January 25, 2005
 
Busy Week of Recruiting for Herd Football Staff
 
by Grant Traylor
Huntington News Network Sportswriter
 
Huntington (HNN) — Perhaps the busiest non-practice week of the football season has descended upon Marshall coach Bobby Pruett and staff, but don’t let them fool you. They love the workload.
 
That is because this is the last week before the National Letter Of Intent Signing Day, scheduled for Feb. 2.
 
Many recruits have come to Marshall’s campus over the past two weeks and many more will make the trip to Huntington this week in search of the perfect fit and the right football community to play for.
 
Marshall no longer has to deal with punishments from NCAA violations dating as far back as 1999 and 2000. Since that period of time, Marshall has endured scholarships losses, the ability to sign academic non-qualifiers and actual recruiting restrictions placed on the university by the NCAA.
 
The Thundering Herd are making the best of its new beginning as coaches and staff tackle the recruiting trails to solidify a strong recruiting class as Marshall heads to Conference USA.
 
To date, Marshall has 19 verbal commitments with many hitting problem areas left behind from 2004's graduating class. Marshall’s verbals include six defensive lineman/linebackers, four offensive linemen, three quarterbacks, two secondary personnel, a running back and a longsnapper.
 
Of Marshall’s commitments, five are junior college transfers with the biggest name possibly being Derek Devine, a 6-ft., 3-in. quarterback from Mount San Antonio College in California.
 
Marshall’s coaching staff also continues to hit the Virginia/Maryland/Washington (D.C.) areas hard like they have in previous seasons. Six recruits come from these areas, including three defensive players from Fork Union Military Academy.
 
The Thundering Herd coaching staff finished a strong weekend of recruiting in which 13 recruits came to Huntington and six ended up verbally committing to Marshall.
 
Those verbally committing this weekend included offensive linemen Brian Leggett (Meridian, Miss.) and Zane Bruhin (Powell, Tenn.), linebackers DeMarcus Roberson (Fork Union) and Brandon Souder (LA Southwest C.C., Calif.), wide receiver Corey Gardhigh (Cedartown, Ga.) and C.J. Spillman (Fork Union).
 
Due to NCAA rules, Marshall coaches and staff are not allowed to comment on potential recruits during the recruiting season.