Five things to watch on Saturday

After his first spring practice as a head coach, Marshall's Doc Holliday seemed helpless.

"I felt like I wasn't doing anything," Holliday said with a smile back in late March.

Oh, Doc, you've done plenty, and fans will certainly see that during Saturday's Green-White Game.

Here are five things to watch for in this weekend's glorified Herd scrimmage:
1.  It's real tackle football this time.

During the (deep breath) Mark Snyder regime, the Marshall spring game was a practice.
 It was the first teamers going up against the scrubs.

It was the real team against the scout team.

It was no fun.

Although Snyder held, and publicized, a pre-Green-White Game draft, he took those even rosters and tore them up shortly before kickoff.

Instead of Cody Slate going up against Maurice Kitchens, you had Slate going up against some fourth-team linebacker.

Made for a field day for Slate, not so much for the other guy.

So you got scores like 44-8 in 2008 and 43-6 in 2007.

But fear not folks, those blowouts shall be a thing of the past.

Those $10 general admission tickets (free for students) will be worth it this year.
  It will be the No. 1s against the No. 1s. Starters vs. the starters.

"We can't take the 15th practice (of spring) and make it a waste of time," Holliday told the Herald-Dispatch on Tuesday. "We need to get something out of it."

Good call Coach.

So look for Martin Ward to find holes because of an able offensive line, but then see him get popped by a blitzing Mario Harvey.

And watch Lee Smith fight to get free on a crossing route because he's blanketed by Kellen Harris.

That's football. That's fun.

2. The incumbent vs. the future.

Marshall's starting quarterback question likely won't be answered until much-hyped Clemson transfer Willy Korn steps on campus in the summer, but let's forget about him for a second.

Saturday, all 10,000-or-so pairs of eyes will focus in on one matchup: Brian Anderson vs. A.J. Graham.

Anderson is the grizzled fifth-year senior, who guided the Herd to its first bowl win in seven years last season. Graham is the upstart redshirt freshman, who hasn't taken a legitimate hit in game action since he was a high school senior.

  Resumes aside, these two will be battling for the same spot.

  Anderson will do it his way — making veteran decisions and spreading the wealth to the Herd's all-of-sudden bevy of skill weapons. And Graham will do it his — running read-options, doing his best Pat White-impression to impress the former Mountaineer, Holliday.

3.    Backfield triple threat.

  Martin Ward up the gut, Terrell Edwards-Maye with the pitch to the outside, Andre Booker with the screen to the house.

  Get used to this.

  Holliday, in collaboration with co-offensive coordinators Bill Legg and Tony Petersen, will be looking to spread the love — and the ball — with a three-headed monster at running back.

  Each possess a different strength and each will be on display Saturday.

  That's fitting because their former mentor, Darius Marshall, who left school early for the NFL Draft, will be sweating out his future job on the same day.

4.    Janac's time.

  The graduation of Albert McClellan certainly hurt Marshall's defensive line, but it should have boosted the spirits of his protege, Michael Janac.

  Big No. 90 is no longer in No. 96's 6-foot-2, 254-pound shadow.

  Janac, a senior who's freakishly listed at 6-5, 294 and has arms longer than a Stretch Armstrong doll, has been waiting for this moment for a while.

  Expect big things from him from this point on. The new coaches have moved him to defensive tackle and I think it's a heady move.

  I see an All-Conference USA selection coming Janac's way.

5.    Halftime heroics.

  Forget about Gloriana, the only show I'll be watching Saturday will be the halftime show.

  Former Herd greats Chad Pennington, Randy Moss, Byron Leftwich and John Wade will be taking part in a two-hand touch football game with children from the Boys & Girls Club of Huntington.

  I can see it now — Byron throws a bomb, Moss catches it and about 25 10-year-olds carry him down the field.

  Just like old times — kind of.

Andrew Ramspacher can be contacted at ramspacher@marshall.edu.