Marshall football not backing into corner

Under new head coach Doc Holliday, losing is not an option for the Marshall football team.

"Winning is the only option," said sophomore cornerback Ahmed Shakoor. "You can't just talk about winning. You got to actually perform to get that ‘W.' The ‘W' doesn't just come easy. That's what coach is just trying to sell us."

That is something that translates directly to the cornerback position. Cornerbacks have to be aware of what is going on during every play. They have to win every snap, said junior cornerback D.J. Wingate.

"It really focuses on us," Wingate said. "It hits us hard as cornerbacks. Every situation is a different game. If we play 80 plays, we play 80 games and we have to win every last one of them. As long as we win more than we lose, we're going to end up on top."

 Because of the recent off-the-field issues concerning indefinitely suspended cornerback DeQuan Bembry and cornerback T.J. Drakeford, who has been dismissed from the team, that position is looking a little thin.

"It is what it is," Holliday said "Not only do we have a couple issues, but we have Monterius Lovett banged up a little bit and he's out now. We'll work through it and whoever is out there, we'll go with. But it's important that we practice and have good practices every day so whoever is there will get better."

Yes, players are gone from the team and some are banged up, but secondary coach Mike Cassity doesn't seem too worried.

Last season, Shakoor was moved from safety to cornerback and started 10 games and Wingate also saw a lot of playing time. Also, Drakeford saw limited playing time last year because of injury, and before being suspended, Bembry had yet to practice this spring.

"Nothing has changed from opening spring ball to where we are right now," Cassity said. "We've just had a lot of improvement in those kids that we're coaching.

"We've got a lot of competition at that position. We're playing a lot of the exact same coverage. The carry over from last year to this year is very, very similar in the secondary."

To be successful, Shakoor said the team has to be on the same page and work together as a team and go hard on every play, something he said the coaches are trying to instill in the players.

"As far as thrown in the fire, it's just really everybody works the same, everybody works hard together," he said. "It's just like one motion. Everybody has their swagger in their head that they got to get the job done."

Wingate said while unfortunate things happen, the team has experienced players that have worked just as hard to be where they are as the ones before them.

"We're not going to miss a step," he said. "We come in and we make plays, just as they did. I'm not going to sit here and say we don't need those guys because Bembry was a force in our defense. But when it comes down to it we have guys with an equal amount of talent."

   In 13 games last year, Shakoor recorded 36 tackles and broke up 11 passes. In 10 games, Wingate recorded two tackles and broke up one pass.

   "Last year was just a time to get our feet wet," Shakoor said. "I feel like with the experience that I got last year and the help from all of the other corners' experience before that will help me this year."

   Cassity said he expects a lot out of Shakoor this year, with him having time to focus mainly on the cornerback position and expects both players' experience to help the team tremendously.

 "There is no substitute for experience and the experience that Wingate and Shakoor give us," Cassity said. "We don't have a lot of depth, but our first two corners have played a lot of football here."

Jonas Swecker can be contacted at swecker@marshall.edu.