We Are Marshall Page #5

Yeah!

Get him!

Need a little help here, Red.

He's heavier than you think.

He's all wet.

He's all wet.

Approved.

''You will be allowed to play freshmen

at Marshall University.''

-What's that right there? What's that?

-Here, put me down.

That is signed by the president right there.

There he is. Stamped.

Doc, we're gonna get us a football team.

And that is why we are offering

your son something...

...that no other school in the country can.

lmmediate and substantial playing time

as a freshman.

Time! l like the kid

who made the lay-up.

This is the one l wanna talk to, right here.

What's your name, son?

Ball, ball, ball!

-That was a hell of a hit.

-Thank you.

-Coach Dawson, from the football club.

-Bobby Jordan.

-Ever play any football? None at all?

-No, sir.

-No Pop Warner, no high school?

-No. Just baseball.

Groovy. Come on, man.

Hey, let me rap to you.

Hey, how you doing?

Hey. What's up, man?

Strong finish.

That's a good-looking board.

Good-looking board.

l'm tired of flying.

Marshall Thundering Herd all-freshmen

team, led by quarterback John Cady...

...handing the ball off

to the ever-talented Lucas Booth!

He runs to the inside,

and who's on the outsider wing?

Terry Gardner catches it,

pitches to Tennis Rice...

...who's going downfield to

tight end Sam Boteck.

l've never been.

-Crazy. ln four years?

-Yeah.

-The bonfire.

-l've never been.

-Everyone's been to the bonfire.

-l haven't.

-Do you eat marshmallows?

-l love marshmallows.

-You've gotta come to the bonfire.

-Annie, order's up.

-Ask her to come.

-l will, l will.

-Here you go.

-Thanks.

-Can we have some silverware?

-Sure.

-Some guys have all the luck.

-Sorry?

Your fianc. He's a lucky guy.

-Can you drive? Yeah.

-Yeah. We'll leave about 8?

Keith? lt's your turn

to set the table!

He's not here, Mom.

-Where is he?

-l don't know.

Okay, guys. First things first.

Feel a connection to the guy next to you.

Hand on a knee, hook an arm,

whatever it is.

Come on, Herd.

Look around, because these

are your teammates, young men.

They're made up of three

returning varsity members.

Randy Linden, George Olson, Nate Ruffin.

Fifteen freshmen turning sophomores.

And the rest of you, true freshmen...

...very first time in college football

and walk-ons.

Are you gonna play too, Tom?

Remember, this is a game called football,

let's get to work. Let's go.

We are going to be running

the Power l, gentlemen...

...which obviously starts

with a quarterback.

-Red, what are my choices?

-Dave Walsh.

Solid athlete. Solid arm. Solid kid.

Okay.

Who else?

-Jack, that's it.

-That's it, 1 0?

That's it, coach.

All right, guys.

Competition breeds improvement.

Now, we need options here.

Let's look around, keep our eyes open.

We need legs, hands and a decent arm.

Right there. Who's 86?

That's Reggie Oliver.

Receiver from Alabama.

Bear Bryant called me personally,

actually, to recommend him.

-You wanna try him out at QB?

-Unless you think it's a bad idea.

-Let's push them to the limit, men, huh?

-Right, coach.

Come on, hit it, now!

Check!

Not good, coach.

James, James. Get over here.

That's supposed to be a post route.

-Post?

-Post.

You do know the difference between a

post route and a flag route?

No, coach.

All right, all right.

You see the big goalpost there?

That's why they call it a post route. Post.

You head right to that post.

Cut 1 0 yards, to the post.

See the big pylon down

at the corner of the end zone?

That's what we call a flag, all right?

So when you're running the flag route...

...1 0 yards to the corner of the end zone,

to the flag.

-All right? All right.

-l got it.

Do it again.

Come on! Let's go!

Nice speed, Booth! Nice speed!

Nice speed. Shalhoop. Hey.

-What are you doing?

-Oh, l kick the ball, coach.

But after you kick it, son,

you're still a football player.

Good job, George. Good job, George.

Come here, come here.

-What's your name, 51 ?

-My name's Creole.

Creole. This Redbook's

taking me only so far.

Urbanek, l need names. Last names on

everyone's helmet. All right? This afternoon.

Now, Creole, the man outweighs you

by 75 pounds. Okay?

When you're hitting him up high...

...he'll beat you and you'll be

on your ass every time, all right?

You gotta come in here,

you gotta get him low.

Get him in the legs, okay? That's how

you'll keep him from coming through.

-Stay low on him. Low, man.

-What should l do if he goes low?

Good question. George says,

what does he do if he goes low?

Five-one comes low.

Head slap and you're around him.

Like that. You see that?

Head-slap the sh*t out of him.

-Give me second team, McNally.

-We don't have a second team, Jack.

Sh*t. Okay, yeah, we do

have a second team. Jackson! Urbanek!

Lengyel, McNally, Dawson...

...line up here.

Offensive line, watch this.

-Coach, you don't have any pads on.

-Now, you just play ball, Olson.

Quarterback's still standing.

Big on big.

We can run an offense.

We can save a young man's life.

Come on, now. Power l. Big on big.

We got a huge problem

on the O-line, coach.

l don't think it's because

the defensive line is so spectacular.

No. No.

Men. Power l. You know l'm a fan

of it, that's why l brought it here.

l have learned in the last two weeks

that it is not working.

So as of right now, the Power l

goes in the trash...

...along with every flea-flicker,

double reverse...

...and every other trick play

that you may have in your playbook.

Get rid of it.

Men, it is time to simplify. Ball.

So put our heads together here.

What is the simplest offense...

...that you have ever run

and actually won a football game?

Any idea's a good idea. No right or wrong

in here today, men, let's talk it out.

Well, there's always the Veer.

The Veer. That's interesting.

Talk that out, Red.

Well, the Veer's an option offense.

Spreads things out.

Takes the focus off any one man.

lt's designed for teams that don't

have a strong offensive line.

Now, that is us in a nutshell.

Well, who runs it that we can talk to?

Bill Yeoman came up with it

at Houston...

...but other than West Virginia,

no one really runs it outside of Texas.

-West Virginia runs the Veer?

-Yeah.

Jack, that's crazy. We're rivals.

You think they'll invite us to lunch

and hand over their playbook?

They don't have to take us out to lunch.

We'll pick some up on the way.

Morgantown. The Veer. l like it.

Eight-time Southern

Conference Champions, Red.

Jack? Jack, l gotta tell you,

l really don't think this is your best idea.

-Red! Good to see you again.

-Oh, coach.

-How are you?

-How are you?

-And this must be?

-Coach Jack Lengyel.

Jack. Bobby Bowden.

Pleasure to meet you.

lt's a pleasure to meet you.

Bobby, thank you for taking

the time with us today.

-My pleasure, not a problem.

-All right.

Yes, sir.

So l can't wait to hear.

What can l do for you boys?

Well, the thing is...

...coach...

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