Head Coach Tony Gibson speaks at his first Sun Belt Media Day
By Bill Cornwell
Marshall’s football team hits the practice field next week, but this week belonged to the annual “talking season.”
New head coach Tony Gibson, along with junior offensive lineman Jalen Slappy and junior defensive back Cam Smith, represented the Thundering Herd at the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Football Media Days in New Orleans.
The trio spoke just two days after league coaches picked Marshall to finish sixth in the Sun Belt’s East Division—despite the Herd winning the 2024 conference championship.
Charles Huff, who led Marshall to that title, left in the offseason to take over at Southern Miss. Several players followed him out of Huntington.
Gibson, a native of Van, West Virginia, was hired in December and made it clear Marshall is not a steppingstone for him or his staff.
“You’ve got a head coach at Marshall now that wants to be there, and we’re going to do everything in our power to continue to have success there,” Gibson said.
He added that the preseason ranking doesn’t faze him.
“I don’t care where they pick us, because there’s only two things that can happen—you’re going to prove them right or prove them wrong,” Gibson said. “I know what I want to do, and I know what our football team wants to do. We’re going to go out and compete every week and just see where we’re at.”
Slappy echoed that mindset, saying the team is used to being underestimated.
“Every year, we get picked low in this conference, but that doesn’t matter,” Slappy said. “It’s about how we go out on every play and every game and just fight. This team and this university have a lot of fight in them, and that’s what we really need.”
Gibson addressed the quarterback situation, noting there will be a three-way battle in fall camp.
“If we played today, Carlos Del Rio Wilson would be our starter,” Gibson said. “He earned that coming out of spring. Zion Turner is going to compete. JacQai Long will compete for the job because he throws it really well, and I think he’s the future of our program.”
With 72 new players on the 105-man roster, Gibson said the offseason was about finding the right fit.
“We have to find the guys that fit us and want to be part of something bigger than themselves, and that’s how we attacked this out of the portal,” he said. “We’re going to get after people on defense, establish the run game on offense, and I want a physical football team.”
Gibson said the transition has been a whirlwind but believes something special is building in Huntington.
“We had 10,000 people at our Spring Football Game,” Gibson said. “We’ve sold more season tickets than we have in the last decade. People are excited about what we’re doing at Marshall.”
Marshall opens the season Aug. 30 at Georgia. The home opener is Sept. 6 against Missouri State.