Marshall Thundering Herd - Family and Football

Intro it's family and football with Marshall as the head coach of the Thundering Herd Charles Huff hops on locked on Sunbelt [Music] you are locked on Sunbelt your daily podcast on the Sun Belt Conference part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day [Music] all right Dave Schultz back with lockdown Sun Belt your team every day we start our previews of the upcoming season I want to try to get a lot of the coaches on before Camp starts that's going to not be easy to do as campus starting on Wednesday so we have Marshalls Thundering Herd head coach Charles Huff today we got Ricky Ronnie from ODU hopping on and we have Mike desimo later on in the week as well and others have already reached out to me I can follow up well with the SIDS to make it convenient for them because we want them to be on the show all right with Marshalls thundering her Charles Huff uh him and his family are growing they're actually having a uh another child at the end of Camp right before expected uh the week of the first ball game and he gives kudos to his lovely wife uh Jessica Huff uh she's all over social media so you can't miss her uh but it is an interesting family planning to have a child at that point in time uh but he talks about it and he talks about Marshall being family uh as well a little bit later on uh in the podcast the big thing is going with Cam Fancher at quarterback all right that has been I don't know if it's been settled but we're certainly starting at that point that's for sure uh and then we throw a little bit of a curveball because he's had some outstanding running backs saquon Barkley at Penn State Naji Harris at Naji Harris at Alabama or Rasheen Ali that he's had at Marshall uh and he gives an in-depth uh Choice when he picks one he actually picks one which is a little bit surprising uh and why he does he also talks about because I've been doing this a long time uh he's been doing this a long time but he's only been a head coach for a few years does he still get excited on day one so lots to talk about with the head coach of the Marshall Thundering Herd he is Charles Huff I'm locked on Sunbelt welcome back to another edition of Family locked on Sunbelt your team every day we are honored and privileged to have our next guest on he is the head coach of the Marshall Thundering Herd uh he is Charles Huff I'm thinking about naming this episode it's got to be fatherhood and football and how to combine the two because that's what you're about to do uh you're not only getting ready for the season coach but you got another Huff on the way yeah um we do uh obviously you know a blessing anytime you you're able to add to your family uh my wife has been a rock star and she understands and manages the the home uh which allows me to be as effective as I can be here um you know at the office and with the team um obviously the the football family life is different than most um but as as I tell you know our family our family is dynamic as our family is dynamic and we celebrate the times that we have together and understand that this is part of the journey we are a you know Sports family and sometimes that means we don't get to do the things that traditional families may do but traditional families don't get to think do the things that we get to do so we enjoy it uh we're excited to be adding another and again my wife has done a phenomenal job of uh managing this whole deal um as well yeah Jessica Huff she is a prolific Tweeter or extra whatever we're calling it these days that's how I know I I you know uh because you're not putting it out there she is uh yeah they're totally different in those Lanes she's she's more of um you know let everybody know how you know how blessed we are I'm more of the less people know the the less they can you know dive into our business and nobody tries to steal our signals or anything like that I'm probably a little more um coach sabanized you know keep it a secret so no one steals you know steals anything from us but um she does that great uh I would have to ask you because I I probably this happens way too often you do have a few kids already what happens Kids when your kids are more mature than your football players does that ever happen well it reminds me that it doesn't matter if they're 11 year olds old or 19 year old they still make you know bonehead decisions and some of the things that they do make you scratch your head as an adult but it does help me um you know understand you know I've become a better Communicator because of you know your kids and um I've become more um open to listen and teaching rather than just kind of scolding and demanding um so I think it's helped me become a better Coach it's helped me manage the staff a little bit better you know just because you know staffs have families and things come up and it's not always a perfect world for everyone to do things the same way um so it's definitely you know uh made me a better Coach I'm probably not as good of a father I tell my wife all the time if I was good of a father as I was a coach we'd be great but that's where she comes in to kind of balance me out and it really helps we're talking to coach Charles Huff Marshall Thundering hurt all right I've asked this question to a lot of people over the last few weeks what did you Coach Huff know about the Marshall program before you got there and what have you found out about it since well I think you know the the same thing I knew is the same thing I found out it's a very passionate fan base there's a lot of Pride here there's a lot of history and tradition um you know from being from afar you know you always recognize the brand the logo um some of the great memories um and then when you get here you realize it's a passionate fan base there's a lot of Pride there's a lot of history and tradition um for some that may create unrealistic expectations um but for me a person who's process driven um it just shows that there are people that care and you'd rather be in a situation where you have a lot of people that care and a lot of people that want to see you do well it's not always voiced or explained or um example the right way but um you you do you do know there's a lot of history and tradition a lot of passion you know you got a fan base that has seen success in the past um you got a fan base who is very rich in Tradition and history um and you've got a fan base who who loves their their their football team and that's a positive you know you've been I've been places where the school's in the middle of so much that you don't even know that it's there um and you know whether you win or lose it's a decision do I go to a concert or another sporting event or something else rather than go to the game you know here in Huntington on Saturday afternoons that this is a place to be you know so um it's a positive you know same thing I knew coming in but when you get here you get a better understanding are you trying to tell me you haven't been able well you found a Pennington now you got to find Randy Moss I mean yeah I don't know if the another one is out there but if he's out there you gotta you got a scholarship offer for Marshall right away so um but I think again that just goes to show you know when you have generational talents in the program um you know people remember those things you know obviously you know those type of players don't come around you know repeatedly but what it does is it creates a little bit of um kind of a stronghold on the college football game you know people will always remember you know Randy Moss and the impact that he had on you know the college football game you know there's very few players that have had that type of you know lasting impact on the entire sport um and he's one of them and he happens to be you know son of Marshall talking to coach Charles South Marshall Thundering her the lockdown Sunbelt your Cam Fancher team every day or let's talk about the quarterback uh usually you know coaches when there may or may not be a battle uh do not bring their quarterback to some belt media days you did not shy away from that uh you brought cam Fancher so apparently heading at least heading into Camp he is the starting quarterback yeah I mean I think it's you know it's coach speak when you when you say oh well we don't have a quarterback and I think it's probably a little misleading to your team um you know right now cam has the most playing experience at that position he's had the most success at that position um but he understands just like every other player in our program understands if he doesn't improve and someone outperforms him he won't play um you know last year we took Rasheen Ali and we didn't have a starting running back back up running back you know controversy you know at the point in time machine was the most experienced player we had with the most success um you know circumstances happened he got hurt Kalyn labourne came in and became the best player and I think when you when you when you're very clear in black and white with the players There's No Gray and there's no well who's our starting quarterback and I think it's important um to to have a person that is labeled the quarterback on your team because that's leadership that's Direction that's guidance and what happens is when you've established a quarterback whether that's Henry Columbia from last year whether that's Cam Factor this year whether that's Cole Pennington when you establish that it's very easy for the players in the organization to see why that player is playing and then if you have to make a change why that player is no longer playing when you get into the battles that we don't know yet um you're gonna split the team because they got friends there's going to be guys that think you know hey this guy should be playing it's gonna be guys I think this guy should be playing but when you make it clearly about production when you make it clearly about consistency the friends even say yeah I mean cam Cam's doing pretty good now could we make the same argument if Cam was one in five as a starter I don't know um you know but it's hard to deny the production that he's had it's hard to deny the leadership that he's shown does that mean that you know for the rest of the year I've never been a part of and and this is probably not a good thing I've never been a part of a football season in my 20 years of coaching where the starter played ever started every game um for whatever reason whether that's injury whether that's he got outplayed whether that's you know hey another player stepped up um so and we tell our guys that um but I I do think it's hard to say you don't have a battle when no other quarterback in the room has Marshall Plan experience that's that's tough um but that doesn't mean that hey we if we don't play Henry Columbia at the start of last year I don't know if we beat Notre Dame I don't know if Cam Fancher was ready at that point in the season to beat Notre Dame but when he was ready he came in and he's five and one as a starter so you can make that same argument for Cole you can make that same argument for Chase and the rest of the quarterbacks when they're ready to come in hopefully coach huff and the staff have done a good job of preparing them to come in and be successful so how much of it is that easier for you QB Competition you know the Raging cases are going through the same thing Ben waldridge was cleared apparently he's going to be the guy uh we'll see how much he come back from his uh injury how much easier is it for you and the team and the coaches knowing all right this is the direction we're going in now having said what you just said it could change right life is all about making the adjustments but now you don't have to deal with idiots like me or Luke Christie or the Thundering her podcast you know the thundercast asking you who the starting quarterback is how's the competition going that's something off of your plate right now and also can you concentrate on the other positions that you know you may be more concerned about well yeah I think I think it helps I think it helps the quarterbacks I think it helps the quarterbacks when they know where they are and they know what needs to be done from both spots right cam knows what he needs to do to continue to be the starting quarterback the other guys know what they need to do to become the starting quarterback when there is kind of a gray area you kind of get into the well you know I was I did good today I did good this week um you know I mean I should be the guy you know well not only do you have to do well you've got to do better than the guy in front of you and I think it helps also I think it helps the team because now you can start to really get some continuity with your quote-unquote ones or your quote-unquote you know first group or first couple of guys um and what will start to happen is the other players the other backups will start to see okay hey this is what I need to do to play on the ones level or this is what I need to do or this is the person I need to to pass you know for for us right we know what teams in this conference that have been better than us you know historically so we know what teams do we have to continue to build and close the gap towards not necessarily every team's not important but there are certain teams that have had Ultra success so from a recruiting standpoint from a um playing standpoint from a branding standpoint all those things like you know when we were at Alabama we were at the top of the mountain so we were the mountain we were the you know the the mountain everyone was trying to catch so we had to keep trying to stay away from the competition well here we're in a situation where we have a mountain to climb you know so when the players are kind of positioned it helps them um concentrate on Improvement instead of am I a starter today are you a starter um and then it makes it easier on you guys that you asked the question anyway but I've already got the answer so I don't have to think about you know all right let's take a time out when we eBay Motors come back coach Huff will tell us about the spots that will be filled during Camp compared to Camp Thatcher already heading into Camp as the leading candidate to fill that spot let me tell you a little bit about eBay motors for championship team it's all about making sure every player is a perfect fit it's the same when it comes to your vehicle every part needs to fit just right so the next time you need parts and accessories head to Ebay motors with eBay guaranteed fit you can be sure every part you need fits right the first time around just add your ride to my garage and look for the green check to know the part will fit or your money back because just like in sports confidence is the name of the game when you shop on Ebay motors and with over 122 Million Parts to choose from you'll be back in the game in no time after all it's easy to bring home a win when the right parts are guaranteed get the right parts the right fit and the right prices on ebaymotors.com let's ride eBay guaranteed fit only available to us customers eligible items only exclusions apply all right Dave Schultz back on a lockdown Sun Belt your team every day let's get back to coach Charles up for the Marshall Thundering Herd to discussing what positions will be decided during camp Doug Charles off Marshall Thundering Positions to be decided hurt head coach locked on Sunbelt your team every day all right where are some positions that you do have some new players that there are some going to be some battles going on here in Camp you know I think we've done a really good job of recruiting both high school and the portal um I feel really really good about our line backing group you know I think we've got a lot of talent and considerable amount there when you talk about the actual number of players on the field they actually are no longer there um I feel like we have a lot of guys who have the ability to be the starter this Camp is going to be able to see who has the consistency um to do that um I think our secondary is probably our deepest um you know position as far as the amount of guys who have actually played in college games um deciding who actually goes out first second how many reps does this guy get the flexibility in our secondary is really good I mean we have guys who can play safety and Corner safety and nickel um so those positions are going to be fun battles this this this Camp to see who actually Rises to the top um also I think we're a lot deeper on the offensive line you know which you know that sounds great in August but it only takes one you know banged up shoulder or one you know banged up knee and then all of a sudden you got guys who you got to move around but I do think what that allows us to do is going to allow us to practice better um it's really hard to get good practice when you're practicing with your forefo line and they're going against your ones or twos d-line um you know it's just it's just oh and Porter going against a walk-on freshman is not a good conducive you know plan for improving in practice um but with that happening with us having more depth at the o-line we're going to be able to have more practice which means our d-line is going to get quality reps you know whether they're the ones and twos the threes um so I think what has happened over time is the depth on our team or the potential let me say that because they still got to play we still got to go out and see who's you know who can do what um the potential debt on our team is going to allow us to practice better which is going to allow us to play better and I think that's where a lot of improvement happens in practice and it's hard to do that if you are superior to the person that you're consistently going against in practice so we're going to be able to have better practices we're going to be able to have more competition we're going to be able to have more competitive practice and that doesn't mean we'll tackle every day or anything like that but regardless of who you line up against you're going to have to have you bring your best and if you can do that consistently then Saturday has become easy all right a couple more questions for our head coach for the Marshall Thundering her Charles Huff you know we When the game slows down talk about this for the quarterback and maybe there's some other positions you know linebacker or even safety can you see when the game slows down we we talked to cam about that he couldn't figure out a game where that maybe you know it clicked and it kind of slowed down but you mentioned it's about media days you know he's getting the plays in right he's calling the adjustments right something that something necessarily we're not going to be able to tell from the sidelines but can you see when all of a sudden the light bulb goes off and these guys oh no he got it you know uh can you see that and how long how long does that take for you to see that they they sort of have clicked in whatever position they're playing yeah I mean it's no it's it's all different right it's different for each guys different age position um it's it's a lot easier to see in the intellectual positions than it is the physical positions when I say that meaning you know quarterback um DB you know I mean the the it's easier to see at the positions where the physicality is not the resounding theme right it's harder to see at o-line because a kid can be getting better he can be getting his calls right he can be understanding the plays and the angles but he may physically still be getting outmatched um the position like quarterback or safety it's easier to see because there's a lot that goes on before the ball snaps that lets you know if the quarterback or if the safety um knows what's going on you know quarterback is probably the one that jumps out the most because you can ask them why did you throw the ball to that side of the field and their response can tell you if they were seeing the right things or at least looking at the right things safety you can kind of see well why were you in that alignment at that depth and why'd you make that call and their answers can can tell you if they're thinking the right things and once they start thinking the right things then usually the physical catches up at those positions you know they usually start making the right decision with the ball they need to start making the right calls in the back end um so it varies by player I would say last year for cam it probably happened um right around the ODU game you know his first game was JMU um and you could tell there were some things that he was still kind of you know excited about we'll say that uh but the ODU game he really managed the game you know I think his best game was probably the Georgia Southern game um you know that game he had a lot of feedback coming off the field he had a lot of input um there were a lot of things that he did you know just as simple as getting the guys to the line and letting the clock run down because we we gotta we gotta leave and knowing that you know hey letting eight to ten more seconds take off the clock here is more important than you know whether we snapped the ball right now um you know we we did some things in that game the Georgia Southern game that we necessarily hadn't practiced in that scenario that he was able to recall and say okay hey this is what we're doing and he's telling guys hey we didn't practice it at this yard line but it's the same one we practice on the 50 at practice you know I mean so there were some things that you really kind of stepped back and said wow you know um so you know that that's when you can kind of really see it um obviously at practice every day it's a little bit more um controlled so you you you kind of control it to see it you know make yourself feel good to make him feel good right um but in those games you could really see a difference you could really see the light switch you know you look at the last play of the ODU game for us where he pulls and he gets down the sideline for about a 40-yard run well that was a situation where nine times out of ten because of the mode we were in you hand that ball off and you let the running back go get two and you punt it you know and you you play good defense and win the game well he was we always talk about being intelligently aggressive you know he was intelligently aggressive at that point you know he realized what coverage they were in he realized the person blitzing was the person that was responsible for him so he made a decision um and those that's when you kind of said okay the kids got it or at least he's getting you know and and that doesn't mean that he's done or he's reached the mark and he's ready to graduate well he's done but right now you're able to put a little bit more on him you're able to kind of curtail the game plan a little bit to more his liking um we've had some safeties do the same thing you know started earlier in the year and they're biting on double moves or they're you know fitting too fast and getting the RPO throwing behind them and as the season goes on they're holding their spot a little bit you know I mean they're fitting with a little bit more awareness to the RPO um they're communicating a little bit better um so those are the things that you usually can kind of see quicker than you know a left guard is is does he know what he's doing well the guy he's going against is six six three twenty and he's a senior you know it's probably a little bit you know physical involved in that as well all right one more time out when we come back coach up we'll talk about if he Thank you still gets excited on day one of camp and which running back of the really good ones that he had would he choose above the others but first we got to 400 we did it it had a little bit of a bump over the last couple of days so really appreciate that everyone's feeling it it is uh football season I think we're up to 407. I know that doesn't sound a lot compared to others but that is literally that is over a hundred in the month of July so thank you so much it's been fantastic and Rihanna race for 500 we need to get to 500 by Labor Day uh and I'm asking for your help that's they it's blatant I'm asking we need your help to uh get the subscriptions up to 500 uh so please if you see it tell your friends you know put it on your message boards you're welcome to copy the link uh and I will reply me I'm the one replying to uh all the comments and we've had some good ones as of recently especially the ones for uh where the Sun Belt should and or should not expand to so we really appreciate that still available wherever you get your audio podcast Amazon I heart Spotify uh and apple podcast Apple podcast and Spotify seem to be the two uh big ones these days around so do appreciate it thank you so much and we'll continue with these previews with the coaches and the media for the next month it's going to be the easiest probably the easiest month uh to uh to do lockdown maybe even some bonus episodes uh throughout because we got to get to all the teams both media wise and the team-wise so uh that is uh my math my understanding is there there would be no math but that would be 28 episodes easy uh all right let's get back to it Charles Huff coach of the Marshall Thundering Herd on how he still enjoys uh the first day of camp and excited for that and which of his outstanding running backs would he choose all right two more questions for More questions Marshall Thundering Herd coach Charles Huff uh all right I've been doing this a while I still get a kick out of it I know people at SEC media days were you know little jaded a little bit better at Sunbelt media days because we get to talk to everybody we're not chasing the coaches down you guys are coming to us and I I get I you know honestly I get a kick out of you you always got a big smile uh you're very easy to talk to you give us some great details so I get a kick out of this you still get and Camp is opening up I presume on Wednesday when it seems to be opening up for everybody you still get nervous you still get excited on the first date on the first day camp you just hand out the syllabus and let the guys go early or is it full practice no no I I still get excited I get excited for the opportunity to get better you know I I wouldn't call it nervous um you know people have asked me do you get nervous before a game I don't really get nervous I get in kind of check mode you know making sure that we've done everything we could possibly do to give these guys a chance to be successful and running through your head that we do everything on Monday did we do everything on Tuesday you know have I managed the Reps the right way have I managed the rotations the right way have I managed the coaches the right way did we do enough in recruiting this week to stay on top of that that that's kind of the nervousness I get not oh my God I Wonder If You're Gonna Play good you know or oh my God I wonder if this other team is going to be good it's just more hey have we done everything that we could possibly do this week to give them the best chance so I still get excited at the beginning of the camp because to me it you know won all the summer work all of the off-season work all of the planning okay now we get a chance to go you know and it's kind of like first day back to school man you know you get to see your guys you get to see your players you get on the field you know you get out of these rules where you can and you can't do some stuff in the summer and you can get just the football and that's what I signed up for and that's the party that I love um and then you get to see you know 125 or how many ever kids you have in Camp you get to see them you know hit the field with bright eyes and bushy tail nobody's missed the tackle nobody's going the game nobody hasn't performed well and you get to see the youthfulness in the game of football and with all this going on in college football um sometimes you miss that the youthfulness the the buzz the excitement just to play the game you know transfer portal nil and conference realignment TV deals and all of that stuff is great and I understand that's the business of it but they're still at the core seeing the Joy on kids faces when they just get to play the game and that's what you get on the first day camp all Who have you coached right let's wrap it up with Marshall Thundering Herd head coach Charles Huff you can only pick one running back and we got let's see here who have you coached you've coached saquon Barkley you have Coach Nazi Harris and you got Rasheen Ali who are you going with coach well I I would I would say all three of those guys are uniquely talented on and off the field in their own rights um obviously you know my time you know with with all three of those guys has been phenomenal um I I would say this um I would lean to experience and I would lean to just like I do if who plays and who the both guys are I'm gonna lean to experience my time with Sequon was probably the longest so I have you know obviously um a deeper or a longevity connection you know I think Ali has the opportunity to be as good if not better than all three of those guys our time is still growing and he's still developing so we are still developing my time with Naji Harris when I got there he was already into two of his years so um we kind of you know jumped in kind of like step dad and hey I'm gonna carry you through the rest and I think we had an unbelievable relationship I think I helped him he helped me um a lot um but being that I was able to recruit sequan in high school you know went through getting him you know eligible helping him understand the importance of academics really got a chance to you know spend time eat dinner with his family you know saw what his family went through to get him there obviously coaching him you know all four years or all three years that he was in college and still having um the connection with him my son's middle name is Barkley um after him um not because I think he's going to grow up to be a great running back just because at the time in my career that I met saquan we were both in a very similar scenario no one really knew who Charles Huff was you know I'd been grinding and working my tail off you know to try and you know become I'm a better Coach and a better person and because of his success It ultimately created value for me and I think that's what coaching is really about how can everyone involved create value for themselves so I would say Sequon would be the one just because of how our relationship and the longevity of our relationship but if you ask me from a athletic standpoint we'd be on here another three or four hours because it would take a lot um so take everything athletically out of it I would pick saquon just because of you know the the what we were able to do together um if that makes sense but if you talk football I don't know if you got enough um time on your podcast to really for me to choose yeah nausea Harris may have had one of the quietest 30 touchdown seasons for a running back in history in 2020. kind of got overshadowed by Devante Smith uh Jalen waddle for a little bit in Mac Jones and he was and he in the in the coveted season so he was a spectacular he is Charles Huff uh really appreciate your time on the podcast uh best of luck this season have a great camp and um as we say in my tribe Mazel Tov on the uh on the upcoming child and uh we'll talk to you again sometime during the season really appreciate your time coach thanks for hopping on lockdown Sun Belt thanks guys appreciate you having me on and go hurt