ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610110032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
MARSHALL'S FOOTBALL TEAM hasn't missed a beat with new coach Bob Pruett at the helm.
VMI football coach Bill Stewart thinks Bob Pruett has been asked to perform one of the most difficult tasks in collegiate coaching: Inherit a winner and keep it winning.
Pruett has done that in his first year as Marshall's head coach. The Thundering Herd, fresh off an appearance in last year's Division I-AA championship game, is 5-0 and ranked No.1 in I-AA this season.
``That's always a tough situation,'' said Stewart, ``to come and have a talented cast and keep it going. Of course, I've never been in one.''
Until now, neither had Pruett. When he became the head coach at Groveton High School in 1970, he inherited a program that had lost 30 consecutive games. When he took over at Gar-Field High School in 1973, he inherited a team that had lost 10 in a row. In 1978, he led Gar-Field to the state championship game. The next year, he went to Marshall, his alma mater, to coach defensive backs. Stewart coached on the Marshall staff with Pruett in 1980.
``He's as good a secondary guy as I've been around,'' Stewart said. ``He works like a madman.''
Stewart will get a firsthand view of the fruits of Pruett's labor when the Thundering Herd comes to Lexington on Saturday, when Marshall will be making its final appearance at VMI as a Southern Conference member. Pruett, Florida's defensive coordinator in 1994 and '95, will lead the Herd into the I-A Mid American Conference next season.
Considering Marshall's performances so far this season, some people think it belongs in I-A now.
``There are a lot of teams in Division I-A that Marshall is capable of beating,'' said UT-Chattanooga coach Buddy Green, whose Moccasins fell to the Herd 45-0 last Saturday. ``I can't remember seeing anyone better.''
No team has scored on the Herd in the past 146:24. The offense has one of the best receiving corps at any level with senior Tim Martin and transfers Randy Moss (from Florida State) and Jerrald Long (West Virginia). Throwing to them is senior Eric Kresser, a transfer from Florida considered a better pro prospect than the man he backed up, Heisman Trophy contender Danny Wuerffel.
``No doubt, put us up against anybody in the Big East,'' said senior Melvin Cunningham, Marshall's all-America cornerback. ``Put us wherever you want. West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, we could play with any of them.''
Cunningham said Pruett has brought a more intense atmosphere to the program since Jim Donnan left for Georgia last winter. He also said it allowed each player in the program to show their personal strengths, even though they had to prove themselves all over again.
Two players who showed their strengths from their first day on campus were Moss (who does not speak to the media) and Kresser. Moss was dismissed from the Florida State football team by coach Bobby Bowden and began practices at Marshall on Aug.9. He had five catches for 224 yards in his first scrimmage with the Herd and quickly earned the nickname, ``the Freak.''
Kresser announced his intent to transfer to Marshall on July 11. In four games, he's completed 59 percent of his passes for 825 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He leads the Southern Conference in total offense at 205 yards per game.
``I knew I was guaranteed a chance to play, which was more than I'd get at Florida,'' said Kresser, who added that he and Pruett didn't have any sort of special relationship. Kresser won the Marshall starting quarterback job in the preseason, beating out 1995 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year Chad Pennington. Pennington is being redshirted this season.
``I don't think Randy disturbed the chemistry as much as Eric,'' Cunningham said. ``I was kind of down about it, because I felt with Pennington at the helm we'd win the national title anyway.
``But Eric is a part of our team, and from day one he didn't put himself above the team.''
It's up to Pruett to manage this heap of talent. He took his first collegiate head coaching job on Jan.9, returning to his alma mater for the second time. ``I was able to fulfill two ambitions at the same time,'' he said.
Pruett entered coaching as a high school assistant in 1965, still in the midst of a semi-pro playing career. Pruett played five years with the Virginia Sailors of the Continental Football League. He was still with the team when it moved to Roanoke and became the Buckskins.
``We made four to five hundred dollars a game,'' Pruett said. ``It was a lot of fun.''
Pruett doesn't remember his first game at Victory Stadium as being much fun, though, because it also was his last. His career ended that day when a player from the Richmond Saints speared him in the back on punt coverage and caused internal bleeding.
Pruett then threw himself into coaching. Although it didn't start off with the best of times (Marshall was 1-3 against VMI when Pruett was on staff from 1979 to '82), he's had plenty of success since.
``I sure like ol' Bob,'' Stewart said. ``I hope he likes me. We'll find out on Saturday how much he likes me.''
KEY NOTES: Stewart has pleaded with fans at Saturday's game to wear red. A sea of Herd green filled Alumni Memorial Field for Marshall's 1994 visit. Only one of VMI's previous five opponents, Georgia Southern, has lost to a I-AA team. The Keydets are the least penalized team in the Southern Conference. VMI has been flagged 23 times for 191 yards this season. VMI will hold Midnight Madness for its basketball team Monday at 8:45p.m. in Cameron Hall. Monday Night Football will be shown on the big screen prior to the basketball festivities. Admission is free.
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CHARLESTON (W.Va.) DAILY MAIL. Quarterback Eric Kresser,by CNBwho transferred from Florida, has led Marshall's Thundering Herd to
five consecutive victories and the No.1 ranking in Division I-AA.