— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — When Charles Huff announced last winter that Marshall would be switching to an Air Raid offense for the 2024 season, there may have been assumptions from Herd faithful that the unit would be geared around passing.
But ahead of his fourth season as head coach at Marshall, Huff says the new offense, led by new coordinator Seth Doege, will still seek a pass-run balance.
In Huff’s previous three seasons in Huntington, he’s had 1,000-plus yard rushers in tailbacks Rasheen Ali and Khalan Laborn. The production from those at the position may not equal or surpass that of the aforementioned players this fall, but Huff believes the team is still plenty capable of generating a formidable ground game.
“I’m not saying I’m the running back whisperer, but traditionally I’ve had a good eye for what it takes to be a good back and it doesn’t mean that you’re the fastest or strongest, but you have to fit the system,” Huff said. “I think the run game is usually better in this offense because the running lanes are bigger due to generic coverages of Air Raid passing games.”
The bulk of Marshall’s running attack is likely to be handled by North Carolina State transfer and redshirt senior Jordan Houston as well as senior Ethan Payne.
Houston was the Wolfpack’s starting running back entering last season, but decided to redshirt in 2023 before eventually transferring at the end of the season.
Over his NC State career, Houston rushed 324 times for 1,392 yards and six touchdowns with 60 receptions for 398 yards and a TD. The Oakton, Virginia, native was ranked the No. 25 running back in the NCAA transfer portal by 247Sports.
Payne, who hails from Poca, rushed for 335 yards and a touchdown in 2023 and caught 16 passes for 117 yards.
Payne lost weight in the offseason and looked much quicker in Marshall’s Green-White Spring Game.
Other tailbacks include redshirt sophomore A.J. Turner, who saw limited action last fall, junior college transfer Antwan Roberts and redshirt freshman Stanley Jackson.
“We will evaluate our backs in this new offense not only on rushing yards, but on how many reception yards they get,” Huff said. “No matter what we do, everything is tied to keeping defensive pressure out of the backfield and keeping tacklers off of our quarterbacks and running backs.”
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Marshall has added Eastern Michigan to its list of future non-conference football opponents.
The Herd and Eagles will meet twice in future years, as the Eagles will visit Huntington on September 26, 2026 and Marshall will play EMU in Ypsilanti, Michigan on September 23, 2028.
“We are excited to bring another exciting opponent into Joan C. Edwards Stadium in 2026 and we are excited to bring our fans to the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area for our game against Eastern Michigan,” Marshall Director of Athletics Christian Spears said. “EMU is a quality Mid-American Conference opponent that is located in a place our fans will enjoy traveling to.”
Marshall has won three straight and leads its all-time series against EMU, 3-1. The teams last met in 1998, with Marshall claiming a 26-23 win on the road on the strength of a late Billy Malashevich field goal.