— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall’s football program followed up Monday’s win in the Myrtle Beach Bowl win by adding to its future roster with a small recruiting class on the first day the early signing period.
One of the eight signees in the early signing period already has college experience — Morehead State transfer quarterback Colin Parachek. Parachek appeared in four games this season, completing 24-of-46 passes for 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Three of Wednesday’s signees are defensive backs — Ohio native Caleb Clark-Glover, Indiana native C.J. Davis and Florida native Ahmere Foster — all listed as three-star recruits.
Marshall also got a local recruit in Cabell Midland offensive lineman Shawn Rouse.
Another recruit familiar with the Herd program is Ohio linebacker Jaden Yates, the son of former MU player Max Yates.
The other Marshall signees are tight end Tracy Stephens of South Carolina and Louisville, Kentucky-based defensive lineman Beni Tshita, also a three-star prospect.
Marshall head coach Charles Huff says his recruiting work is far from over, but today’s signees are a strong start to a solid class.
“We are extremely excited about the young men joining our team,” Huff said. “A lot of these young men, we’ve developed relationships with them and their families over the past year, so to finally bring a birthdate to them joining our family is exciting. There’s a good variety of talent, size, speed, strength and toughness — aspects that we were looking for in players to join our family.”
The Herd also added four commitments from the NCAA Transfer Portal with valuable NCAA experience: Cabell Midland alumnus and former Wake Forest defensive back J.J. Roberts, ex-Kentucky wide receiver Demarcus Harris, receiver Mason Pierce from McNeese State and defensive lineman Travis Geiger from fellow Sun Belt Conference member Coastal Carolina.
Roberts bolsters a Herd defense that suffered major losses in the defensive backfield, including Micah Abraham and Stephen Gilmore.
Harris played in all 12 of Kentucky’s regular season games this fall and had four catches for 90 yards.
Pierce had 40 catches for 512 yards and two touchdowns this fall and could boost Marshall’s return game as he returned both punts and kickoffs for McNeese State.
Marshall also lost three players from its 2022 team that entered the portal this week — defensive lineman Immanuel Bush, offensive lineman Cedrice Paillant and safety Jaydyn Johnson.