— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall’s 2023 football season will begin under the lights at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
The Sun Belt Conference and ESPN announced game times Thursday for two of the Herd’s six home contests in the upcoming season, and Marshall will welcome Albany for a 6 p.m. matchup on Saturday, September 2 to start the season. That contest will be carried by ESPN+.
The Herd will play at least one other night game at home as its Thursday, October 19 contest against James Madison will start at 7 p.m. That contest will be shown on ESPN or ESPN2.
“ESPN and the Sun Belt continue to recognize the impact Marshall football can have nationally,” Marshall Director of Athletics Christian Spears said. “Placing us in Prime-Time slots is a great opportunity for us.”
Those are the only two known start times for the Herd among the 12 games on its regular season schedule.
The Sun Belt also announced its 2023 championship game will start at 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 2. That contest, which pits the league’s East Division winner vs. the West Division winner, will be carried by ABC or ESPN and hosted at the site of the team with the better conference record.
2023 Marshall Football Schedule
Sept. 2 Albany, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sept. 9 at East Carolina, TBD
Sept. 23 Virginia Tech, TBD
Sept. 30 Old Dominion**, TBD
Oct. 7 at N.C. State, TBD
Oct. 14 at Georgia State, TBD
Oct. 19 James Madison, 7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)
Oct. 28 at Coastal Carolina, TBD
Nov. 4 at App State, TBD
Nov. 11 Georgia Southern, TBD
Nov. 18 at South Alabama, TBD
Nov. 25 Arkansas State, TBD
** = Homecoming
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Memorial Day weekend isn’t only the unofficial start of summer, but it also has special significance for college football fans.
Many college football preview magazines are now appearing on store shelves, full of conference and team previews and preseason honors for top players.
Marshall had nine players picked for Sun Belt Conference preseason all-league teams in the recently-released Athlon magazine.
Four Marshall players were first-team All-Sun Belt picks: Defensive lineman Owen Porter, cornerback Micah Abraham, linebacker Eli Neal and running back Rasheen Ali.
Abraham was an All-Sun Belt First Team selection in 2022 after tying for third in the FBS with six interceptions. Abraham finished with 36 tackles and 10 pass breakups on the season as well.
Porter was also a first team all-conference pick as he finished with 60 tackles and a team-high 15 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. He added nine quarterback hurries and a pair of forced fumbles.
Neal led Marshall’s defense with 98 tackles in 2022. He contributed 9.5 tackles for loss and three sacks to go with nine quarterback hurries, matching Porter for top honors on the team.
Ali missed most of the 2022 season due to a knee injury, but he returned to play in the final two regular season games and won MVP honors in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. In three games, he rushed for 273 yards and a touchdown.
Two Herd players — center Logan Osburn and offensive lineman Ethan Driskell — are second-team all-league picks by Athlon.
Osburn and Driskell started all 13 games last fall and helped the Herd average nearly 210 rushing yards.
Athlon made punt returner Talik Keaton a third-team Sun Belt preseason pick.
Fourth-team picks were wide receiver Charles Montgomery and offensive lineman Dalton Tucker. Montgomery is Marshall’s top returning receiver after catching 36 balls for 402 yards and a touchdown last fall. Tucker did not miss a start in all 13 Herd games last fall.
Marshall, which finished 9-4 last season, opens the 2023 season at home on September 2 against Albany.