On Sunday, Marshall University announced the head football coach position will go to former University of Alabama coach, Charles Huff. He joins the Herd a week after helping lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to a national championship victory over Ohio State

The news broke online yesterday, and the university made it official today. Huff is slated to become the 31st head coach in Marshall football history and is coming to Huntington with his wife Jessica and his son Bobby.

“We believe Coach Huff will build upon the proud and rich tradition of Thundering Herd football and elevate the program to new heights,” Athletic Director Mike Hamrick said.

Huff, a Denton, Maryland native, began his coaching career at Tennessee State in 2006 after graduating from Hampton the year prior. Advancing quickly through the profession, Huff was hired to James Franklin’s staff at Vanderbilt in 2011 as the offensive quality control coach. Three years later, he was hired again by Franklin, but this time, it was at Penn State as the running back/special teams’ coach.

He is known for his role as former associate head coach to Nick Saban at Alabama, developing elite running backs such as Najee Harris and Saquon Barkley, and has recruited better than anyone in the country. Huff helped to develop the Doak Walker Award winner and first team All-American. Through his 15 years of coaching experience, he has yet to make the jump to head coach – until now.

“The history, tradition and passionate fan base this university has is second to none,” Huff said in an official statement. “To the current players, former players, fans and supporters, it is time to unite like never before.”

Coach Saban spoke highly of Huff and happily wished him the best in his new journey at Marshall.

“We always want our coaches to grow and advance in the profession,” Saban said, “and Charles has worked very hard to earn this opportunity.”

After the interview process whittled the job down to three candidates, the search committee made its final decision, submitting Huff’s name to University President Jerome A. Gilbert.

“I appreciate all the work of the search committee over the last week or so,” Gilbert said. “Their dedication to Marshall and commitment to the process helped us land the very best candidate.”

Huff brings a recruiting prowess possessed by very few. In the 2021 recruiting cycle, Huff was atop 247Sports’ leaderboard as the best recruiter in the nation. He landed five 5-star recruits and one 4-star, including pulling the nation’s composite No. 2 running back Camar Wheaton from the state of Texas. His recruiting ability may have set him above and beyond, but his qualifications are many.

“My family and I are so excited to be joining the Marshall University football program,” Huff said. “We’ve got work to do and we need everyone working together to take this program to the next level. The process begins now. We are Marshall.”Huff’s official appointment is pending a contract approval session by the university’s Board of Governors, which is scheduled to take place tomorrow at 9 a.m.

A virtual, introductory press conference will be announced when details are finalized.

Grant Goodrich can be contacted at [email protected]