Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 87F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..
Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 87F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..
Marshall University honors coach Doc Holliday and the 2014 Conference USA championship football team as Marshall faces Western Michigan University in an NCAA football game Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington.
Then-Marshall football Doc Holliday walks the sideline as the Thundering Herd takes on Cincinnati during a NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington.
Marshall University honors coach Doc Holliday and the 2014 Conference USA championship football team as Marshall faces Western Michigan University in an NCAA football game Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington.
Then-Marshall football Doc Holliday walks the sideline as the Thundering Herd takes on Cincinnati during a NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington.
HUNTINGTON Ƶ For the first time since he coached Marshall University in the 2020 Conference USA football championship game, former head coach Doc Holliday walked back into the facility.
The Thundering Herd fell short in that game and then lost the Camellia Bowl on Christmas Day before the athletic department moved in a different direction and hired Charles Huff to replace him in January.
The time in between has been revitalizing for Holliday, who is now on a permanent holiday in retirement and, in fact, said he hadnƵt even attended a football game since his last as a coach.
But Saturday was special.
ƵI spent a lot of years here, love this place,Ƶ Holliday said while roaming the sidelines in pregame. ƵIt is a special place and have just enjoyed getting the chance to see a lot of people I hadnƵt seen in three years, IƵm glad to be back.Ƶ
Much has changed since that year, even if the weather in Huntington was similar on that day.
Two key pieces from that title run, quarterback Rakeem Cato and wide receiver Tommy Shuler, were inducted into the Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame. Trevor Mendelson, who started every game on the offensive line that year, was hired to coach that position group for Western Michigan and considered himself lucky to be back in town for the small-scale reunion.
ƵItƵs been exciting to see friends, coaches, the whole deal and it definitely will be a different feeling on the other sideline for sure. ƵI spent seven really, really good years in Huntington, five as a player and two as a graduate assistant on coach HollidayƵs staff and Marshall was a great experience with really good teammates, really good coaches, a lot of people had impacted my life in a positive way.Ƶ
Mendelson took a little trip down memory lane Saturday, running onto the field from the visiting locker room as AC/DCƵs ƵThunderstruckƵ played in the moments before the Herd took the field, but he wasnƵt the only one reminiscing.
ƵThe goal post came down, the trophy went up and we all enjoyed ourselves that day,Ƶ Cato said. ƵI got tears as soon as I saw (Doc Holliday) last night, man, both him and Chuck Heater have been nothing but great to us.Ƶ
Heater, who was the Marshall defensive coordinator from 2013-2017, last coached in 2022 at Colorado State before retiring. He walked down 5th Avenue and into the game with his longtime friend and colleague Holliday, a bit different than their pre-game routine when they coached together in Huntington Ƶ though they arrived to the stadium right in time for the Thunder Walk as the current coaching staff and players arrived at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
ƵWe were together at University of Florida and won a national championship there with Urban (Meyer),Ƶ Holliday said. ƵI was fortunate to get Chuck to come here to Marshall and be the defensive coordinator here for six years and he did such a tremendous job and was a really big part of all the success we had here.Ƶ
Luke Creasy is a sports reporter for HD Media. He can be reached by phone at 304-526-2800.
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