HUNTINGTON - Marshall's scrimmage Saturday was planned, to the degree possible, to be a proving ground for some of its youngest players.

That was definitely the case at running back, where Darius Marshall and Chubb Small got enough playing time early to break a sweat, then watched the freshmen the rest of the day.

That began with redshirt freshman Terrell Edwards, who gained 77 yards on 16 carries, including gallops of 10, 11 and 12 yards. While that entertained the crowd of several hundred at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, many were no doubt eager to see the newest runners.

That they did, particularly Martin Ward. The 5-foot-9, 188-pound freshman from Jonesboro, Ga., entered behind quarterback Mark Cann, with the ball placed at the offense's 5-yard line. His mission: Run the offense into better field position.

Which he did. He carried on the first five plays, converting a hard-fought third-and-2 and then dashing for 11 yards. He later picked up a first down with an 8-yard reception on second-and-5, and ran once more before heading to the bench in favor of fellow freshman Jordan Taylor.

"At the end of that, I was looking for the sideline," Ward said. "But I said, 'I can't give up. I can't give up.' As long as I hold onto the ball and get positive yards, I'm good - that's what I was thinking. Just don't let [the defense] know you're tired, or they will take advantage."

All told, Ward rushed for 58 yards on 12 carries, with a second 11-yarder along the way. He also caught four passes for 26 yards, with a long of 13.

But he also fumbled once, accounting for the offense's only turnover. It appeared Delvin Johnson forced the fumble, but Ward unhesitatingly took the blame. He felt he didn't take the handoff properly.

"My alignment wasn't right," Ward said. "My eyesight was on the line, not on the ball. I wasn't looking at the ball to secure it, and my alignment wasn't right for the quarterback to get it to me." 

"Those young backs, they need all [the work] they can get," said MU coach Mark Snyder. "Unfortunately, for the good of the team, we're not going to be able to do a whole bunch of that. We'll look at our situation, and maybe stick him and [Taylor] back there against the defense and liven it up for maybe a seven-minute period, because they need that."

Taylor rushed for 22 yards on eight carries, scoring a 1-yard touchdown on the final scrimmage play of the day. In fact, he carried the final five plays, covering 22 yards and converting a third-and-5.        

With Maurice Graham (arm) still on the sidelines and Cody Slate watching, it was a golden opportunity for another true freshman, Jamie Hatten, to show his stuff at tight end. He may need a redshirt season to begin filling out his 6-foot-5, 205-pound frame, but he showed excellent hands on his three catches for 16 yards.

The older newcomers also made their mark Saturday, including the three 2007 nonqualifiers on the defensive line - Delvin Johnson, Brandon Bullock and Vinny Curry. With Ian Hoskins sitting out, Johnson played a lot at first-string tackle.

 At times, he looked like he belongs there full time. The play after he forced Ward to cough up the pigskin, Johnson belted Taylor for a 3-yard loss. That seemed to rub off on the defense - the next play, James Burkes threw Taylor for a 2-yard loss and, two plays later, Mario Harvey showed why he is nicknamed "Thumper" in forcing a 6-yard loss on a screen pass.

Curry then caught the fever, stonewalling Ward for no gain and "sacking" Brian Anderson. But he whiffed on what could have been the defensive play of the day, blowing into the backfield but missing Ward up the middle.

"I try to play so fast that I've got to stop and redirect," Curry said. "I've got to work on that."

One could say Darius Marshall's 49-yard TD run should come with an asterisk attached. His speed after he bounced off contact was plenty impressive, but he may have benefited from a "thud" tackle by C.J. Spillman.

During this camp, there has been a lot less full tackling. Almost exclusively, even in full pads at full speed, players have been instructed to "stay up" - in other words, hit with a "thud" but don't drive the ball carrier to the ground.

So perhaps Marshall's TD run should have been a simple 5-yard gain, or thereabouts.

"Those are some of the things, me and Rick [Minter, defensive coordinator] have discussed, that we have to live with early, if we want to get into our first game healthy," Snyder said.

That mission was accomplished again Saturday. There were no apparent injuries.

Reach Doug Smock at 348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.