Marshall Magazine Summer 2022

Texas Tech transfer Henry Colombi arrives this summer from Lubbock and joins a group that includes Cam Fancher, Peter Zamora and Chase Harrison in a crowded quarterback derby. The assumption is that Colombi will earn the job. But Division I football coaches don’t hand the keys of the offense over to you just because you come from a Power Five conference. “Obviously, Henry’s got to come in, learn the system and be able to execute,” Huff said of his incoming transfer quarterback. “I think when you add competition to the room everybody’s performance level rises. So, Chase is going to get better, Pete’s going to get better, Cam’s going to get better, which will make us a better team.” Whoever takes the snaps has the luxury of handing the ball off to No. 22 out of the backfield. Keeping star running back Rasheen Ali at Marshall, and out of the transfer portal, may have been Coach Huff’s best recruiting job in the offseason. Last season Ali ran for 1,401 yards and led the nation in rushing touchdowns with 23. The first team All-Conference USA running back will now be joined in the backfield by talented Florida State transfer Khalan Laborn. “To be honest the sky’s the limit for us,” Laborn said after the spring game in which he ran for a 32-yard touchdown. “I feel like we can be really good if we put in the work.”

to win. His time at Alabama with Nick Saban — who has seven national championship trophies in his den — made a big impact on him. Saban isn’t given to making excuses, and neither is Huff. Ultimately, Marshall didn’t finish the year the way it wanted to. The Herd lost its final game 36-21 to new conference-mate Louisiana in the NewOrleans Bowl. That was despite a dominant effort by defensive end Owen Porter. The former Spring Valley star had six tackles, including four tackles for loss and half a sack. Dwelling on that result, though, is not part of Porter’s offseason thought process. “You just want a clean slate,” Porter said after the Green-White game. “You don’t want to harp on the past, because there are plenty of games that we can look back on and say we lost by a touchdown. We need to be focused on what we’re doing right now.” Coach Huff went right to work to improve the 2022 Herd, jumping headfirst into the transfer portal — a new NCAA rule implemented on Aug. 1, 2021, that allows college athletes to transfer to another school without having to sit out a year. “Either you adapt, or you die,” Huff said of the new rule. “No fan wants to hear about how young of a team we have, or how five years from now we’ll be really good. Everyone wants success now.” Marshall’s starting quarterback is still a question mark. “ I think when you add competition to the room everybody’s performance level rises … which will make us a better team .” — Head Football Coach Charles Huff

Defensive end Owen Porter is focused entering the 2022 season.

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