Charles Huff - Football Coach - Marshall University Athletics

Charles Huff

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
-----
Phone:
6464

Marshall head coach Charles Huff will be heading into his third season in 2023.

In two seasons with the Thundering Herd, Huff has led Marshall to a pair of winning seasons and bowl appearances, compiling a 16-10 record along the way.

Huff led Marshall to a 9-4 record in 2022, which included a 26-21 win on the road at No. 8 Notre Dame – the team’s first win over a top-10 team since 2003. Huff also navigated the Thundering Herd to a five-game winning streak at the end of 2022, which is one of the nation’s longest heading into the 2023 season. The 2022 season culminated with a 28-14 win over UConn in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.

In Huff’s inaugural season in Huntington, Marshall finished 7-6 while going to its 17^th bowl appearance since moving up to FBS in 1997.

Charles Huff was named Marshall's head football coach on January 17, 2021.

An elite recruiter and developer of talent, Huff’s proven track record bolstered head coach Nick Saban’s staff for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

In his inaugural season in Tuscaloosa, Huff helped Najee Harris rush for a career-best 1,224 yards on 209 carries with 13 rushing touchdowns while catching 27 passes for 304 yards and seven more scores. Brian Robinson Jr. added 441 rushing yards and five scores while then-freshman Keilan Robinson added 254 yards and two touchdowns. In 2020, Harris was a consensus All-American who led the nation in total touchdowns (30), rushing touchdowns (26) and points (180). He also ranked third nationally in rushing yards (1,466) and holds the school record for total touchdowns (57), rushing touchdowns (46) and rushing yards (3,843).

Huff arrived in Tuscaloosa after one season (2018) as the assistant head coach, run-game coordinator and running backs coach at Mississippi State. He boasts 16 years of coaching experience on both the NFL and college levels with stops at Penn State (2014-17), Western Michigan (2013), the Buffalo Bills (2012), Vanderbilt (2011), Hampton (2010), Maryland (2009) and Tennessee State (2006-08).

His one season in Starkville produced an effective rushing attack that averaged 223.6 yards per game to rank second in the SEC and 20th nationally. Kylin Hill and Aeris Williams carried the load at running back, averaging 6.3 and 6.2 yards per carry, respectively, while quarterback Nick Fitzgerald led the team in rushing with 1,121 yards and 13 touchdowns.

A native of Denton, Maryland, Huff spent four seasons (2014-17) as Penn State’s running backs coach and special teams coordinator. He recruited and developed one of the game’s most electrifying players in running back Saquon Barkley, who in 2018 became the highest drafted NFL running back since Reggie Bush went No. 2 overall in 2006.

Barkley, who was called with the second overall pick by the New York Giants in the 2018 draft, produced a dynamic rookie season, rushing for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns. He added 91 receptions for 721 yards and four more scores to amass 2,028 yards from scrimmage on his way to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors at season’s end.

Numerous records fell at the running back position and on special teams under Huff’s guidance at Penn State. Barkley, a 2017 consensus All-American, became the first Big Ten running back in history to win Offensive Player of the Year honors twice. A Walter Camp National Player of the Year finalist, Barkley ranked second nationally in all-purpose yards in 2017 (2,329). He broke four school career records, including rushing touchdowns (43), total touchdowns (53), all-purpose yards (5,538) and consecutive games with a touchdown (15) in just three seasons.

The 2016 campaign saw the Nittany Lions claim the Big Ten Championship and it was Huff who mentored two record-breakers. Barkley broke the Penn State sophomore record for rushing yards (1,496), all-purpose yards (1,972) and points scored (132), while junior kicker Tyler Davis collected All-Big Ten first-team honors after tying the league’s single-season record for kicking points (128) and breaking the school record for field goals by a junior (22) and consecutive field goals made (18).

Huff recruited Barkley to Penn State, and his freshman season of 2015 was spectacular. The Freshman All-American broke the school’s single-season freshman rushing record with 1,076 yards. He was named the Big Ten Network’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year in the process.

He spent the 2013 season at Western Michigan as the running backs coach and helped the unit nearly double its rushing yards from 2012. The Broncos ran for 1,394 yards in 2013 after running for just 735 yards the year before.

Huff spent the 2012 season in the NFL as the assistant running backs coach for the Buffalo Bills. He helped C.J. Spiller to his first career 1,000-yard rushing campaign and a Pro Bowl invitation.

In 2011, Huff was on James Franklin’s 2011 staff at Vanderbilt as the offensive quality control coach. Huff and Franklin also worked together at Maryland in 2009, when Huff was the assistant offensive line coach. Huff also mentored NFL first-round pick Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as the tight ends and special teams coach at Tennessee State from 2007-08.

Huff graduated in 2005 from Hampton University where he served as a team captain, starting 12 games at center as a senior in 2005. He also played guard, fullback and tight end in his career.

Huff and his wife, Jessica, have two boys: B.J. and Beau. They are also expecting a third child in the coming months.