HUNTINGTON Ƶ Last season, the Trickett brothers, Clint and Travis, opposed one another as the offensive coordinators for Marshall and Coastal Carolina, respectively.
Neither, though, remains in that position. Marshall fired Clint Trickett at the end of the regular season last year. Travis was dismissed after the Chanticleers lost three of four games following a 3-0 start to 2024.
In the wake of that change, Coastal Carolina coach Tim Beck took over as the offensive play-caller, with mixed results, but Marshall coach Charles Huff believes there are still wrinkles that the Thundering Herd hasnƵt yet seen on film.
ƵYou really donƵt know what the next step of their offense is going to be, just because itƵs only been two weeks (and) coach Beck has been kind of calling a little bit different than what it was the last seven weeks,Ƶ Huff said. ƵYou donƵt want to chase ghosts, but you got to look at, OK, this is level one and two; whatƵs three and four, you know, so you we can prepare our players?Ƶ
Coastal Carolina is the only team in the Sun Belt East Division that Marshall hasnƵt been able to beat under Huff. The Herd fell to the Chanticleers at home in 2022 and on the road in 2023.
Beck has a history in calling offenses, doing so at Nebraska from 2011-14 before moving to Ohio State for two seasons. He then did three-year stints in that role at Texas and North Carolina State before taking over at Coastal.
But his first game calling plays for the Chanticleers was an underwhelming 38-24 loss at Troy.
ƵI canƵt do it all. ThatƵs one thing IƵve learned,Ƶ Beck said of balancing head-coaching duties and calling the plays. ƵSo I have to rely on guys that IƵve coached with, guys that have been on my staff offensively, like (pass-game coordinator) Kriss Proctor and (run-game coordinator) Derek Warehime.
ƵWhat they did in the course of this game was invaluable, and they helped tremendously. They called a lot of the plays, to be honest with you.Ƶ
Coastal Carolina rebounded with a Thursday night win over Appalachian State last week, The Chanticleers collected 353 yards against the Mountaineers, including more than 200 yards on the ground, with four scores.
Braydon Bennett had just nine touches out of the backfield but reached the end zone three times and logged his second-highest rushing output of the season with 88 yards on the ground.
ƵThat was the plan,Ƶ Beck said. ƵBraydon, being an older player, realized that weƵve struggled, so weƵre relying on those seniors, the captains and the older guys to come out and make plays, and he answered the bell, certainly.Ƶ
Beck has also turned back to quarterback Ethan Vasko, who was the starter to begin the year. Noah Kim briefly took his place under center during a lull in production. Vasko has played every snap at quarterback in the past two games.
Coastal Carolina is 5-4 with a 2-3 record in conference play and would drop out of the hunt for a Sun Belt conference title with a loss on Saturday.
Luke Creasy is a sports reporter for HD Media. He can be reached by phone at 304-526-2800.
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