MARSHALL FOOTBALL

INSIDE: Herd notebook 3B

HUNTINGTON - Here is yet another example of the perils of handicapping a class of freshman recruits.

Who will be the most accomplished of those wearing red-striped helmets in Marshall's preseason camp?

Justin Haig? Could be, if he can beat out Tyler Warner for placekicking duties.

Eddie Sullivan? Vaulting to No. 2 quarterback isn't a cheap feat, and it puts him on the verge of great opportunity, perhaps sooner than later.

Brian Robinson? The safety may have carried four stars to Huntington, but injury continues to cost him valuable practice time.

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Trevor Black? Coming out of Hargrave Military Academy, he also has a spring under his belt and is getting quality reps. But he isn't the freshman linebacker turning heads these days.

That youngster is T.J. Ross, who isn't looking or acting the part of a rookie. The 6-foot, 215-pound native of Durham, N.C., took some first-team reps at middle linebacker Tuesday, and spent the entire morning practice Wednesday with the first string.

Keep in mind that incumbent starter Kellen Harris is still rehabilitating a hamstring pull, and fellow junior Tyson Gale isn't going to take a demotion lying down. But Ross' work ethic and athletic ability has perked up teammates and coaches.

"He plays hard, and in this program they have no choice but to play hard," said coach Doc Holliday. "We can tolerate mistakes to a point, but we can't tolerate a lack of effort. I'm not saying we're not getting effort; we are. But he's just a guy, from day one, who stepped on campus and has given us great effort.

"He's just a great kid. He's a sharp kid that picks things up and I'm glad he's here."

Ross' recruitment wasn't done in the same haste as most of the 2010 recruiting class. North Carolina is the prime territory of assistant coach Phil Ratliff, one of two holdovers from the staff of previous head coach Mark Snyder, and Ratliff noticed Ross in his junior year.

Ross said he heard from Wake Forest, Duke, Clemson and Mississippi State, but Ratliff thought the field could have been tougher.

"First of all, he's a great character," Ratliff said. "I knew he was strong for his size, a little short but strong for his size, and he can run. The more I got to watch him, I saw his tape, he played with great passion and I continued to stay on him.

"The whole time I'm thinking, 'Why has this kid not gotten more scholarship offers?' That's recruiting for you - you can't get caught up in who has offered him, who's recruiting him."

With his pads off, you would Replica Franck Muller Watches never guess Ross just graduated from Durham's Southern High, a potent Class 4A program that is the alma mater of NFL quarterback David Garrard. The Spartans went 12-2 in Ross' senior year.

Much quicker than most freshmen, Ross has grasped the higher speed of the game and the necessity of never "taking a play off." Those points were driven home a little harder Wednesday.

"My first day with the ones, the first two plays I was, 'Whoa. What's going on?' " Ross said. "I had to catch up. I had to step it up a whole two levels, two more notches."

His teammates and coaches believe he has found that next levelReplica Watches
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