— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — There’s one less name on Marshall’s anticipated football roster for the upcoming season.
Former Wake Forest quarterback Mitch Griffis, who announced he would transfer to Marshall after the 2023 season, said through the social media platform LinkedIn that he’s decided to end his football career.
Griffis posted, “Thankful that God blessed me with the opportunity to play the game that I love for so long — I have decided to step away from football and am looking forward to the next chapter in my life!”
Griffis was not in Huntington during spring practice sessions as he completed work toward his degree at Wake Forest.
Griffis threw for 1,553 yards and nine touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2023 while adding another 128 yards and two scores on the ground.
In four years with the Demon Deacons, Griffis appeared in 23 games and threw for 1,957 yards with 15 touchdowns.
Griffis’ decision leaves Marshall with just one quarterback with significant game experience in sophomore Cole Pennington.
Pennington started four games last season and passed for 695 yards.
The Herd also has Tulsa transfer Braylon Braxton and returnee Colin Parachek, along with freshman JacQai Long in the quarterback competition.
Parachek had a strong showing in Marshall’s Green-White Spring Game, completing 7-of-10 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
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Marshall women’s basketball coach Juli Fulks has attracted one of her former players at Transylvania University to join her in Huntington.
Graduate transfer Maddie Kellione is joining the roster of the defending Sun Belt Conference champions after playing last season at Tennessee Tech.
Kellione previously played for Fulks at Transylvania on the 2023 team that won an NCAA Division III National Championship and finished 33-0.
“Maddie provides depth at the guard position with an ability to stretch the defense with deep 3’s and an ability to create for her teammates on offense,” Fulks said.
In three seasons with Transy, Kellione averaged better than 15 points and scored 1,233 points to go with 300 assists. She was named the NCAA Division III Championship Most Valuable Player in 2023 and was a WBCA First Team All-American.
A native of Cynthiana, Kentucky, Kellione is also a academic high achiever as she earned the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award in 2023, an award which recognizes the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average who reaches the championship for each of the NCAA’s 90 men’s and women’s sports across Division I, II and III.