— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Tony Gibson’s second spring football as Marshall head coach is underway, with the Herd having returned to the field Tuesday.
Gibson is hoping Marshall can improve from a 5-7 finish in his first season as head coach, one that ended in disappointing fashion as the Herd lost three of its final four games to miss out on qualifying for a bowl game.
Gibson had positive reviews of the opening spring session as his team looks to make the most of the next several weeks.
“It’s a great day to be on the field,” Gibson said. “We had that Day 1 energy and the goal is to keep it up for all 15 practices.”
The Herd are scheduled to practice again Thursday and Friday as part of a schedule with three practices weekly over five of the next six weeks. There will be no practice the week of March 16 as a result of spring break.
The annual spring game that concludes spring practice is set for Saturday, April 11 at 3 p.m., and will be held at Edwards Stadium.
Gibson was pleased with a smoother start to spring drills in comparison to last season, when more than 70 new players were trying to find their way in the program.
A core group of veteran leaders is back for Marshall, including starting quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, offensive lineman Jalen Slappy and tight end Toby Payne.
There are new additions to the defensive coaching staff in coordinator in Brad Lambert, safeties coach Dean Hood, cornerbacks coach Chip West and line coach Anthony Leonard. Leonard replaces Ralph Street, who has accepted a position on the Cleveland Browns coaching staff.
“We’ve got a coaching staff here that teaches well and is putting their schemes in place,” Gibson said. “The kids have done really well catching to things off the field and it’s showing on the field.”
Defensively, Marshall looks to replace several departed veterans along the back end and at safety.
Del-Rio Wilson will be challenged for the top spot behind center by returning backup Zion Turner and West Virginia transfer Khalil Wilkins. Del Rio-Wilson had put together a strong 2025 season before injuries slowed him in November. He threw for 2,043 yards and 17 touchdowns last fall, adding 660 yards and six touchdowns on rushes.
On special teams, a new kicker (Jorge Diaz Nicolas) and punter (true freshman Cooper Heimbach) are getting their first reps at this level.
“It was good to get out here on Day 1 and see these guys run around,” Gibson said. “We’ll go to the film room, get better and try to learn from it, then we’ll come out on Thursday and do things a little better.”
The Herd had a surprise visitor to practice Tuesday in former Marshall All-American defensive end Mike Green, a 2025 second-round NFL draft pick who just completed his rookie season with the Baltimore Ravens. Green recorded 41 tackles, 3.5 sacks and a fumble recovery in his first year as a professional.