Mark down these two dates. The Marshall Thundering Herd has two home games remaining, Alabama-Birmingham on Oct. 29 and East Carolina on Nov. 26.

Whether you are a Herd fan or a college football fan, do yourself a favor and go to at least one of these games. You can buy a game day program if you want a souvenir, but the only number you have to remember is No. 99 for Marshall.

His name is Vinny Curry and he won’t be hard to find because No. 99 stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 265 pounds. And if you can’t see his number, just look for the guy that has half of the other team’s offensive line surrounding him, grabbing anything they can get hold of and then hang on for dear life.

Curry was named the Conference USA defensive player of the week for his performance against Rice. His four tackles for a loss give him 17 for the season and he leads the nation in that category.

His 3.5 sacks pushed the season total to 9.5 that currently ranks him second in the country. He had a total of nine tackles in the game to go with one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Honestly, Curry could be the top defensive player every week because every offense has to scheme for him. Double teams are a given and there are occasions he is triple teamed.

With so much attention by the offense, Curry’s teammates benefit. Marshall’s success all season is due to the defense, either stopping opposing offensives or forcing turnovers to set up scores such as in the wins over Southern Miss, Louisville and Rice.

While Marshall’s offense is ranked 114th nationally, the defense is 63rd overall and 55th in scoring.

Curry could have elected to enter the NFL draft last spring, but the senior lineman wanted to be the first person in his family to get a degree. He talked with former Marshall head coach Mark Snyder about entering the draft and Snyder wisely advised him to stay in school because his draft stock would be higher next spring.

And it will be.

One of the great things about Curry isn’t just the fact he’s an outstanding football player, but he is a quality person. Vinny is truly a class act.

And if you don’t believe Curry is that good of a player, go see for yourself.

You’re in for quite a treat.

——— Sinara ———

Jim Walker is sports editor of The Ironton Tribune.