HERO Sports is counting down the days until the kickoff of the 2018 college football season on Saturday, Aug. 25, by featuring the best player in the FBS at each jersey number, from 99-1. Each day, from May 18 through Aug. 24, we'll publish one article showcasing the best player whose jersey number matches the number of days remaining.
No. 37 Chase Hancock
Marshall – LB
Division-II scholarship or FBS walk-on? Chase Hancock, a three-year starter at safety and running back for Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, W.V., was faced with that decision four years ago. He made the right decision, opting for a preferred walk-on spot at Marshall, and is now the best No. 37 in college football.
"He's one of those guys who came here and nobody knew who he was," then-Marshall defensive coordinator Chuck Heater said in December after Hancock was named Team MVP for the 2017 season. "He works really hard. Serious guy about life and school and football and goes about it that way. He's not taking one step forward and two back. He incrementally improves every year."
Hancock redshirted in 2014, and, following a move to linebacker, recorded 18 tackles in 2015 and 68 tackles in 2016. Then Hancock exploded for one of the best defensive seasons in Marshall football history. Not only did he lead the Herd in tackles (128) and tackles for loss (9.5), he had seven pass breakups and missed only five tackles all season, registering the highest tackle efficiency in Conference USA, according to Pro Football Focus.
"I think he’s the best linebacker in the league,” head coach Doc Holliday said in March. “He should’ve been [first-team] all-conference a year ago and he wasn’t, but he’s a tremendous player, tremendous leader. He just does everything right.”
Hancock, now a senior, earned All-Conference USA Second-Team honors last year. But, given his knack for incremental improvements, it's a good bet that he'll First-Team nod in 2018.
