Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Huff stays undefeated with press conference win
1/19/2021 10:51:00 PM | Football, Big Green Scholarship Foundation, Word on the Herd, Ticketing & Promotions
New Marshall football coach introduced to media Tuesday afternoon
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Late Monday night, shortly before 9 p.m., Charles Huff was part of his first touchdown in the Mountain State as the head football coach at Marshall University.
The Delta plane carrying the 37-year-old landed at Charleston's Yeager Airport, and then Huff made the trip to Huntington and stopped to visit Joan C. Edwards Stadium for the first time. As the vehicle rolled down 3rd Avenue, Huff could see the lights of the stadium against the dark backdrop of the night sky. When he arrived at the stadium, he stepped out of the vehicle and made his way down the northwest ramp near the Shewey Building, and then his dress shoes stepped onto the turf. He looked around and took a deep breath.
"It was a little surreal," he said during Tuesday afternoon's press conference on the campus of Marshall University. "Walking on that field and feeling the emotion and the energy – I could hear the crowd and there was nobody there.
"I'm a firm believer in you have to have a vision before it becomes real, and I had a vision when I was a kid about leading a program. It became real last night."
Huff lost his emotions as he spoke thosewords, but that was his only defeat during the press conference. All Huff does is win, and Tuesday's 37-minute press conference – watched by more than 27,000 people by the end of the day – was another 'W' in the first days of Huff's time in charge of the Herd football program.
Huff has always found a way to win, from his time at Hampton University as a football player who switched positions multiple times but was eventually awarded a scholarship. He won. From his time at Penn State as the running backs coach, when he helped the Nittany Lions compile a 22-5 record in his final two seasons there. In a two-year stint at Alabama, the program was 24-2 and won the national championship.
After witnessing Tuesday's press conference, it is no wonder the native of Denton, Maryland, won over the search committee, MU President Jerome "Jerry" Gilbert and Director of Athletics Mike Hamrick.
Huff talked about high expectations for a program that cracked the national rankings and won the C-USA East Division last season – "I can promise you that my expectations are higher," he said – and what he wants student-athletes to aspire to be.
"We're working to be a champion," he said. "We're not working for championships; we're not working for a certain game. We're working to be a champion."
That line was uttered early in the press conference, attended virtually by the media, and it only got better from there.
Huff implored all those around the Marshall football program to have a positive attitude. No negative energy allowed, he said bluntly.
He said that Herd football will be "the fastest, most physical, most aggressive football program in the country. We want other teams saying at the end of the game, 'I hate playing that team. I hate playing them. Don't put them on the schedule again.'"
Huff went straight for the hearts of all those who love Marshall football and its rich history and tradition. He talked about a "fun brand of football." He pledged plenty of points. He promised an offense that will be aggressive and open.
Huntington social media and fan message boards lit up in delight.
Huff talked about the influence Alabama head coach Nick Saban had on him. Saban is a native of West Virginia, and Huff said the Mountain State legend to told him how he "can fall in love" with the state and how "it will embrace you."
That was evident by the time Huff had collected himself after reminiscing of all those years dreaming and working and grinding and proving that he belonged behind that podium on the third floor of Drinko Library.
"A lot of hard work went into it," Huff said. "A lot of people took a chance on me.
"And I'm going to make sure those people don't regret it."
A lifetime of wins led Huff here. Tuesday's press conference was another victory for him.
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a nine-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
