BOCA RATON, Fla. - He got himself benched for dropping passes and lost his punt-return duties for similar problems.
So Marshall coaches shift him to running back, where ball security is the overriding mandate in college football. What gives?
Well, Hyleck Foster passed his first test at running back Saturday afternoon, rushing for 122 yards on 17 carries with a 66-yard touchdown run. Coming on his eighth carry, the sophomore from Gaffney, South Carolina, make a game-breaking play he and most others thought would have come as a slot receiver.
Foster said the move came shortly after the Ohio game, when position coach Chris Barclay broke the news suddenly: "Meet me in my office, we've got film to watch, you're a running back."
Foster said, "Ah, man, why in the middle of the season? But now, I feel like I'm home now in the backfield."
Thundering Herd coach Doc Holliday wasn't as sold before Foster's first carry, a 3-yard gain late in the first quarter. It wasn't only Foster's first career rushing attempt, it was his first play of any sort since September.
But with Devon Johnson retired after three attempts, Remi Watson carted off the field with an unspecified injury and Tony Pittman not making the trip ...
"I was so nervous," Holliday said. "I look out there and my man 'Rock' is gone. My man Remi's gone and we've got two young guys - got a freshman who's never played [Keion Davis] and a receiver two weeks ago."
Foster lost 3 yards on his second try, which looked as tentative as his first. He admitted as much: "When I first came in, all I could think about was the ball."
But his 9-yard gain a few plays later got the juices flowing. The 66-yard run may have kick-started his career.
"It's a confidence builder," Foster said. "The monkey's off my back; he ain't coming back on, I promise you that."
Chase Litton continues to follow the pattern of Rakeem Cato and every other good Marshall quarterback over the years: Make one "what the heck is that?" play, then come back strong.
FAU handed Litton the most unwanted souvenir of college quarterbacking, the "pick-six" interception return. At the time, Ocie Rose's 95-yard runback turned Marshall's possible 23-3 first-half lead into a 16-10 advantage.
It could have been a game-killer for the Herd. Marshall was in the 17th play of what could have been a 98-yard touchdown drive. When Rose reversed the Herd's fortunes, the possession had consumed 7:49.
Litton wasn't going to let that momentum slide go uncorrected. His first act was a 17-yard shot to Justin Hunt. Two plays later, a 12-yarder to Nick Matthews. After Foster runs of 5 and 9 yards, Litton found paydirt on a 22-yard lob to Davonte Allen.
The touchdown and the resulting 23-10 lead eased the pain but didn't erase the memory.
"Even when I went 5 for 5 the next drive and came back, I wasn't thinking about it," Litton said. "I was still [upset with] myself because it should have been 30-3 going into halftime, or at least 23-3 or something like that."
Litton was running out of pressure when he made his disastrous throw. He took all the blame for it, but intended target Deandre Reaves disagrees.
"He was trying to hit me with an 'out' route, but he was getting pressured," Reaves said. "I told him it was my fault - I kind of came out of the break a little slow, I guess he wasn't used to that, because in practice we always have that timing down.
"I kind of cut off the wrong foot. I told him to 'forget about it. Flush it.' "
Marshall right tackle Clint Van Horn spent another trip as honorary coach. Jordan Dowrey started again at right tackle, as Nate Devers did not play.
Skill-position players had a tough day, as several went down at least for a play or two. Safety Tiquan Lang went down for several minutes late in the first half but recovered to play after halftime. Linebacker/special teams player Frankie Hernandez watched the rest of the game on crutches.
"That comes with it," Reaves said. "FAU is a heck of a team, they've got some guys who can hit a little bit and run around. They made some pretty good hits on us."
The drill is familiar: With temperatures in the low 80s, Herd players had to readjust to summer-type weather after several weeks of West Virginia autumn.
Staving off heat-related cramps proved to be difficult at times. But the Herd, deep enough to rotate at several positions, pulled through.
"This could have been a lot worse," said Litton, a Tampa native. "To be honest, the rain [Friday] night really helped us. I remember practicing in 3:30 weather in high school and [figuratively] dying. People just falling out.
"This was OK for me. Some guys reacted well, some didn't, but it was fun."
n Marshall's safety was its first since Vinny Curry tackled Southern Mississippi's Kendrick Hardy short of the goal line on Sept. 10, 2011. That gave the Herd a two-score lead in what became a 26-20 victory.
n Johnson's 75-yard was the team's longest play of the season. It was also the second year in a row Johnson scored on the Herd's first scrimmage play against FAU. Last year's run covered 58 yards.
n Interesting new travelers on MU's road trip: true freshman receiver Raylen Elzy and sophomore defensive back Chocolate Wilson. Neither played, but they were available.
n FAU free safety Jalen Young was ejected for targeting with 12:16 left. He also will be unavailable for the first half of the Owls' game next week at Texas-El Paso.