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HUNTINGTON - Doc Holliday watched as a quick quarterback wearing a No. 2 jersey ran past and threw over a Conference USA defense on Wednesday night.
It wasn't Terrelle Pryor, of course. Holliday was watching UCF's Jeff Godfrey, who is fleet of foot and slight of build, and conjured up comparisons to smaller, mobile signal callers.
"I heard (UCF) Coach (George) O'Leary compare him to Michael Vick and compare him to Pat White," Holliday said, referring to the former college football stars with penchants for piling up yardage on the ground. "Where those guys really create issues for you is when they get on the perimeter.
"We got to try and contain him and do a good job of keeping him in the pocket."
Marshall (1-4, 0-1) will take aim at another shifty QB on Wednesday when UCF (3-2, 1-0) visits for a Wednesday night nationally televised game (ESPN, 8).
The thing is, Godfrey can throw, too.
A true freshman, Godfrey was Florida's 6A Player of the Year last season while playing at Miami Central High School. He set the Miami-Dade County career passing record with 7,251 yards, breaking a record previously held by current Miami Hurricanes quarterback Jacory Harris.
A three-star prospect by Rivals.com, Scout.com and ESPN, Godfrey was recruited by Florida State, Miami, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and ...
"I recruited him when he was high school," Holliday said. "He's every bit of 4.5 (speed in the 40-yard dash). He is that, and he plays that."
Godfrey is 45-of-70 passing for 531 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions as part of a platoon with junior Rob Calabrese. Godfrey also has 52 carries for 283 yards and two scores, and has rushed for 99 and 80 yards against Kansas State and UAB, respectively.
"He's got great agility," Marshall defensive lineman Vinny Curry said. "I'm going to watch some more tape on him. I watched him play (Wednesday night). He's good. He's real good."
Godfrey is the Herd defense's latest dalliance with a dual-threat quarterback. Marshall has faced Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor, West Virginia's Geno Smith, Ohio's Boo Jackson and Phillip Bates, and Southern Mississippi's Austin Davis last Saturday.
Unlike the Pryors and Smiths and Davises, however, Godfrey is neither tall nor built sturdily. He is listed at 5-foot-11, 182 pounds.
"You got to contain him; you've got to force him to step up," Holliday said. "He's not very tall. He's about 5-11, 5-10 maybe. He's not a real tall, rangy guy.
"Where he creates issues for you is when he improvises."
Calabrese began the season as the starting quarterback, but Godfrey wrestled the gig away with an impressive performance off the bench against North Carolina State on Sept. 11. The Knights lost that game, 28-21, but Godfrey completed 7-of-10 passes for 70 yards and rushed for 53 more with two scores.
Godfrey scored twice on runs in a 10-minute span in the fourth quarter. The first came on a rollout to the left where he faked the pass and skirted past a pursuing linebacker for a 6-yard score. The second came on a designed run to the right from 1-yard out.
The Knights whittled away at a 28-7 lead to make it 28-21 with Godfrey in the game. UCF could have tied it with less than a minute to play, but a wide receiver fumbled the ball on the 10-yard line after a 21-yard pass from Godfrey.
On Wednesday night, UCF offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe moved from the coaches' box to the sideline in order to tutor his young quarterback in a difficult C-USA opener on national television against the UAB Blazers, a team that took Tennessee to overtime on Sept. 25.
Godfrey completed 9-of-11 passes for a career-best 137 yards and added 80 yards on the ground. That included a 35-yard rush he almost broke for a touchdown.
UCF's offense scored five touchdowns and punted just once.
Holliday watched the player he once recruited with intent and concern.
"(He) is giving them a whole new dimension on offense," Holliday said, "because not only can he beat you with his arm, he can beat you with his feet."
That sounds familiar.
Contact sportswriter Chuck McGill at chuck.mcgill@dailymail.com or 304-348-1712. His blog is at http://blogs.dailymail.com/marshall.
