— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall’s football team has spent much of the past month working out of public sight during spring practices, implementing a new offense and tweaking the defense.
Those changes will be in full public view on Saturday when the Thundering Herd hosts its annual Green-White Spring Game at 4 p.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Proceeds from the game benefits the work of the MU Quarterback Club, with funds being plowed back into the football program.
The big focus this spring has been implementing an Air Raid offense that incorporates short, quicker passes and a higher pace of play. Gone is the more deliberate pace of a spread offense run by Marshall for several years.
The work has been led by new offensive coordinator Seth Doege, a veteran in the system from his days as a player at Texas Tech.
“I’ve been learning about the offense myself. It’s fun and simple,” fourth-year Marshall head coach Charles Huff said. “It’s not difficult, but timing and spacing are important and there is a lot of opportunity to make big plays in it.”
Returning quarterback Cole Pennington and Tulsa transfer Braylon Braxton will be featured behind center on Saturday as well as backup Colin Parachek and true freshman JacQai Long from Hurricane.
Another transfer quarterback, Mitch Griffis from Wake Forest, will join the battle for playing time this summer.
Huff said there is no front-runner for the starting quarterback job, but he knows what he and the offensive staff are looking for in a leader.
“We’re still trying to see who can be the most consistent,” Huff said. “We’re giving them the time to embrace what we’re dealing with and how the defense reacts to it. The biggest thing for me is not only who can master the system, but who can go out and execute on the variables and fix things on the fly.”
Marshall’s talented group of transfer wide receivers will get plenty of chances to impress on Saturday, a group that includes Bralon Brown from Ole Miss, Carl Chester from Tulsa, Christian Fitzpatrick from Michigan State, Elijah Metcalf from Middle Tennessee and Tychaun Chapman from North Carolina. DeMarcus Harris and Chuck Montgomery are returning Herd receivers who will also be seeing action in the Spring game.
Marshall also brought in offensive line help and many of those newcomers will get their debuts in front of fans, along with highly-touted transfer running back Jason Shuford from North Carolina State.
Admission to Saturday’s game is $5 and tickets can be bought at the gate. Parking passes for the West Lot of Edwards Stadium are available at $20 each. Parking will be open to fans at 10am on Saturday and stadium gates will open at 2:30 pm
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Marshall has signed a one-game deal with Wisconsin for the 2028 season.
The contest between the Thundering Herd and Badgers will be played on Sept. 2, 2028, and will serve as the season-opener for both teams.
“We are thrilled to make the trip to Madison with the Thundering Herd in 2028,” Marshall Director of Athletics Christian Spears said. “These games are awesome experiences for our fans and for our team. As always, we are looking to create some momentum and buzz heading into our SBC season, so we are really excited for this one.”
The contest will match the Herd against Wisconsin for the second time in their history together and the game will take place during the week of the 20-year anniversary since the teams last met.
In the lone previous meeting between the teams back in Sept. of 2008, Marshall jumped out to a 14-point lead early in the second quarter before the nationally-ranked Badgers proved too much for the Herd.
The addition of Wisconsin tentatively gives Marshall three of its four non-conference opponents for the 2028 season. Marshall also hosts Ohio in the Battle for the Bell on Sept. 9 during that season while also having a contest against Central Connecticut currently booked for a date to be determined later.