Huntington Quarterly Summer 2022

You heard it here first. We’re going to beat Notre Dame.

—Rasheen Ali

Rasheen Ali and the Thundering Herd head to South Bend, Indiana, on Sept. 10 to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

the nuances of being a great running back. He has all the natural gifts that God gives really good running backs.” It didn’t take long for Ali to turn talent into touch downs. He burst onto the scene in the first game of the 2021 season by scoring four touchdowns against Navy on national television. Ali had no plans of slowing down.

He went on to rush for 1 ,401 yards and broke Doug Chapman’s fresh man rushing record in the process. He led all of NCAA FBS football with 25 touchdowns . He tied for the mo s t r u s h i n g touchdowns with 23 and also caught 45 passes for 334 y a r d s a nd one touchdown. Oh, and he took a kickoff back for a score as well. Remember how heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was fond of making predictions? Before his fresh man season Marshall’s Ali had a premonition that he might have a monster season. “My girlfriend recorded me, and I said, ‘I want to have 1,500 yards and 25 touchdowns.’ So I kind of spoke it into existence. I was surprised honestly, but I think the sky’s the limit. I think I can do a lot more.” After Ali’s breakout freshman year, head coach Charles Huff got to thinking, maybe this boxing thing has some legs. “The two best running backs I’ve coached both boxed,” Huff said. “New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and Rasheen. Rasheen is one of the most coachable players I’ve been around. He’s extremely humble which allows him to continue to seek improve ment. His best years are ahead of him.” Ali's freshman season was one of the best in Thundering Herd history.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HERALD-DISPATCH

PHOTO BY ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA AP IMAGES

Ali rushed for 160 yards and three TDs in the New Orleans Bowl.

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