JON DUSTIN BROOKS

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Jon Dustin Brooks (ENLARGE)

Head Coach Thedrick Harris looks on in the background as two linemen run through a blocking drill.

An early afternoon shower saturated the ground Tuesday but did not do enough damage to stop Marshall from kicking off its spring football schedule.

The Mavericks turned out 125-plus players for the 2-hour-and 20-minute session, which was broken into positional groups that labored through drills at Maverick Stadium and on the practice field adjacent to the athletic complex.

Athletic director Thedrick Harris said it was the biggest spring turnout he has seen in his six years in Marshall.

"I thought the coaches did a good job with the number of kids we had out there," Harris said. "They did a good job of making sure everybody got the opportunity to see some time and get some reps."

That number might shrink as spring progresses but it also does not include around 70 to 80 eighth-graders that will enter into the program as freshmen in the fall.

The practice was segmented for most of the time frame, as positional coaches guided players through speed, strength and agility drills. Both fields were utilized due to the volume of participants.

"Both sides of the ball were a little rusty but I felt like they picked (up the intensity) quick," Harris said. "I think the players did a good job of retaining the knowledge throughout (the gap in practices). And I didn't really see a lull today, which is natural for the first practice."

Harris said the players that he expected to look sharp did and that he will do further player evaluations based on the film footage of the practice.

"We basically want to break (the players) down into six groups that we'll be running," Harris said. "And then we'll move guys up and down depending on where we want them."

All players convened at the main field at the conclusion of practice for a 35-minute, offense vs. defense scrimmage, which was broken into 12 segments.

During the first eight sets, the offense lined up on an 80-yard field while it worked from a shortened 40-yard field during the final four run-throughs.

Some brief highlights from the full-contact drills, during which a score was not kept:

—The first four segments were dominated by the defense before sophomore-to-be Londell Perkins scored the first of two touchdowns during the fifth set.

—Returning defensive starters Aaron Franklin and Eric McCowen held up a ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage in the fourth set, forcing a fumble that Ethan Head fell on.

—Sophomore-to-be Sam Oney then batted down a Chandler Hancock pass during the fifth set after infiltrating in from a rush on the right side.

—On the ensuing play, Perkins took an inside hand off and broke a pair of tackles, spinning off a defender about five yards through the middle before busting it straight up the gut for a 79-yard score, the first of the day.

—Perkins later motored about 54 yards down the left sideline into the end zone, bowling through a defender at the 20-yard line for a second score.

—Jaylon Tucker scored the only defensive touchdown, scooping up a fumble from about eight yards out before rumbling in untouched.

—Jahmarl Anderson got the final tally of the day when he scooted in from 24 yards out into the right corner of the end zone.

Practices will continue today at 4 p.m. while the first intersquad scrimmage is set for 10 a.m. Saturday.