HUNTINGTON - There were a few surprises when Marshall released its first depth chart of the 2008 season Tuesday, but the quarterback order wasn't among them.

Mark Cann, who emerged from spring drills with a slight lead over Brian Anderson, was named the starting quarterback Monday. Anderson is No. 2, followed by Jonathan Garner and Wesley Beardain.

The announcement marks another milestone in a rapid ascent by Cann, a 6-foot-4, 238-pound redshirt freshman from Landrum, S.C. The news played well back home, with newspapers from Greenville, Spartanburg and other towns in South Carolina's Piedmont region asking for interviews after Tuesday's practice.

"I'm excited about it, getting my first start under my belt," Cann said. "Everybody is excited about getting to game week."

Chances are he'll take his new status in stride, just like he has taken everything else - whether it's learning from his mistakes, solving furious blitzes or continuing to learn the Thundering Herd's new no-huddle offense.

"Coming into camp, we thought that would be one of the positions that might be a weak link for us, one we're going to have to protect," said Herd coach Mark Snyder. "[But] he gets better every day. He has moxie about him. He has poise. He lets things bounce right off him, and has the ability to focus on the next play.

"He's done a good job running our offense and I tell you what, I've been extremely pleased with Brian Anderson. His arm strength has improved, again he has that moxie, looks like he runs our offense very comfortably. And that's the one thing I'll say about Jonathan - he's not quite there yet. But we feel like we have three good quarterbacks and all three can win the game for us."

Perhaps the biggest twist on the depth chart came on the defensve line. Ian Hoskins, who spent much of camp trying his hand at tackle, was bounced back out to end, opposite Albert McClellan.

That bumped John Jacobs to the second unit, where he is backing up McClellan, the 2006 Conference USA defensive player of the year who missed 2007 with an injury. Vinny Curry, who had a strong camp, will back up Hoskins after overtaking Michael Janac. Janac and true freshman John Youboty make up the third unit.

"Well, that's a matter of semantics," Snyder said. "End, tackle, it's semantics. We felt like, going into this game - again, I preface this by saying that we're going against a Big Ten-type team, and Delvin obviously has the girth, and has done a good job.

"Ian will still play some 'three' technique, will still play tackle. But to start the game, depending on what they come out in, we're more comfortable with him at end. And James Burkes, James plays the run very, very well. And Lord forbid you try to throw a screen on him, because he will stop your screens.

HUNTINGTON - There were a few surprises when Marshall released its first depth chart of the 2008 season Tuesday, but the quarterback order wasn't among them.

Mark Cann, who emerged from spring drills with a slight lead over Brian Anderson, was named the starting quarterback Monday. Anderson is No. 2, followed by Jonathan Garner and Wesley Beardain.

The announcement marks another milestone in a rapid ascent by Cann, a 6-foot-4, 238-pound redshirt freshman from Landrum, S.C. The news played well back home, with newspapers from Greenville, Spartanburg and other towns in South Carolina's Piedmont region asking for interviews after Tuesday's practice.

"I'm excited about it, getting my first start under my belt," Cann said. "Everybody is excited about getting to game week."

Chances are he'll take his new status in stride, just like he has taken everything else - whether it's learning from his mistakes, solving furious blitzes or continuing to learn the Thundering Herd's new no-huddle offense.

"Coming into camp, we thought that would be one of the positions that might be a weak link for us, one we're going to have to protect," said Herd coach Mark Snyder. "[But] he gets better every day. He has moxie about him. He has poise. He lets things bounce right off him, and has the ability to focus on the next play.

"He's done a good job running our offense and I tell you what, I've been extremely pleased with Brian Anderson. His arm strength has improved, again he has that moxie, looks like he runs our offense very comfortably. And that's the one thing I'll say about Jonathan - he's not quite there yet. But we feel like we have three good quarterbacks and all three can win the game for us."

Perhaps the biggest twist on the depth chart came on the defensve line. Ian Hoskins, who spent much of camp trying his hand at tackle, was bounced back out to end, opposite Albert McClellan.

That bumped John Jacobs to the second unit, where he is backing up McClellan, the 2006 Conference USA defensive player of the year who missed 2007 with an injury. Vinny Curry, who had a strong camp, will back up Hoskins after overtaking Michael Janac. Janac and true freshman John Youboty make up the third unit.

"Well, that's a matter of semantics," Snyder said. "End, tackle, it's semantics. We felt like, going into this game - again, I preface this by saying that we're going against a Big Ten-type team, and Delvin obviously has the girth, and has done a good job.

"Ian will still play some 'three' technique, will still play tackle. But to start the game, depending on what they come out in, we're more comfortable with him at end. And James Burkes, James plays the run very, very well. And Lord forbid you try to throw a screen on him, because he will stop your screens.

"For this week, there's the lineup we went with because that's the offense we're going to face. Once we get into league play, that will change dramatically, I'm sure."

In other hotly contested positions, sophomore Corey Hart is listed ahead of junior college import Andre Portis at strong-side linebacker. Ashton Hall kept his spot atop the charts at strong safety, while T.J. Drakeford and D.J. Wingate remained the top corners while Zearrick Matthews heals from his foot injury.

All these moves come with a caveat: Many of the players who were beaten out stand an excellent chance to get quality playing time, and not just the 4:30 p.m. Saturday game against Illinois State. Time and time again, Snyder has praised the newfound depth of his defense.

"All the great defenses I've been around, we've rolled guys, for the most part," Snyder said. "All except maybe linebacker and free safety, we've rolled guys. We're going to take our lumps early, we know that, we're going to play a lot of young guys on defense, we're going to have to live with that, as coaches.

"We feel like they're going to do nothing but get better and better and better. The upside is phenomenal. They're making a lot of mistakes but the production is significant."

Brandon Burns provides Snyder and defensive coordinator Rick Minter a developmental dilemma. He has shown promise at strong safety, but the position is loaded with Ashton Hall, Aaron Johnson (the team's top nickel back) and John Saunders. For now, Burns is listed as the No. 3 "Sam," behind Hart and Portis.

Do not mistake that for a depth-chart burial. "For this first game, we have a very simple role for Brandon," Snyder said.

On the offense, Ryan Tillman and C.J. Wood earned the top spots at left and right tackle, respectively. Both redshirt freshmen, they fended off challenges from Brandon Campbell and Daniel Baldridge, who have both started games. Campbell and Baldridge will see action.

"Luckily, we feel like we have four guys there and we're going with two young, athletic guys and put their feet to the fire," Snyder said. "I think they'll do nothing but improve as the season goes."

Reach Doug Smock at 348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.