See this smiling, congenial, unthreatening face?
Well, he’s Syracuse’s assassin. And finally he’s gone to terrorize another conference.
Orange Nation probably only gave it a cursory glance when West Virginia assistant John “Doc” Holliday¬†was announced as Marshall’s new head coach.
But SU fans should breathe a sign of relief. Hard core Fizz-sters know exactly why.
From the AP report:¬†“Holliday was on a recruiting trip to Florida this week when Marshall officials called.”
Yep, because Doc Holliday has been Doc Kevorkian for the rest of the Big East the last three seasons, owning the recruiting trail for the Mountaineers.
He was an assistant at Florida under Urban Meyer. Funneled in the talent that led to two National Championships, including landing Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes. Moved to West Virginia, immediately nailed down two of WVU’s highest-rated recruits in years; local guard Josh Jenkins and South Florida gem Geno Smith, the Mountaineers’ likely starting quarterback next fall.
The Marshall press release:¬†“Holliday comes to Marshall after serving as associate head coach at West Virginia for the past two seasons where he also served as the director of recruiting while coaching tight ends and fullbacks for the Mountaineers. Rivals.com has named him one of the Top 25 recruiters in the nation and he helped WVU amass a 2009 recruiting class that was nationally ranked No. 22 by Scout.com and No. 27 by Rivals.com.”
Along the South Florida prep fields, the name Doc Holliday pulls plenty of weight. He is seen as the ultimate pied piper, a guy with the connections and swagger to land 5-star recruits to 3-star schools.
He’ll still make dents in the fertile recruiting field of South Florida and along the east coast. But watching him leave the Big East is second only to watching him leave altogether.
