Thundering Herd freshmen adjusting to college life
By Jacob Messer
Daily Mail sports writer
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Martin Ward and his fellow freshmen have spent the past week receiving their introduction to college football during Marshall's preseason training camp.
Marshall freshman cornerback Ahmed Shakoor said the time he spent in Huntington this summer helped him prepare for the season.
Players have to adjust to the physical and mental demands at this level, which far exceed those in high school. They must compete for playing time against teammates who are bigger, better, stronger and faster than the opponents they faced during their prep careers. They also must learn more complex systems, which means they have to bury their noses in their ultra-thick playbooks every opportunity they get.
The challenge is equally daunting off the field. They have to learn their way around a new school and a new town, which means they must acquaint themselves not only with the campus library, cafeterias, student center, dorms and educational buildings but also with the local restaurants, grocery stores, barbershops, gas stations and shopping centers.
And don't forget the fact that they must do it without their parents, buddies and girlfriends. This likely is the first time in their lives they have been away from their loved ones for such a significant stretch of time.
"It's hard any time there's change," said Marshall Coach Mark Snyder, who welcomed 18 freshmen recruits and walk-ons into training camp. "Away from mom and dad and girlfriend for the first time. Sleeping in a new bed. It's a little rough.
"(Recent NCAA rule changes) took away our three days where we could love them up a little bit (freshmen previously came to camp three days before the upperclassmen). But, conversely, we get them for the summer, which is a good thing. We get them for a whole month to get their feet wet. It's like the rookies at an NFL camp. It's a little rough on them."
Leaving his mother was the most difficult part for Ward, a 5-foot-9, 188-pound tailback from Mount Zion High in Jonesboro, Ga.
"It was hard letting her go," Ward said. "But I have to grow up some way some how."
Ward said he has been too busy to feel homesick, not to mention the fact that he likes Marshall and Huntington.
"I'm actually enjoying myself," Ward said. "I like it out here. It's like a home away from home. I'm not anxious to go back home anytime soon. I'm straight here."
Some of his peers have experienced brief bouts of homesickness, which is to be expected.
"There's always a little bit of homesickness," said Jamie Hatten, a 6-5, 205-pound tight end from Hendersonville High in Hendersonville, N.C. "But it hasn't really distracted me from learning and playing."
Mainly because neither he nor his fellow freshmen have time to think about it. Football consumes their day from the moment they awake until the minute they fall asleep.
"I get up and we go to meetings and walk-through and practice and meetings," said Tyson Gale, a 6-3, 222-pound linebacker from Alva High in Alva, Okla. "The whole day is football. That's what we came here to do. That's what I expected.
"You have to come in with the mindset that you're here to play football and camp is camp. Your day is taken up. You don't have time to call your girlfriend or anything like that. You're here to play football and that's what you have to do."
No wonder Gale and his peers won't be giving any campus tours in the near future.
"I haven't seen much of the campus because I have been so busy," Gale said. "Just the dorm and the cafeteria and the stadium."
Many of the freshmen spent the summer in Huntington attending classes and participating in workouts, which gave them an advantage over the ones who didn't.
Among them was Kase Whitehead, a 5-10, 181-pound punter from William Blount High in Maryville, Tenn.
"I think it's going to be very helpful," Whitehead said last week before preseason practice began, "because I have kind of gotten the feel for how college life is and going to class and then being up for workouts and being on time for everything."
Players said the biggest on-the-field adjustment has been the mental aspect, particularly knowing where to be and what to do in the myriad of formations and packages.
Snyder said the quicker they learn and translate it onto the field, the sooner they play.
"They will have to show us," said Snyder, who isn't opposed to playing true freshmen (he used five last year). "They can't make many mistakes.
"That's typically the way it is at most schools. If you're a freshman coming in, your margin of error is very small because everybody has depth. The guys who can pick it up and make it work are the guys who get reps and those are the guys you see on Saturday."
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Martin Ward and his fellow freshmen have spent the past week receiving their introduction to college football during Marshall's preseason training camp.
It is an initiation that can be overwhelming.
Players have to adjust to the physical and mental demands at this level, which far exceed those in high school. They must compete for playing time against teammates who are bigger, better, stronger and faster than the opponents they faced during their prep careers. They also must learn more complex systems, which means they have to bury their noses in their ultra-thick playbooks every opportunity they get.
The challenge is equally daunting off the field. They have to learn their way around a new school and a new town, which means they must acquaint themselves not only with the campus library, cafeterias, student center, dorms and educational buildings but also with the local restaurants, grocery stores, barbershops, gas stations and shopping centers.
And don't forget the fact that they must do it without their parents, buddies and girlfriends. This likely is the first time in their lives they have been away from their loved ones for such a significant stretch of time.
"It's hard any time there's change," said Marshall Coach Mark Snyder, who welcomed 18 freshmen recruits and walk-ons into training camp. "Away from mom and dad and girlfriend for the first time. Sleeping in a new bed. It's a little rough.
"(Recent NCAA rule changes) took away our three days where we could love them up a little bit (freshmen previously came to camp three days before the upperclassmen). But, conversely, we get them for the summer, which is a good thing. We get them for a whole month to get their feet wet. It's like the rookies at an NFL camp. It's a little rough on them."
Leaving his mother was the most difficult part for Ward, a 5-foot-9, 188-pound tailback from Mount Zion High in Jonesboro, Ga.
"It was hard letting her go," Ward said. "But I have to grow up some way some how."
Ward said he has been too busy to feel homesick, not to mention the fact that he likes Marshall and Huntington.
"I'm actually enjoying myself," Ward said. "I like it out here. It's like a home away from home. I'm not anxious to go back home anytime soon. I'm straight here."
Some of his peers have experienced brief bouts of homesickness, which is to be expected.
"There's always a little bit of homesickness," said Jamie Hatten, a 6-5, 205-pound tight end from Hendersonville High in Hendersonville, N.C. "But it hasn't really distracted me from learning and playing."
Mainly because neither he nor his fellow freshmen have time to think about it. Football consumes their day from the moment they awake until the minute they fall asleep.
"I get up and we go to meetings and walk-through and practice and meetings," said Tyson Gale, a 6-3, 222-pound linebacker from Alva High in Alva, Okla. "The whole day is football. That's what we came here to do. That's what I expected.
"You have to come in with the mindset that you're here to play football and camp is camp. Your day is taken up. You don't have time to call your girlfriend or anything like that. You're here to play football and that's what you have to do."
No wonder Gale and his peers won't be giving any campus tours in the near future.
"I haven't seen much of the campus because I have been so busy," Gale said. "Just the dorm and the cafeteria and the stadium."
Many of the freshmen spent the summer in Huntington attending classes and participating in workouts, which gave them an advantage over the ones who didn't.
Among them was Kase Whitehead, a 5-10, 181-pound punter from William Blount High in Maryville, Tenn.
"I think it's going to be very helpful," Whitehead said last week before preseason practice began, "because I have kind of gotten the feel for how college life is and going to class and then being up for workouts and being on time for everything."
Players said the biggest on-the-field adjustment has been the mental aspect, particularly knowing where to be and what to do in the myriad of formations and packages.
Snyder said the quicker they learn and translate it onto the field, the sooner they play.
"They will have to show us," said Snyder, who isn't opposed to playing true freshmen (he used five last year). "They can't make many mistakes.
"That's typically the way it is at most schools. If you're a freshman coming in, your margin of error is very small because everybody has depth. The guys who can pick it up and make it work are the guys who get reps and those are the guys you see on Saturday."
