— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — With one-plus week left of spring practices, Marshall is devoting a lot of attention to its defense, which will carry a new look in 2026.
As a whole, the unit was relatively depleted by various transfers as well as losses to graduation, and has a new coordinator in Brad Lambert, who is making his third separate tenure on the Herd coaching staff.
“We lost a lot of guys in the portal and we’ve got some guys who are stepping up right now,” head coach Tony Gibson said. “Braydin Ward and Cam Chmura are playing well for us. We’re trying to build depth. We’ve had some linebackers banged up and some young guys are stepping up there. The kids are getting it and they’re really practicing hard right now.”
Ward is a redshirt junior from Montgomery who had a strong prep career at Riverside High School. He was productive in limited action last fall with 15 tackles, including 6.5 for loss, to go with five sacks and three forced fumbles.
Chmura, a redshirt sophomore from Wexford, Pa., is far less experienced at this level.
Marshall’s defensive backs return a surplus of experience from last season, a group headlined by redshirt juniors Caleb Clark-Glover, Louikenzy Jules and TeShawn Jeter and graduate student Josh Pierre-Louis.
Clark-Glover recorded 28 tackles in 2025, including three for a loss and a sack.
“Things are jelling,” Clark-Glover said. “The guys who have been here and the new faces are upholding the standard. The new guys are being welcomed to the brotherhood and being taught good practice habits and the standard here.”
Clark-Glover feels it’s been a relatively smooth transition to Lambert’s system. The former head coach at Charlotte has also led defenses at the power conference level at both Wake Forest and Purdue.
“Coach Lambert brings a lot of knowledge, fire and energy,” Clark-Glover said. “He makes you want to play real hard for him, and he’s doing a good job.”
Marshall struggled at times to get off of the field defensively last fall, finishing ninth among 14 Sun Belt Conference teams with an average of 30.3 points allowed and eighth in the league with an average of 410.6 yards surrendered.
The Herd were above average with 13 interceptions, ranking fifth in the SBC.
“Things have gone a lot smoother this spring,” Clark-Glover said. “Everything is clean-cut. The new defense is a work in progress. Coach Lambert says we don’t have to worry about a game next week, so we’re just trying to learn and get better day by day.”
Spring Drills end with the annual Spring Game April 11 at 3 p.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.