— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Double the trouble. That appears to be the setup Marshall opponents willl prepare for the last half of the season.
One could reach that conclusion after what quarterbacks Zion Turner and Khalil Wilkins, who happens to line up at running back, wideout and kick returner as well, did Tuesday night to lead the Thundering Herd past Sun Belt Conference West Division leader South Alabama, 20-13, at Joan C. Edwards Field.
The Herd defense, which had had its problems the first half of the season, buckled down and limited the SBC’s No. 1 offense to 326 yards and well below its average of 40-plus points a game.
Turner made his first start, taking over for Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, and completed 21-of-33 passes for 181 yards. He added 45 yards rushing including a 3-yard dive for a TD with 3:25 left in the third period to put his team ahead, 13-6.
Turner also sprinted 75 yards down the left sideline for the go-ahead score with 4:25 left only to see it called back due to a holding call. On that run, Turner hurt his left leg, and on came Wilkins. The transfer from West Virginia ran four straight times and picked up 19, 22, 14 and 4 yards.
That helped to setup Judah Price, who previously played at Independence High and WVU, to go straight head and score what would be the winning TD on a 5-yard run. Appropriate since this game was dedicated to coal miners and the industry and Herd players wore all-black uniforms and Price, who played his high school ball in Coal City, has family ties to the industry with his father and grandfather having worked in the mines.
“I can’t say the words,” Turner said. “I doubted myself. I thought I’d never see the field again. I thought be patient, my time will come.”
Turner started his college career at Connecticut and led the Huskies to a win over Marshall in the 2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl. He then transferred to Jacksonville State and Marshall last year, where he made one start. One of Turner’s offensive coaches at Jacksonville State, Rod Smith. came to Marshall when he did to join coach Tony Gibson’s staff as offensive coordinator.
“Coach Smith played a big role for me,” Turner said. “What he was able to do for me means so much. Just execute. That’s what we do.”
Turner admitted to being somewhat nervous before the game for obvious reasons.
“Had to adjust,” he said. “Take advantage of what the defense gives us. Stay confident. I know what I can do. What if I knew back then what I know now. What we did as a team feels so good. We fixed everything that been going wrong. Nice to see us get on track.”
When Turner went to the sideline and then medical tent, he had all the faith Wilkins would come through.
“They had no answer for him. I knew it. We have the utmost confidence in Khalil and his abilities, and we know what he can do,” Turner said. “When I saw him go in the game and they took me to the medical tent, I was in the tent trying to get right and I just heard the crowd going wild. I knew Khalil ran that ball. He’s such an exciting player. When he gets the ball, it’s fun to watch. It really is.”
Wilkins, who has told coaches he’s willing to play anywhere to help the team, returned the opening kickoff at the goal line and brought it back 35 yards.
“I knew it would get into the end zone. I had no choice. I’m talented enough to go get us in better field position.”
As for the deciding drive, Wilkins was not to be denied.
“I see the work that everybody on our team puts in, so when you see that, it makes you want to go 10 times harder for them,” Wilkins said. “Zion had a great run, and I don’t know if it was the turf monster or what, but I saw him get up slow. The loyalty and the love I have for him and I know my brothers have got for him, we wanted to go finish it.
“All runs the last drive. Very cool. You could see what everybody put in. Had the mindset not to be denied. Had 10 brothers with me. Came out of a hole. MU football is back.”
Price, who arrived as a walk-on, found special significance in accounting for the winning TD.
“Dad and grandad worked in the mines,” Price said. “Great feeling for the Herd, great feeling for those guys (miners). They could not stop the running plays. They play people who care. We all cared tonight. I believe in myself. When we’re firing on all cylinders, we’re a dangerous football team.”
Following Price’s late touchdown, the Marshall defense forced the Jaguars to turn the ball over on downs to secure the result. The Jaguars were held in check all night and quarterback Jared Hollins finished 12-for-33 for 148 yards and one pick.
Kelvon McBride, a native of Mobile, Ala., and a transfer from North Carolina State, plays edge on a defense that more than rose to the occasion against a tough test.
“This was motivating,” McBride said. “We had a few missed tackles. The most complete game we’ve played. We had hard conversations (during a 10-day break). Coaches tell the truth. Players tell the truth. That’s what we’ve got to have. The standard now. This was a wake-up call. A lot of people doubted us. We had to show we can go out and do it.”
For the better part of the last seven weeks, Gibson said in postgame interviews that the Herd (4-3, 1-2 SBC) had things to fix on both sides of the ball. He admitted he sounded like a broken record.
“I’m just so proud of this defense because we had been struggling. Numbers don’t lie and we did a deep dive in the half-bye week we had and challenged our guys,” he said. “ We didn’t look at the negative. Had to come back and show we’re a better team. The message was, ‘Do your job!’ We did that tonight. We have to sustain it now.”
Then there were all the negative comments about the Herd football on social media. Gibson stressed for his players to ignore.
“Ten days of ugly things said about us,” he said. “A lot of negative comments about me. Don’t listen. I believe in them.”
Marshall is back in action at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Old Dominion.