Monarchs' youth will be on display at C-USA media day

[Harry]

Most of the 26 players who will join their coaches today for Conference USA media day are seniors with distinguished football resumes.

Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon Doughty, recently granted a sixth season of eligibility because of a medical hardship - led the nation in passing yards (4,830) and touchdown passes (49) last season.

Marshall running back Devon Marshall, a 6-foot-1, 246-pound senior from Richlands, Va., nicknamed "Rockhead" for his bruising style, rushed for 1,767 yards last season. He helped lead the Thundering Herd to the C-USA championship and a Boca Raton Bowl victory over Northern Illinois.

Even UNC Charlotte, which is playing just its third season and its first in C-USA, will be represented by seniors Danny Book and Branden Dozier.

So it speaks volumes about Old Dominion's youth that coach Bobby Wilder brought a pair of redshirt freshmen: quarterback Shuler Bentley, the two-time South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year; and Oshane Ximines, a defensive end from Hertford County High in Ahoskie, N.C.

Although both performed well in spring practice, neither has played a down in college. As Wilder likes to say about newcomers, "They haven't done anything yet."

Wilder said their presence should make a statement to the league.

"This is who we are," he said. "We're young and inexperienced but talented. We're still in the transition from FCS to FBS."

Still in transition? That might surprise ODU followers who watched the Monarchs win their final three games last season to finish 6-6 in their first year in the Football Bowl Subdivision and C-USA.

In some ways, the deck is stacked more in ODU's favor than it was a year ago. The Monarchs have one more home game (seven), including a Power 5 contest with North Carolina State. The conference schedule, which doesn't include Middle Tennessee State, is a bit less challenging.

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