— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall football coach Tony Gibson promised change after his first team finished with a 5-7 record and lost four of its last five games to miss out on the postseason.
There’s already been overhaul defensively with Brad Lambert brought on as coordinator. He will be jointed by several other veteran assistants.
Now, Gibson and his staff are doing their part to reshape the roster through the transfer portal, which stays open through January 16.
The first Herd portal commitment came from Logan Greer, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound offensive lineman from California (Pennsylvania). He was an all-conference player for the Vulcans this season and was previously coached by current Marshall offensive line coach Bob McClain. Greer has two years of eligibility remaining after moving from Division II to Division I.
A former West Virginia player is donning the green and white as South Charleston native Xavier Bausley has moved on from Morgantown to the Herd. Bausley, at 6-4, 310 pounds, started his college career at Jacksonville State and has a year of eligibility left.
Ex-VMI Keydet wide receiver Owen Sweeney is moving up from the FCS to FBS ranks as part of the MU program. Sweeney was a 2025 FCS Freshman All-American and has three years of eligibility left. Sweeney had 44 receptions for 723 yards and a team-leading eight touchdowns in 2025.
Running back Jacquez Keyes, the son of former Marshall player Curtis Keyes, is following his father’s footsteps and playing for the Herd. Keyes played his high school ball at powerful Ironton (Ohio) High School and originally committed to play collegiately at Kentucky. He eventually ended up at Northwest Mississippi Community College for the past two seasons.
Marshall is getting another boost from a Big 12 school as former Iowa State defensive lineman Bernard “B.J.” Carter is headed to the Thundering Herd. The 6-3, 310-pounder took a redshirt this season and has four years of eligibility remaining. Out of high school, Carter was considered a top 150 defensive lineman nationally from multiple national recruiting sites. One of the schools who previously sought Carter was North Carolina State, then led defensively by Tony Gibson.
More defensive line help is coming from Wake Forest transfer Cole Funderburk. The 6-4, 240-pounder plays edge and defensive end and was redshirted in 2025. He has four years of eligibility left.
The theme of adding along the defensive front continued with the addition of Kenyatta Hardge, a 6-foot, 295-pound Kentucky transfer who redshirted in 2024 and didn’t log game action in 2025. appear in any 2025 games for the Wildcats.
After a year playing for coach Bill Belichik, wide receiver Chris Culliver has found his way to Marshall. Culliver had limited playing time with the Tar Heels, but showed big-play ability by hauling in a 51-yard touchdown pass. In 2024, he returned two of five kickoffs for touchdowns.
North Carolina State linebacker Kelvon McBride is also joining the Herd and has experience playing in Gibson’s system from 2024, though his action was limited this season.
There have been few recent surprises among players who are transferring out of the Marshall program, as most had announced their departures on social media in December. Two exceptions are defensive lineman Paul Hutson III, who had earlier said he was staying, and freshman quarterback JacQai Long, who started in Marshall’s season-opening loss at Georgia.
Hutson had 40 total tackles last season (13 solo) with four sacks and seven tackles for loss. He also had two interceptions, taking one back for a touchdown in a loss at Louisiana.
Long finished 6-for-18 with 31 yard through the air and 38 yards on 15 carries and one touchdown on the ground in his only season with the Herd. He played at Capital High School and Hurricane High School.