There’s a buzz about Marshall’s ‘D’
Defensive end Bee has led Thundering Herd’s stop unit
From 2016 to 2017, the Marshall Thundering Herd transformed itself from one of the more porous defenses in college football to one of the stingiest.
Oatmeal to steel? Almost.
Ryan Bee is one large reason.
Bee, a 6-foot-7, 280-pound redshirt junior defensive end from Ashland, Ohio, was named Marshall’s most valuable defensive player after a 2017 regular season that saw the defense improve by two touchdowns and more than a football field per game from the previous year.
The Thundering Herd ranks 17th nationally in scoring defense (19.3 points per game) and 19th in rush defense, allowing just 125 yards per game and an average of 3.5 yards per carry.
Last year, the corresponding numbers were 107th in scoring defense (35.3), 89th (202.3) in rush defense and 5.0 in yards per carry.
The payoff: Marshall, 3-9 last year, is 7-5 this season. The Thundering Herd will play Colorado State (7-5) Saturday in the 12th annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
Bee led the team in sacks this season with 5½. He was in on 49 tackles, first among Marshall’s defensive linemen, and was a second-team All-Conference USA selection.
Of his team award, Bee said before Thursday’s practice at UNM, “I was very humbled to receive that. I’ve got to thank the rest of my defense. Without them, I couldn’t have done what I did this year, so it’s all props to them.”
Bee lists his hometown as Ashland, a city of some 20,000 approximately equidistant from Columbus and Cleveland. But he attended Hillsdale High in Jeromesville, 10 miles to the southeast.
At Hillsdale, college recruiters didn’t come running. Bee did have a scholarship offer from Washington, but that evaporated after Steve Sarkisian, the Huskies’ coach at the time, was hired at USC and took all his assistants with him.
“So, Marshall was my (only) option,” he said. “But I was already committed to them, so they were pretty much my first choice anyway. I’m very honored to play for Marshall. They’re the only one that gave me a chance.
“I’m taking that chance and trying to make myself better every day to take advantage of it, just to make the most of my opportunity.”
Of the Marshall defense’s dramatic improvement from last season, Bee said, “Last year we had a lot of young guys, and we were immature.”
This season’s success, he said, is a blend of talent, scheme and consistent effort.
“You can’t count on talent all the time,” he said. “We just focus on working hard and creating a bond between your whole defense. You’ve got to trust the guy you play next to and the guys that play behind you.
“You’ve got to trust that the DBs are gonna cover the receivers so we can get to the quarterback, and then we’ve got to get to the quarterback so they don’t have to cover as long . ... It’s like a brotherhood, really.”
THREE TO SEVEN: The bonding that helped Marshall improve from 3-9 to 7-5, junior quarterback Chase Litton said, was not limited to the defense.
“The main thing was to look in the mirror, realize what we had to improve on and do it,” Litton said. “We couldn’t be selfish. We had to come together as a team, be a family, and really just outwork everybody.”
Off-the-field activities, Bee said, were important in the process.
“This past offseason we had cookouts and stuff,” he said. “... It sounds kind of simple, or silly, but in my opinion that’s what changed (the culture).”
GOOD TIMES: The Marshall players, Bee and Litton said, are enjoying Albuquerque. No player on the current roster had traveled with the team farther west than San Antonio, Texas.
“Everyone we’ve met so far is good people, so we’re enjoying it,” Litton said.
Bee said he likes the mountain view. Huntington, Marshall’s home in southwest West Virginia on the Ohio River, is some 500 feet above sea level.
“It’s beautiful out here,” he said, “so we’re really enjoying ourselves.”