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[cheese-water]

Literally the entire server in a nutshell

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I love this server so much dude

[sugar-petals]

Bts voice analysis anon here! I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to respond ❤ it made complete sense why yoongi is the deepest I kinda feel bad for him everytime he wants to sounds cheerful or speak in a way so people can hear him he strains his voice

lot to talk about, i’d like to expand on this. especially what his voice being the deepest means for bts’ songs. plus, where his undiscovered vocal talents are, and in what manner his voice will not strain.

that he’s very introverted contributes to what you say, but yoongi is certainly the odd one out voice-wise, such low baritones hardly sound upbeat. similar to how taehyung being the odd one out in the vocal line whose head voices are literal superpowers. i really respect him for singing with jin and jimin who can climb one octave higher than him, up to C#5! and with jk who has the best technique and breaks into the 6th octave if he goes on like that.

it’s very much like yoongi who probably has to mix their tracks back and forth to fit his parts with hobi (who is a tenor as a rapper! — very uncommon) and namjoon who raps in several modes. very low, very high, very impactfully. he’s the most full-bodied baritone in the group even if he’s only the third-deepest. the tone is just so rich. both hoseok and RM are extreme vocal chameleons on top of that. in speaking and in their music you can hear the difference to yoongi all the time. they don’t suddenly drop in pitch and they’re vocal acrobats.

hobi in particular, this guy can do anything. the sheer agility my god, he connects his registers. he can go up and down, impersonate and do a million effects, adlibs, you know the drill. it’s him who actually owns the “cheerful/loud and clear” brand you mention. which is good if not fantastic for yoongi’s production endeavours, the group mood, and how bts cannot be ignored — but tough for yoongi’s voice and comparison thinking, and when he tries to make a point in interviews. maybe it’s not bad that bts have to slow down sometimes to let yoongi speak, but his tone is drowned out (not intentionally of course) in other occasions and he wakes up hoarse often as we saw. which might sound hot, but it’s not good for him as you say.

to be clear. i wouldn’t chalk down his more monotonous and silent tone as a weakness, it’s just outside of bts’ other vocal variety. he makes up for it with speed and good lungs anyway. we just have to listen more closely to him in talks/episodes/conferences but i think he shouldn’t worry about it either or try to sound more enthusiastic, the fans love his soothing speech for its pure sake. he does change it regardless to be more poignant and blend in. it has pros and cons but it wears him out.

yoongi’s voice is under that strain not just in conversation but also in the studio if he wants to bring connection to the rap line parts instead of having 3 songs in 1. which usually ends up happening anyway. that’s also why the cyphers (!) switch genres mid-song so often: their voices are all strong in different registers! yoongi the lowest, joon midrange, and hoseok up high. 

that’s why cypher pt2 is a HUGE stunt and production masterpiece: hoseok’s part is tuned differently, then other instrumentals start with namjoon. and you can literally hear, okay alright a deep voice is coming! from there it just gets deeper and deeper until yoongi is just rapping over a bass guitar (every baritone’s best friend lmao!). god, please give yoongi a big bassline for his every part. “ugh” is the exact opposite: yoongi has to start too high and namjoon also has problems with the key, only hoseok can fully take off after 1:50 with perfect vocal stability. guess which song is autotuned: it’s not cypher pt2! a 3 in 1 song fuels the rapline in a way where they are most comfortable. it’s crazy how far apart they are among each other vocally and it has to be considered.

it’s a dilemma but also why bts’ rap line can tackle any song with at least one member suiting it. they complement each other, every register (except the rare whistle register, aka what mariah/ariana do) is covered. i think that contributed to bts’ fame, it’s so important. however usually, the song caters to hoseok since tenors are preferred in kpop music, or it caters to RM as he’s the central songwriting entity even if mind you, he always thinks about all the members and works closely with yoongi.

but even with joon’s support, it doesn’t work if yoongi is caught in his wish to be a tenor. we’ve seen how much the guy talks about wanting his range to become wider and how he even tried singing quite high for his standards on d-2. he goes as far as collabing only with sopranos to help him achieve that pitch. yoongi is invested to pretty much change his entire vocal type 🙁because the environment simps for high notes so bad (which is fair, falsetto is related to releasing certain happy hormones and highlights parts in songs, but still).

... he actually can’t, unless he wants to damage his throat. that’s the last thing we want. a listener can get the serotonin from a very deep voice equally if they got good taste.

thing is. you cannot morph yourself into a different vocal type and shift your range to the opposite of your comfort zone unless you’re whitney houston. even one in a million tenors like baekhyun can’t make themselves a baritone. his lowest notes are less clear no matter how hard he practices, even if his chest voice is almost operatic and his technique excels. meanwhile, chanyeol (who’s a lyric baritone and exo’s deepest voice) effortlessly hits them without (!!) that kind of decade-long training. have baekhyun or jimin been called bad singers for not being able to cover the other end of the spectrum? nope. so: why would yoongi be a bad vocalist who needs autotune. with lessons, oh man, he could do a lot and many things he dreams of. he has a very unique timbre and enough musical knowledge to do so.

so, we see the magic of your natural supported range. it’s simply given to you. imagine that: if you know you’re not a tenor, you could sort of outsing jungkook — obviously not by technique, but projection— as long as the song is tailored to you and the notes are low enough. yep, jk’s lower register is not extremely forward. each note is perfectly sung because he’s jk, but his power vocals are settled much higher. joon/tae/yoongi would sound much fuller with huge oomph in those lines. that’s where yoongi would be much more clear-sounding to us. a lot of baritone rappers in kpop would be damn good singers. 

that’s why it’s good how a lot of rappers produce solos on their own so they can try it out. 

you just have to respect that your range usually (not always) goes in one direction. once yoongi rightfully decides to abandon his high note fantasy and goes lower just for fun, we are not safe anymore lmao! exception for range: female singers have an advantage there. trained mezzo-sopranos have great access to the head voice and lower registers since they’re in the perfect middle of the scale. but the guys, forget it, even the baritenors. yoongi’s fullest voice will always be coming from a chesty depth and we love him for it. guy just needs to realize.

that’s why his real challenge is rather somehow tweaking the rap parts so his voice finds good resonance like in “혼술” or even “ddaeng”. where his voice is strong, relaxed, and full and flowing. ddaeng — “boy with luv”, too— is ironically in a very high pitch and again caters to hobi’s tone the most, but: yoongi just scales down to his own octave and it still fits, so — great key choice and musicality! and adaptation. it’s not easy to do. you can tell he plays piano.

he either becomes less easy on the ear or has to autotune himself entirely if he works against his voice. or: goes on a track way outside his supported range (dynamite, WOW). it’s a shame. “daechwita” and “agust d” are such a case: both go into the head voice where your resonance should show the most aka the chorus. there are aggressive belts/snarls/shouts that make more sense for higher, trained voices. yoongi is most famous for raps that are literally designed to fuck up his vocal cords 😷that he’s so skilled as a rapper prevents him from that to a degree, but it’s still not healthy. he adapts a lot to bts’ overall delivery but he doesn’t have to, in fact: he could go in the other direction and it would work even better.

the reason for the title track issue: they are the most energetic. in k-pop, energetic means amping up the pitch. and that’s probably a logical choice and a natural human association. if you make a baritone kpop track with a lot of energy, it probably becomes pretty creepy, uneasy, film noir. but i think that’s exactly yoongi’s thing: to unsettle and critique and rage. i think it could work out. lil nas x is a baritone pulling it off. he achieves energetic title tracks, he honors his vocal type well imo. his live singing is cool af, i need this so hard in the rap landscape. so, it’s not impossible to do.

the trick is probably setting everything to minor key. surprise... yoongi’s challenging title tracks are all in major key. boy with luv: minor key, interesting. the former are extremely difficult for him to do so hats off. “shadow” is more suitable for his baritone as is “burn it”. it needs a very heavy, dark track. which is why it’s good that yoongi has that kind of public image. a baritone’s best genre is not super light and whimsical. that’s why all of our baritone faves are not main vocalists but main rappers. kai, taehyung, jaehyun: low voices in vocal lines are soldiers.

---

now a note on yoongi’s best method of singing since it reflects his voice type and brings out the fullness of it. as in, how does it crack and strain less? guess why “사람” is yoongi’s favorite d-2 song to sing. it’s ALL his comfortable range and the singing — very beautifully done —  is in mixed register (= head + chest)! which imo might be his secret weapon. it allows him to do what he longs to do successfuly without going extremely high. bingo.

because: even with baritones, the golden middle is still important. they’re not as deep as a bass, after all. that’s why their voices are so honey-laced in the mixed range and it sounds amazing. heaven, their timbre sounds so seductive. so, it’s wonderful when they find their middle and dare to sing. 

i wish yoongi gets/makes more tracks aimed at just that. in “outro tear” he has to go both too low and too high so it takes a lot of production effort to patch it together. the rapline is doing god’s work to make all their voices sound cohesive without being trained singers. it’s always a trade-off and risk, an immense balance act. “paldogangsan” is hard on yoongi’s voice but works as a whole plus it caters to namjoon to carry the song’s message. the cyphers are chopped up and not chart-friendly but each member is in their comfort zone. 

PS: i said bts’ rap line covers all registers except one. i think that jin is the one to complete bts’ entire spectrum coming from the vocal line. i’m no whistle note expert but dionysus went pretty high up there, i think he might be able to do it. it’s very impressive, even jungkook and jimin probably don’t have access to that register. so, another point for bts being a very ‘complete’ group.

[stopforamoment]

TRIGGERS Part Two: Disrespected (Series 19, Part 2 of 15)

Series Nineteen: Anger and Sorrow (15 Parts) Part Two: Disrespected (Series 19, Part 2 of 15) My masterlist is at the end of my bio.

Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three) Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OC Rinda Parks Word Count: 1,832   Rating: M for Language and Adult Situations

TRIGGERS: Unwanted sexual contact Author’s Note: Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. OFC with all of her quirks is all mine. My apologies if Tumblr or I do something stupid when I try to post this. The keep reading link shows up on my laptop but not my phone. Ugh. Thank you @asherella-is-a-dork-3 for always being my sounding board! Thank you @cora-nova @silviasutton1989 @bobasheebaby​ @riseandshinelittleblossom​ for being my thirsty Bastien friends and for still being a part of the journey! Series Summary: It’s day two of the conference, and this series focuses on emotions—how anger and sorrow are connected, and how that causes problems for Rinda and Bastien. A big thank you to @asherella-is-a-dork-3 for talking to me about the connection between anger and sorrow, and for telling me that Bastien needs to show some negative emotions. We all have bad days—even our perfect Bastien Lykel. She did so much to help me with this series. Thank you!

Chapter Summary: Rinda is furious when someone feels her up during a training exercise, but her anger causes her to go beyond defending herself to attacking the man who violated her.

Part Two: Regret

Nadia agreed to take notes—good notes—so Rinda could sit in on a self defense portion of the conference. She slipped in the back of the room hoping to observe unnoticed, but Tagmatarcha Callas saw Rinda and invited her to sit next to him. While they were waiting for the instructor to begin the session, Rinda and Callas shared ideas about a conference that would have more interaction and cross training with teachers and security officers.

The instructor invited Rinda to join the training and he paired her with Callas. “Please don’t kick my ass, okay? I don’t think I can do much while wearing a skirt.” She began to take off her heels.

Callas shook his head. “Are these the kinds of clothes you would normally wear in the classroom? And shoes?”

Rinda shrugged. “It depends. I prefer to dress more casually with looser clothes and I’d have comfortable shoes. Not heels. But the days I have a meeting and teach, yes.”

“Then this is what you need to train in. It doesn’t do any good for you to know how to block a move if you can’t do it in heels. Besides, shoes with high heels can be a good weapon. I suggest you keep them on, and we’ll go slower until you figure out your center of balance.”

Rinda nodded because she knew he was right, and she resisted the urge to smile at a memory from her college days. She worked at a gentleman’s club for a short time, and the owner insisted on giving his employees self-defense lessons. He was a former Navy Seal who taught moves they could use in specific situations and showed them ways to take basic items and make them self-defense tools. Stripper heels could do a lot of damage.

Callas was a patient and respectful teacher, keeping his eyes focused on Rinda’s face when she would hike up her skirt a little too high before trying a kick. When Rinda realized what she was doing she used humor to make it less awkward, joking that she didn’t mean to put on a show or give him an eyeful. He reassured her that she should do what she needed to do—the only eyeful an attacker would get is her foot in his face. Rinda laughed and tried the drill again. She was feeling more confident . . . until it was time to switch partners. Callas heard her swear under her breath—she was going to be paired with the Dreckskerl, the filthy pig from yesterday. “You gave him a good tongue lashing yesterday, so you’ll be fine. I’m right here if you need me.” Rinda nodded to Callas, trying to channel confidence.

Rinda usually had embarrassing moments when she did this type of training. She had a rather large chest, so there was usually an awkward moment when her partner didn’t quite know where to put his arm, or when he realized he was grabbing a little more than he meant to. Depending on the situation Rinda either made a joke, ignored it, or reassured the person that it was fine. It was a professional situation—no worries. Just part of being a chesty woman. But when the Dreckskerl put his arm around her, Rinda felt him purposely tuck his forearm under her breasts and brush against her. “Don’t fucking start with me” Rinda hissed to him under her breath.

He gave her an innocent look and spoke a little louder than necessary. “What’s your problem? Relax. We’re just doing the drill.” Callas gave the Dreckskerl a warning glance, and they finished that drill without any further problems.

Now it was time for another drill.

The Dreckskerl grabbed Rinda’s shirt, purposely grabbing her breast. Rinda winced in pain before muscle memory kicked in. She reached across her chest, grabbed the swine’s wrist, and twisted her body to throw him off balance. Her other hand reached for the inside of his elbow, locked onto a pressure point, and pulled him back into the opposite direction and onto his knees. Mike, her former boss, constantly had to remind her that you ran as soon as possible. You don’t stick around because the goal is to get safe.

Get free and get the fuck out of there.

He knew Rinda, and he knew her temper and her stubborn sense of justice. If someone hurt Rinda, Mike knew she would continue to pummel and kick them as she released her fury. Some of the other women would squirm at the thought of gouging someone in the eye or using a pointed heel to pierce the flesh of a person’s body. Ugh, I couldn’t do that! And what if I hurt him?

Mike would try not to roll his eyes as he patiently re-explained that you don’t worry about hurting the person who is attacking you. Just do whatever it takes to get free and get safe.

But with Rinda it was different. Mike knew Rinda’s rage would allow her to do whatever it took to survive. He also knew why. He knew Rinda held the anger from the night she was attacked, the night she was unconscious and unable to protect herself. He also knew she would always carry that anger and it would re-emerge when she needed to protect herself. Because of that rage, he knew that she would never let herself be defenseless again. She would always go down fighting. But she also needed to remind herself to let it go so she could get away. Her anger would give her strength, but only if she didn’t let it consume her.

But right now Mike’s advice was the furthest thing from her mind. Actually, any rational thought was the furthest thing from Rinda’s mind. She was pissed, so she followed up with a forceful knee struck under his chin that knocked the Dreckskerl over and left him moaning on the floor Of course, Rinda was swearing like a sailor the entire time. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re a goddamn security officer who is supposed to keep people safe, not violate them in a public setting. Do you have any fucking clue what it truly means to be a man? A protector? If you ever touch me again I will gouge out your eyes and bend you over to make you skull fuck yourself. Is that understood?” The man was still moaning and Rinda kicked.

Viciously.

Using her shoe heel.

Maliciously.

“I didn’t hear you. If I find out that you’ve disrespected anyone else at this conference you will answer to me. Did I make myself clear?”

His voice was a mangled whisper. “Yes.”

Callas and Bastien ran over to Rinda, but Callas quickly stepped back when he saw the way Rinda leaned toward Bastien for his help. She grabbed Bastien’s hand for reassurance as she continued, now addressing the room, trying to fix her fuck up. Her over-reaction. A sore tit was a small price to pay to keep her professional demeanor in a room full of security officers, especially the male officers.

Right?

She’d probably never see the Dreckskerl again, although she would see his type again. And again.

Fuck.

Rinda never knew how to react in these situations, especially now that she didn’t have the protection of a wedding ring and couldn’t use her status as the widow of a police hero any longer.

Double fuck.

So she took Bastien’s hand, and she rambled.

“I know there were a lot of teachers who were disrespectful to all of you this weekend. And I’m so sorry. The majority of us know that we need you, your expertise, to keep us safe. I know the majority of you would give your lives to protect us. Please. We need each other so we need to respect each other. In the United States we’re starting to do more lockdown drills and ALICE training with the children in our classrooms, but the research is pouring in that this is traumatizing our children.” 

She looked at Bastien. “You once told me that teachers and safety officers all have the kids’ best interests at heart, but we have different priorities and strategies to accomplish that.” She looked back at the strangers staring at her. “He’s absolutely right, and we have to work together to figure out how to keep these kids safe without completely traumatizing them or taking their childhood innocence away from them.” Rinda was tearing up and she felt like an idiot--most of them probably didn’t even realize she was just violated in a room full of people and didn’t know this conference actually made Rinda even more anxious about how much work needed to be done. But right now she was so pissed at the people who were fucking things up, herself included. But not Bastien. And not Callas. They were two of the good ones.

She turned to Callas. “Will you help me and Bastien host another conference in Cordonia? Once that will focus on teachers and security officers working together and sharing ideas?”

Callas nodded. “Of course, Dr. Parks. It would be my honor.”

Rinda smiled and then turned to Bastien. “Can you help me get the fuck out of here without making more of an ass of myself? I would have preferred a dramatic, inspirational walk out the door, but I’ll settle for anything at this point.”

Bastien chuckled. “Do you want me to sweep you off your feet and carry you? Otherwise we could do the slow walk with a fist pump at the end.”

Now Rinda was shaking her head and laughing, so Bastien settled for wrapping his arm around her waist and escorting her out. Callas came out a few minutes later and smiled when he saw Rinda sitting on Bastien’s lap, her head resting on his chest as he gently massaged her back. “I’m sorry for interrupting. You left your bag in the room.”

Rinda looked up and started laughing again. “Thank you. It would have been humiliating to do the walk of shame back in there.” She gave Bastien an affectionate kiss on his check. “What the hell, Tiger? You help me leave the room with a shred of dignity intact, but then you forget to grab my stuff?”

Bastien snickered. “You’re right, my dearest Tria. Everything was my fault and I’m so sorry.”

Callas started laughing at their banter, but now Rinda was standing up. “I was serious before when I asked for your help. May I stay in contact with you so we can work together?”

He took Rinda’s hand. “Yes, it would be my honor.” Then reached over to Bastien, who was also standing, and shook his hand. “I look forward to working with both of you.” Callas was about to walk away, but he couldn’t resist. He gestured back to the room and grinned at her. “Nice work back there, Dr. Parks. You put on quite a show.”

[junker-town]

Marshall is a volatile team for a volatile conference

Doc Holliday’s 10th Marshall squad might be his most Marshall squad yet.

Bill C’s annual preview series of every FBS team in college football continues. Catch up here!

“I tend to enjoy college football a lot more when Marshall’s good and Marshall fans are particularly chesty.”

We all have our own preferences for how the college football universe should look and feel, and I expressed one of mine in last year’s Marshall preview. I enjoy it when one of the sport’s great chip-on-shoulder programs is handing out comeuppance, and while 2018 wasn’t the greatest year for such a thing, we caught some glimpses.

We got a sustained glimpse in the Gasparilla Bowl. What might have been the best Marshall defense since 1999 sacked hometown USF’s Blake Barnett four times; forced six punts, a turnover, and a turnover on downs; and ceded the floor to a Herd offense looking better than it had all year. Freshman quarterback Isaiah Green went 17-for-25, backs Keion Davis and Brenden Knox rushed for 187 yards, and Marshall bolted to a 28-7 first-half lead before cruising, 38-20.

Marshall’s ninth win announced that the Thundering Herd had completed their rebound after a nasty 2016 stumble.

Doc Holliday has now made it nearly a decade in Huntington. Context-free, that’s a remarkable achievement in today’s FBS landscape — only 14 head coaches have served in their current position longer. But the 61-year-old former WVU linebacker, once Urban Meyer’s ace recruiter at Florida, has done so despite a high-wire act. In order to maximize physical potential, he constantly mixes transfers, JUCOs, prep schoolers, second-chancers, greyshirts, blueshirts, and whateverothercolorshirts.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Doc Holliday

Roster balance sometimes falls out of whack, and the Herd sometimes careen toward youth in certain units. They went from 24th in Def. S&P+ in 2015, to 104th in 2016 and back to 22nd by 2018. They were 99th in Off. S&P+ in 2011, climbed to 20th in 2014, then slowly slid back to 116th by 2017.

Despite the ups and downs, the Herd have almost always remained competitive. They hovered around .500 for his first few seasons, just as they had in the final seasons of his predecessor, Mark Snyder. They broke through with a spectacular 33-8 run from 2013-15, suffered an equally spectacular 3-9 reset in 2016, then started climbing again. The defense found major traction, and an offensive rebuild at least took root last fall.

Programs like FAU, FIU, and maybe Southern Miss or North Texas might have something to say, but Marshall might have the best combination of experience and potential in Conference USA this fall.

I thought the Herd might be capable of 10 wins last fall and they came up just short, but they’ll get another shot at that bar. They return Green, their two most effective runners, most of their offensive line, and most of an exciting secondary. They get FIU and Louisiana Tech at home, and while they have to travel to FAU, they’ve played as well as anyone against Lane Kiffin’s Owls over the last two years.

There are question marks, of course. Holliday has yet to finalize his staff after losing defensive coordinator Adam Fuller to Memphis, and an occasionally dominant front six/seven has known play-makers but got hit pretty hard by attrition. Plus, an offense that wasn’t quite explosive enough must now replace its two most explosive receivers in Tyre Brady and Marcel Williams.

The cocktail of talent is volatile, and there’s no guarantee that Marshall will be able to follow up on last year’s gains. But this team has Marshall-level potential and a schedule that features shots at strong mid-major programs (Boise State, Ohio, Cincinnati) before a run at the title in what might be FBS’ most balanced conference.

Offense

To turn his offense back around, Holliday brought pass-happy coordinator Tim Cramsey to Huntington a year ago. Marshall is the sixth school to employ Cramsey as its OC in this decade, and for the first time since 2015, it appears he’ll be at the same school for a second year in a row.

A short-term presence or not, he engineered at least a little improvement in 2018. And it might have been more had Green remained healthy. See if you can spot where he may have gotten hurt:

Marshall QBs, first 4 games (3-1): 55% completion rate, 12.7 yards per completion, 123.1 passer rating

Marshall QBs, next 4 games (2-2): 52% completion rate, 10.4 yards per completion, 106.0 passer rating

Marshall QBs, last 5 games (4-1): 59% completion rate, 13.4 yards per completion, 135.0 passer rating

Green was never dominant, but when he missed four games with a knee injury in the middle of the season, Wagner transfer Alex Thomson, an in-demand QB last offseason, subbed in and struggled. The Herd sank from the mid-70s in Off. S&P+ in late-September to the mid-110s by early-November.

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler King

It was a period of discovery, however. With the passing game struggling, Cramsey leaned more heavily on the run game, and in fits and starts, it responded. Tyler King and Anthony Anderson rushed 36 times for 286 yards against ODU, then King and Davis rushed 31 times for 185 against FAU. King injured his leg and missed the last five games, so Knox carried the load (22 for 116) in a win over Charlotte, and then Knox and Anderson combined for 145 yards in a tight win over FIU.

Cramsey leaned on a four-headed running back group, which responded pretty well. Davis and Anderson are now gone, but King and Knox, the two most successful, return for their junior and sophomores seasons, respectively.

They get most of their line back, too. All-conference center Levi Brown and junior tackles Tarik Adams and Will Ulmer have combined for 85 career starts, while three others have starting experience. Plus, enormous incoming JUCO transfer Josh Ball is a former blue-chipper who started nine games at Florida State in 2017 before a suspension for dating violence. He will get a second chance in Huntington.

Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

Armani Levias

It’s in Cramsey’s DNA to want to throw the ball, and it’s unclear how well Marshall will do it. Green had promising moments for a freshman, but a lot of those moments were due to Tyre Brady.

The former Miami receiver caught 71 balls for 1,002 yards and averaged nearly 16 yards per catch when Green was healthy. Without Brady and slot man Marcel Williams, Marshall needs a new center of gravity in the receiving corps.

There’s still potential, and Z receiver Obi Obialo is a good starting point. He was easily the most efficient option, though he averaged just 12 yards per catch, and tight end Armani Levias was another “explosive when Green was healthy” guy — he averaged 9.6 yards per catch in those middle four games and 14.7 otherwise.

Senior Artie Henry could be ready for a starring role in the slot, but it’s unclear who might step up as the new X receiver. Junior Willie Johnson? Sophomore Naquan Renalds? A former three-star prospect like junior Jeremiah Maddox or redshirt freshman Talik Keaton?

Defense

Adam Fuller’s lone season as coordinator could barely have gone better. A longtime Holliday assistant, he got promoted to the role last year when Chuck Heater left to become Maryland’s safeties coach.

Fuller knew the personnel and the Holliday culture and thrived with a defense that was both aggressive (17th in marginal efficiency) and capable of solid big-play prevention (37th in marginal explosiveness).

The Herd were rather all-or-nothing on blitz downs — 12th in sack rate, 28th in success rate, 103rd in big-play rate — but if they were able to top you athletically, you were going to struggle. ACC teams NC State and Virginia Tech averaged 39 points per game and 6.8 yards per play against UM; everyone else: 18.7 and 4.5, respectively.

Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

Channing Hames

We’ll see what happens now that Holliday’s going outside of the family. He has brought in former Charlotte head coach Brad Lambert as a “volunteer defensive assistant” at the moment, and it appears he will become coordinator, with line coach J.C. Price as co-coordinator, once Lambert’s buyout is cleared up. Charlotte and Marshall had two of the three best run defenses in the conference (along with Southern Miss’), so maybe Lambert and Holliday will find some things in common.

Depth does take a hit in 2019, as Marshall must replace three of last year’s top six linemen and four of five linebackers. The Herd should have one of the quickest interior lines in the country — nose tackle Channing Hames and end/tackle Ty Tyler combined for 16.5 sacks and six non-sack tackles for loss. Plus, there are weapons on the edge in senior linebacker Omari Cobb (6.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks), end Marquis Couch (8.5, 2.5), and perhaps Virginia Tech transfer Tavante Beckett.

Still, depth is perilous. Some combination of JUCO transfers (tackle Esaias Carpenter, end TJ Johnson) and recent star recruits (redshirt freshmen Darius Hodge and Arak McDuffie, incoming freshmen Dante Walker and DeShawn Page, etc.) will be asked to take on large roles if there are any injuries ... and there are always injuries.

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Chris Jackson

If the front holds up, though, the back should thrive. Star safety Malik Gant declared for the NFL draft, but everyone else in the secondary is back, from corners Chris Jackson and Kereon Merrell (23 combined passes defensed) to safeties Nazeeh Johnson and Brandon Drayton. Plus, corner Jaylon McClain-Sapp appeared well on his way to a massive year — he had three passes defensed and a TFL in three games — before missing most of the season with injury.

Losing Fuller, Gant, and front-seven depth is reason for concern, but Marshall returns as many known play-makers as anyone in the conference.

Special Teams

Marshall loses its strongest special teams weapons and returns its weakest. The Herd were top-20 in both punt and kick return efficiency, but Marcel Williams (PR) and Keion Davis (KR) both depart.

Kicking dragged the Herd down to 88th in Special Teams S&P+. Senior-to-be Justin Rohrwasser was limited in range (14-for-16 on FGs under 40, 1-for-5 beyond), which held the Herd back in both place-kicking and kickoffs. Punter Robert Lefevre (59th in punt efficiency) is solid, though one hopes Marshall is a bit less reliant on its punter this fall.

2019 outlook

2019 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 31-Aug VMI NR 40.8 99% 7-Sep at Boise State 24 -16.2 17% 14-Sep Ohio 82 3.2 57% 28-Sep Cincinnati 44 -5.8 37% 5-Oct at Middle Tennessee 104 5.6 63% 12-Oct Old Dominion 119 18.9 86% 19-Oct at Florida Atlantic 79 -2.4 45% 26-Oct Western Kentucky 101 9.9 72% 2-Nov at Rice 126 16.4 83% 16-Nov Louisiana Tech 86 3.8 59% 23-Nov at Charlotte 120 14.2 79% 30-Nov Florida International 88 4.6 61%

Projected S&P+ Rk 77 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 111 / 37 Projected wins 7.6 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 0.8 (69) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 76 2018 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* 0 / 5.5 2018 TO Luck/Game -2.1 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 57% (63%, 50%) 2018 Second-order wins (difference) 9.2 (-0.2)

Holliday’s 10th Marshall team will bear plenty of similarities to recent teams.

Proven play-makers: Marshall has a ton of them, from Jackson and Merrell to Hames and Tyler to King and Knox.

Massive athletic potential: Beyond the knowns, the Herd could also boast more than 20 three-star true and redshirt freshmen.

Depth issues: Marshall could be perilously young at WR, DE, DT, or LB with just a couple of injuries.

Reliance on youth: Green is still a sophomore, after all.

Marshall will be as interesting as ever in 2019. That might excite me personally, but it makes the Herd awfully hard to project. S&P+ projects them as the No. 2 overall team in the C-USA, just ahead of FAU, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, and FIU and just behind Southern Miss.

S&P+ projects four of Marshall’s conference games (plus two non-cons) to finish within a touchdown. The Thundering Herd have as good a chance as anyone in a logjam of a race, but they are only a couple of injuries or bad breaks from a mid-tier finish. Buckle up, I guess.

Team preview stats

All 2019 preview data to date.