— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — It was back to work for the Marshall football team Tuesday as spring drills resumed after a one-week hiatus for spring break.
Second-year Herd head coach Tony Gibson felt Tuesday’s session was a mixture with some positive moments and others that were forgetful, perhaps somewhat natural as players get back into a routine.
“We had some good and some bad things,” Gibson said. “We put them into some different situations to see how they’d react.”
Despite being away from the practice field for more than a week, Gibson liked the direction the Herd is headed.
“I’m happy with where we’re at, Gibson said. “We’re an older and more mature team than we were a year ago and our discipline is a lot better. We just need to keep building on it, stacking days and getting better.”
Offensively, there is a three-way battle for playing time among three experienced quarterbacks in last year’s starter, Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, Zion Turner and West Virginia transfer Khalil Watkins.
Tight end Toby Payne and wideout Adrian Norton are proven pass-catchers that figure to bolster the team’s ability to stretch defenses.
“Right now, our quarterback play is at a high level,” Gibson said. “We have three guys right now who are really competing. Our wideout group is much improved from a year ago and we have a lot more depth.”
Marshall underwent significant change to its defensive staff in the offseason and the defense is now being guided by coordinator Brad Lambert.
“Defensively, we’re just trying to figure things out up front and we have a lot of guys competing for spots,” Gibson said. “Our linebacker corps is solid and our defensive backs group is deep.”
Marshall will again hold closed workouts on Thursday morning and Friday evening at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Spring practice wrap up Saturday, April 11 with the annual Spring Game at Edwards Stadium, which will start at 3 p.m.
— — — — —
Dave Walsh, a quarterback for the 1971 Marshall Young Thundering Herd football team, will serve as the keynote speaker for the 2026 Marshall Spring Fountain Ceremony.
The ceremony takes place at 11:30 a.m. on April 11 at the Marshall Memorial Fountain, located outside of the Marshall Memorial Student Center.
The annual Spring Fountain Ceremony leads into the 2026 Marshall Football Spring Game later that day.
Walsh was a freshman on the 1970 Marshall team and could not play varsity at the time, meaning he was not aboard the plane that crashed near Tri-State Airport on November 14, 1970, which resulted in the death of 75 Marshall football players, coaches, administrators, fans and the flight crew.