If Tony Martin is close to as stellar a football player as was his dad, Marshall University coaches and fans will be giddy.
Martin, son of MU hall of fame wide receiver Tim Martin, said he will transfer from Western Michigan to the Thundering Herd. The younger Martin, a rising sophomore from Pahokee, Florida, is 5-foot-10, 175-pounds. He has yet to produce any college statistics.
Tony Martin was rated a three-star prospect by several scouting services and received offers from Marshall, Maryland, Louisville and Florida International, among others. He committed to the Herd before changing his mind and opting for the Broncos.
Tim Martin was inducted into the MU hall of fame in 2011. He caught 221 passes for 2,886 yards and 23 touchdowns. A native of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, and member of the Thundering HerdÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s 1996 NCAA Division I-AA national championship team, Tim Martin also returned 150 punts for 1,500 yards and five touchdowns.
Marshall also picked up a commitment from former Jackson State defensive tackle Tyas Martin, a 6-4, 330-pound rising senior from Helena, Arkansas. Martin made five tackles last season. He transferred to Jackson State from Colorado in 2023.
Our of Jacksonville (Arkansas) High School, Tyas Martin originally committed to Virginia Tech before opting for Colorado. He earned offers from Tennessee, North Texas, Kansas, Virginia and Southern Mississippi.
KaTron Evans said heÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s transferring to Marshall from Charlotte. A 6-3, 335-pound defensive tackle, Evans made eight tackles last season. A rising senior from Norfolk, Virginia, Evans committed to Tennessee out of St. Francis Academy. He transferred to Jackson State, then to Charlotte.
Out of high school, Evans was offered by USC, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Louisville, Kentucky, Clemson, Louisville, Pitt, North Carolina State, Florida State, Texas A&M, Virginia and Michigan.
Mississippi State wide receiver/tight end Antonio Harmon, a 6-3, 210-pound junior from Kosciusko, Mississippi, committed to Marshall. In two seasons, Harmon caught 19 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown.
ESPN rated Harmon the No. 6 wide receiver in the country out of high school. As a high schooler, Harmon garnered offers from Texas, Oregon, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi, SMU, Louisville, Virginia and Tulane.
Maryland defensive back Tayvon Nelson committed to Marshall. A 6-1, 208-pound rising sophomore Nelson chose Maryland over Penn State and West Virginia. He also earned offers from Arizona, Tennessee, Purdue, Mississippi, Arizona State, Syracuse, Utah, Kansas, Miami (Florida) and Massachusetts.
Nelson did not record any stats at Maryland.
Marshall offered former Spring Valley High School wide receiver Ben Turner, who entered the transfer portal after three strong seasons at West Liberty. The 5-9, 175-pound speedster caught 66 passes for 1,171 yards and eight touchdowns in his college career. Turner returned 11 kickoffs for 194 yards and eight punts for 47 yards.
This season, Turner caught 46 balls for 854 yards and five TDs.
North Carolina State wide receiver/tight end Javonte ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œJuiceÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Vereen said he picked up an offer from Marshall, which hired former Wolfpack defensive coordinator Tony Gibson as head coach Dec. 8.
A rising junior from Havelock, North Carolina, Vereen played in 10 games as a freshman, catching four passes for 65 yards. A four-star prospect in high school, he caught 132 passes for 2,495 yards and 35 touchdowns. He owned offers from Georgia, Louisville Maryland, Boston College, East Carolina, Buffalo, Duke, Georgia Southern, South Florida, Miami (Ohio), Eastern Michigan, Charlotte and North Carolina Central.
Zavier Short, a 6-2, 210-pound rising junior wide receiver from Appalachian State, said heÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s picked up an offer from Marshall. Short, who transferred to the Mountaineers from South Carolina, played in seven games with no catches last season.
Out of Chapin (South Carolina) High School, Short was offered by Liberty, Penn, Yale, Charlotte, Eastern Michigan, Army, Middle Tennessee, Wake Forest and Coastal Carolina.
COACHING HIRES: reports a reunion with the Herd of two coaches.
Shannon Morrison, a former Marshall safety, coached linebackers with the Herd from 2021 through 2023. HeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s returning to coach safeties. From 2005 through 2008 Morrison coached MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s linebackers and safeties. Morrison was a graduate assistant with the Herd in 1995 and 1997. A native of Oak Hill, West Virginia, he has coached at Sam Houston State, Ball State, Eastern Kentucky, Cincinnati, Memphis, Bowling Green and Southeast Missouri.
Morrison helped Marshall to the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA national championship. He completed his playing career in 1994.
Gunter Brewer also reportedly is coming back to Huntington to coach tight ends. Brewer coached at Marshall from 1996, mentoring future NFL players Randy Moss, Darius Watts and Nate Poole as wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator. Brewer also coached at Oklahoma State, North Carolina, Louisville, Mississippi, Maryland and Virginia Tech. He also coached one season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Marshall also reportedly has added Rod Smith as offensive coordinator. Smith comes from Jacksonville State, where he served as interim head coach against Ohio in a 30-27 loss in the Cure Bowl after Rick Rodriguez left to take the West Virginia head coaching job.
Smith played for Rodriguez at Glenville State, graduating in 1997. He since has coached at Urbana, West Virginia Tech, Clemson, West Virginia, South Florida, Michigan, Indiana, Arizona, Illinois, Virginia and Penn State.
Gibson reportedly also plucked running backs coach Rod McDowell from Jacksonville State. McDowell has coached at MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Sun Belt Conference foe Louisiana Monroe and Clemson, where he was a third-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference ball carrier.
Another Gibson hire reportedly is Jarred Holley as cornerbacks coach. Holley coached last season at Abilene Christian. Before that, he was an assistant at Sun Belt Conference member James Madison, North Texas and Albany. Holley was an All-Big East Conference safety at Pitt.
