowl — represented a breakout game.
Which was no surprise to Snyder, who after the game recalled watching Dobson play basketball last winter for South Charleston. Months after leading the football team through an undefeated state championship run, Dobson was named the West Virginia basketball player of the year.
“I remember vividly being at his basketball game with my wife, watching my daughter cheer against his team, and he took over the basketball game,” Snyder said. “I looked at Beth (his wife) and I go, ‘We’re taking this guy,’ because he can leap and he’s got tremendous hands.
“And you think, someday this is going to be the kind of guy you want to be a wide receiver for you. But did you ever expect he would do it as a freshman? No. Someday, did you think he would do that? Yes. Just sitting there watching him play hoops, there was no question about it.
“He has just evolved a lot faster than anybody would think because he’s a great kid, he listens and takes coaching, he’s got great family. He doesn’t get too high or too low. I’m excited. I’m glad he’s on our team. With the receivers being down that we have had down this year, he and Antavious (Wilson) have really stepped up for us.”
Dobson has exhibited on the field the leaping ability that wowed Snyder on the hardwood. His first touchdown against SMU came on a 40-yard flea flicker in which he used his 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame to easily outjump his defender.
In fact, most of Dobson’s receptions this year have been of the leaping variety.
“That’s the ball I like,” he said. “I like to go up and attack the ball, jump and get it. I can jump real well. I’m a basketball player so I’m used to going up on ‘D’ and attack the ball. That’s what I like to do, so it’s fun for me.”
Meanwhile, freshman running back Martin Ward and sophomore Terrell Edwards-Maye combined for 249 of the Herd’s 262 rushing yards. They alternated in the ground attack as starter Darius Marshall sat out with an ankle injury.
And Dobson found himself in the unenviable position of taking the role of tight end Cody Slate, out for the year with a knee injury. Dobson lined up much the same way as Slate to create the same mismatches Slate has been taking advantage of for four years.
All three of them passed the test.
The Herd now plays the waiting game as far as whether a bowl invitation will actually be extended. The most likely destination is the EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C., but Army can become eligible with a win over Navy Dec. 12, and a Duke win over Wake Forest on Saturday would give the ACC an eighth bowl-eligible team.
Whatever happens, the future of Marshall football looks pretty good.
“We’re going to be a tough Marshall football team once we get older,” Dobson said. “We’re a good team this year, but we have a lot of athletes coming in. We have a good freshman class. This is going to be a tough team to stop once we get older.”
— E-mail: gfauber@
register-herald.com
