HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — More than 100 anxious fans attended Marshall’s first practice in pads. The players got excited during the “Hoot ‘n Holler” drill.

But the thing that pleased head coach Mark Snyder the most was simple.

“We stayed healthy,” said Snyder.

Actually, Snyder saw some good things but he wasn’t getting overly excited.

“It was a good first practice (in pads), but it was a first practice. We’ve got a long way to go before out first game,” said Snyder.

The Herd’s first game isn’t until Sept. 5 when they host Southern Illinois. Snyder said Marshall will have two practices — one hard and one light — on Wednesday, work on goal line and short yardage situations on Thursday, do more situations on Friday and scrimmage on Saturday.

Sunday will be an off day.

The quarterbacks got to see some situations on Tuesday as the speed and quickness of the defensive front forced quick reads and reactions.

“We had to go to our hots (hot receiver). It was a good coaching thing for our quarterbacks,” said Snyder.

One player who had some highlight moments was freshman wide receiver Jamal Wilson.

“He’s been having a good camp so far. He was dropping the ball in the spring because he was thinking too much,” said Snyder. “He has good speed and he’s athletic.”

Another freshman with a good first day was offensive lineman Darrell Martin.

“He was very impressive. He had a little nasty. He showed me a little,” Snyder said of the 6-foot-5, 305-pound lineman.

Martin’s development could be vital to the Herd. The offensive line is considered a solid area, but there is very little depth.