When Marcus Marshall transferred to James Madison this year, he didn't just bring another strong running back into a stable that already included backs Cardon Johnson, Trai Sharp and Taylor Woods. He also brought along a celebration the offense has embraced, a celebration Woods helped explain during the FCS Championship media session.
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Woods told HERO Sports the celebration started back in the spring when Marshall first showed it off, pointing to his elbow after a big play.
"Alright so what 'To the Bone' means, Marcus, he came from Georgia Tech, he brought it down. So during spring ball, he pointed to the bone and we asked him, what does 'To the Bone' mean?" Woods told HERO Sports.
"There isn't really a definition for it, it's like if you have a nice car or, you know, you're a hard-nosed football player or you're running through somebody or you're making somebody miss. So every time we score, we get to the bone, always here to celebrate al the time."
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The celebration started with the running backs, but has grown throughout the offense. You've probably seen a 6-foot-5 wide receiver go 'to the bone' after one of his impressive playoff performances this post-season.
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"Riley [Stapleton], he started doing it too, and then everyone else kinda started doing it, so it was just kinda cool that everyone's buying into it, it's our own little thing," Woods said. "When I scored at Weber State, I pointed to the bone and I got so many texts afterwords saying, 'Why did you point at your elbow? Like, What is he doing?'"
The celebration has become go-to for the team after starting as something just the running backs did after a big play.
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And while it started as a running back celebration, Woods said he thinks it would be cool if the fans added it to their celebrations, too:
"It's our own little running back thing, but I mean, it would be cool if all the fans started doing it too. If we score and they started pointing to the bone."
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Listen to Woods explain 'to the bone' here:
Wondering why @JMUFootball players point at their elbow after TDs??@_Twoods20 is here to explain (and he wants JMU fans joining in) #FCSChampionship pic.twitter.com/Z85axjzOXD
— HERO Sports FCS (@HEROSportsFCS) January 4, 2018
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NEXT: FCS Championship Mailbag: Injuries for JMU/NDSU and Getting the Run Game Going
