Youboty update

Huge news from Marshall recruiting. Less than 24 hours after Demetrius Thomas’ commitment, Texas high school defensvie end John Youboty committed to the Thundering Herd from his Houston home. Youboty limited his list to Marshall and Louisville and finalized his recruiting three days after his official visit to Huntington.

Thomas commits, Youboty could follow

Recruiting officially has picked up in Marshall University football circles. Demetrius Thomas’ verbal commitment was a considerable addition. The talented Alabama high school running back originally committed to Southern Miss and eventually chose the Thundering Herd over Auburn, Alabama and Iowa State. There was exactly zero resting on laurels following Thomas’ Tuesday night commitment. About 24 hours later, Marshall coaches were visiting Texas high school defensive end John Youboty, who was weighing offers from the Thundering Herd and Louisville.

Marshall set for busy recruiting weekend

It isn’t often that there is genuine, mutual interest with every student-athlete making an official visit on a given January recruiting weekend, but that appears the case at Marshall. Cabell Midland center Chris Bowers obviously is a good fit for both player and program. Alabama high school running back Demetrius Thomas appeared set to attend Southern Miss, but Marshall now is in the mix with USM’s coaching change. Defensive end John Youboty’s older brother, Ashton (now with the Buffalo Bills) played under Marshall head coach Mark Snyder at Ohio State. Massive offensive lineman Lionel Mapp (6-7, 365) likely could play right away, an opportunity the Georgia prep standout certainly is seeking.

Watson, Youboty on recruiting radar

Recruiting remains busy throughout the week. Marshall coaches are expected to follow up on cornerback Louis Watson’s official visit with an in-house visit on Wednesday. For those anxious for news about a defensive line prospect, get your Google on with John Youboty. The 6-4, 246-pound end is an impressive student-athlete with a strong tie to Marshall’s program. His older brother played under Thundering Herd head coach Mark Snyder when Snyder was an Ohio State assistant coach.

Updates on Murdock, coordinators

Reports that talented wide receiver O.J. Murdock has committed to Marshall might have been a bit premature, but solid confirmation could come this week. Should Murdock and safety Brandon Burns lock down reported verbal commitments to the Thundering Herd, Marshall could be down to as few as five scholarships. As for the coordinator searches, a defensive coordinator (Phil Bennett and Rick Minter are strong lead candidates) could be secured as early as this week. Same goes for the offensive coordinator position (with former UMass head coach and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple leading the pack). Back to recruiting, another strong list of prospects is lining up official visits this weekend. Feel free to check out this blog throughout the week for further details.

Five and counting?

Marshall could find itself down to five scholarships entering the upcoming recruiting weekend. Should a pair of highly-touted junior college prospects -- a safety and a speedy wideout -- commit in the coming days, Thundering Herd coaches can be selective during the recruiting season’s stretch run. Remaining scholarships likely would be concentrated on signed a pair of linebackers, a defensive back, one defensive lineman and one offensive lineman (likely a center).

Recruiting season getting interesting

It’s about to get very interesting. Marshall is further along in its recruiting at this point than any other year in recent history. This will allow coaches to do extra homework on prospects and spend added time with them on visits during this month. At least two highly-regarded junior college prospects, including the nation’s No. 1 tight end, remain very much interested in the Herd. Entering recruiting season’s stretch run, are you pleased thus far and what needs to happen between now and signing day (Feb. 6), to make this class special? Look forward to the conversation.