Herd Insider Sr. Editor
Former Marshall players made some news in the past month as we move toward the National Football League Camps in July. In early June, Cody Slate signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as their 87th signed player of the 88 they can go to camp with. The Chiefs have eight unsigned players from last season.
…Former Herd and Atlanta Falcon Jason Rader officially retired from the NFL in May. John Wade took a medical retirement before last season from the Oakland Raiders, after 11 great years as a starting center at Jacksonville and Tampa Bay.
…The Baltimore Ravens signed both former MU safety Ashton Hall and Herd defensive end Albert McClellan, who both attended the Ravens mini-camp for rookies.
…MU offensive tackle Daniel “Buck” Baldridge signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. No nicer sight at MU FB games the last three years when Buck’s dad showed up from South Dakota, in full western gear from cowboy hat to boots. First time, I thought Wild Bill Hickok was in town - seriously.
…The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed former Herd running back Darius Marshall, who declared with a year of eligibility left, but he was cut the back after rookie camp. To date, he has not caught on with anyone else.
…A 2008-09 receiver for Marshall, Darius Passmore will head to Canada this month to join the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.
…Byron Leftwich has been getting snaps with the first team after leaving Tampa Bay and re-signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Leftwich looks to be the starter as former Miami-Ohio QB Ben Roethlisberger sits out four-to-six games for a suspension by the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Leftwich backed up the former RedHawk (Redskin? Hawk-skin?) in 2008 and earned a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers between jobs at Jacksonville, Atlanta and then Tampa Bay last year.
…Fellow MU alumus, center/guard Doug Legursky, returns for his third season in the Steel City. Steelers just cut another center, which is a good thing for the pride of the Woodrow Wilson Flying Eagles in Beckley, W.Va.
…Chad Pennington returns - again - as he will rejoin the Miami Dolphins after successful shoulder surgery. The two-time comeback player of the year in the NFL is not pencilled in as the starter, but never count out Pennington.
…Chris Massey re-signed with the St. Louis Rams as long snapper, despite still rehabbing a knee injury that had Massey miss nine games last year. He’s so good, he even got a raise which speaks well of the former East Bank H.S. fullback and MU linebacker/long snapper.
…Randy Moss has cut ties with his agent, Tim DePiero, a Charleston, W.Va. lawyer who has worked with Moss since 1998. Moss is in the final year of a contract with the New England Patriots and it appears he would stay if offered.
…Punter Chris Hanson is still with the Pats as well, with a pro career now over a decade.
…Finally, all is quiet with Ahmad Bradshaw and the New York Football Giants…and that is a good thing for AB as one of two running backs for the g’ints as they get ready for the new Meadowlands stadium they will share with Rutgers.
…With all the talk of where will Hassan Whiteside go in the NBA Draft (heard on SuperTalk 94.1 and AM 930, as well as ESPN Radio June 24 at 7 p.m.), a Herd senior forward has been overlooked.
…Tyler Wilkerson spent three weeks in May working out with the San Antonio Spurs. Wilkerson will try out this month for the New Jersey Nets, then the Los Angeles Lakers. He also has offers overseas, like Markel Humphrey in Sweden - who had a great year there, according to Wilkerson - in Europe, Turkey or China, for money in the six-figure range.
…Meanwhile, on the baseball front, both Dan Straily (Oakland A’s) and Steve Blevins (Minnesota Twins) continue their climb in the minor leagues. Both moved to High A.
…Blevins is 3-1 this year with first Beloit in the Midwest League, now with Fort Meyers in the Florida State League. He has seven saves out of the bullpen and 19 strikeouts in 25 innings.
…Straily is at Kane County in the Midwest League, has an 2.82 earned run average, a 4-2 record and 62 strikeouts in 11 games, tied with two other pitchers for most starts with 11.
…Brendan Murphy is in his third season in the Frontier League with the Kalamazoo Kings (3-8). He is hitting .238 with three doubles, two home runs, eight runs batted in and a slugging percentage of .452 this year. He drove in 61 runs last year, second most (by one) on the team, with a team-leading 17 homers plus 12 doubles.
…Finally, Tyler Gaytrell signed with the Kansas City Royals after the June MLB Draft. He joins a team with MU alumnus Jeff Montgomery in the KC Hall of Fame with over 300 saves for the fireballer from Ohio.
Woody Woodrum is senior editor of Herd Insider Magazine, and hosts the daily radio show Insider Sportsline, as well as pre- and post-game Marshall call-in shows.