 TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
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By Brian Nowicki One of the biggest knocks on the UT defense in 2004 was that they did not defend the pass very well, giving up 275.1 passing yards per game. Last year that category improved significantly behind the senior leadership of Keon Jackson and Antonio Malone. The Rockets gave up just 191.2 passing yards per game last season, over 80 yards per game less than the year before. Some key players from last year's secondary have graduated, but there is still a lot to be optimistic about in 2006. Returning as one starting cornerback is junior Nigel Morris. Morris, 6-0 and 181 pounds, will enter his 3rd season as a starter for Toledo. In 2004 he was named "Top Defensive Back" at Toledo and was also named 3rd Team Freshman All-American by the Sporting News. He had 76 tackles, 10 pass breakups (2nd best in the MAC), 3 interceptions (one returned 88 yards for a TD), and a 26 yard fumble return for a touchdown. Last season he started 11 games, missing one game with an injury, and had 33 tackles, 6 pass breakups, 1 interception, and 2 fumble recoveries. With cornerback Antonio Malone graduating, Morris will be called upon to cover each opponent's top receiver this fall. The other starting cornerback looks to be a battle between senior Bo Martin and sophomore Keiron Brown. Bo Martin, 6-2 and 198 pounds, had 15 tackles with two interceptions and one fumble recovery in 12 games last season. He saw action in 12 games in 2004 and also in 12 games in 2003. Keiron Brown, 5-11 and 176 pounds, had 18 tackles in 11 games as a true freshman last season. He is from Margate, FL where he played for St Thomas Aquinas High School. He earned 3rd Team Class 5A honors in the state of Florida as a senior in 2004. He is very fast and could be the starting cornerback this fall. This spring he was pencilled in as the starter. 
Other cornerbacks include redshirt freshman Walter Atkins and redshirt freshman Chris Murphy. Atkins, 6-1 and 182 pounds, is from Pompano Beach, FL. He had 40 tackles, 9 pass breakups, and 4 interceptions on the #6 rated high school team in the nation in 2004. He redshirted last season at Toledo. Murphy, 6-2 and 164 pounds, is from Columbus, OH. He had 56 tackles, 10 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles as a senior in high school in 2004. He redshirted last year at Toledo.Returning as the starting free safety is junior Tyrrell Herbert. Herbert, 6-2 and 190 pounds, had 94 tackles with one interception and five forced fumbles in 12 games last season. His 94 tackles was second on the team. In 2004 he saw limited action in 9 games. Herbert is from Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh, PA. Sophomore Jeff Green was listed #2 at free safety this spring. Green, 6-2 and 185 pounds, had two tackles in limited action in six games last season for Toledo. He is from Westville, NJ where he was a 1st Team All South Jersey as a senior in high school in 2004. He is from the same high school as redshirt freshman running back DaJuane Collins. Redshirt freshman Mike Fisher, 6-1 and 174 pounds, was listed #3 at free safety this spring. He is from Bellaire, OH. Replacing Keon Jackson at strong safety sounds like a tall order, but the Rockets have some good young talent. Redshirt freshman Lester Richmond was #1 on the depth chart this spring. Richmond, 6-1 and 184 pounds, was likely to play last year before suffering an injury just before the season started. The Rockets held him out and redshirted him because of the injury, but he is fully recovered and has looked very good this spring. He is from Chicago, IL where he played for football power Morgan Park. He had 115 tackles, four interceptions, and three fumble recoveries as a senior in 2004. He was a team captain on the team, and was the team's "Special Teams Player of the Year" and also won the "Big Hit of the Year" award at Morgan Park. Redshirt freshman Chris Faison, 6-1 and 169 pounds, was listed #2 at strong safety on the spring depth chart. Faison is from Bloomfield Hills, MI where he had 47 tackles and two interceptions as a senior at Lahser High School in 2004. He was listed #48 on the 2005 Detroit News Blue Chip Recruiting List. The Rockets brought in several defensive backs and safeties in the 2006 recruiting class. Cornerback Desmond Marrow, 6-3 and 196 pounds, is from Youngstown, OH. He was the Co-Defensive Player of the Year for Division IV in the state of Ohio as a senior in 2005. He had 10 interceptions as a senior, and a school record 18 interceptions in his career. He had offers from Toledo, Miami University, and Pittsburgh. Marrow is a physical player with great size and he could see playing time right away this fall. Cornerback Greg Harris, 6-0 and 185 pounds, is from Mount Vernon, NY. He was named the 2005 All New England Class A Player of the Year by the Boston Globe in 2005, while playing for Tinity Pawling Prep School. Harris has 4.4 speed in the forty yard dash. Defensive back Mark Jackson, 6-0 and 195 pounds, is from football power Canton McKinley High School. He had five interceptions last year on one of the state's best football teams. He received offers from Toledo, Akron, and Miami University. He could play either cornerback or safety at Toledo. Safety Barry Church, 6-2 and 205 pounds, is from Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh, PA. Church was named 2nd Team AP Class AAAA in the state of Pennsylvania in 2005. He had 80 tackles with 8 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 3 fumble recoveries as a senior in high school. Both Scout.com and Rivals.com listed him as a 3 star recruit. He received offers from Toledo, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Maryland, Iowa, Indiana, Akron, Miami University, and North Carolina State. Church was a huge signing for Toledo and he could very well play this fall for the Rockets. He is from the same high school as starting free safety Tyrrell Herbert. Cornerback Joe Shuler, 6-2 and 185 pounds, is from Apopka, FL. Shuler is going to be giving a look at both wide receiver and cornerback at Toledo, which could make him the school's first two-way players in several years. He received offers from Toledo, Temple, and Mississippi. He may get a chance to play right away this fall. No doubt that Toledo will miss Antonio Malone and Keon Jackson in the secondary this year. However, there is a lot of young talent on this team. Bo Martin is the only senior in the secondary, so this unit is going to be even better in 2007. Incoming recruits Barry Church, Joe Shuler, and Desmond Marrow have the size and physical ability to play right away for the Rockets and they could make an impact either in the secondary or on special teams. Along with veterans Nigel Morris, Bo Martin, and Tyrrell Herbert, as well as the young and talented Lester Richmond, Keiron Brown, and Walter Atkins; this team has a lot of depth in the secondary. Have a question or comment for Brian? Email |