— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Tony Gibson’s second recruiting class at Marshall features 43 players, most of whom committed during the December signing period or through the transfer portal, which was open for two weeks in January.
Of 43 recruits, 28 are transfers and 15 recently wrapped up their high school careers.
Among the signees, nine players are in the secondary, another nine are offensive linemen and eight are defensive linemen. The Herd also added six wide receivers.
“We are excited to add players to the Marshall football family and to have these guys enrolled in school and ready to go for the spring,” Gibson said. “This signing class addressed many of our needs and we have guys who can contribute immediately. The excitement for us is now seeing these guys on the field with spring practice less than a month away. It’s time to get to work.”
There were a few additions to the recruiting class Wednesday, including kicker Jorge Nicolas Diaz.
A native of Madrid, Spain, Diaz spent the 2025 season at Virginia, where he was a redshirt. He attended Saint James School in Maryland in 2024 and was 15-of-19 on field-goal attempts with a long of 53 yards as well as 45 touchbacks on kickoffs. Diaz was ranked No. 14 in the 2025 Kohl’s Kicker rankings.
Diaz figures to be challenged by a high school signee who grew up less than an hour from campus in Cooper Heimbach of Wheelersburg, Ohio. Heimbach was a 2025 MaxPreps first-team All-American and the 10th-ranked punter in the Class of 2026. Heimbach’s Wheelersburg team made it to the Ohio Division 5 championship game in December where it lost to traditional power Cardinal Mooney.
There are two West Virginia natives among Marshall’s high school signees — Huntington High lineman Mason Ramsey and Mingo Central receiver Aidan Burke.
Ramsey is widely considered a top 10 prospect in West Virginia and was an integral part of the Highlanders’ offensive success, often paving the way for a plethora of talented skill players.
Burke led Mingo Central in receiving last season with 37 receptions for 479 yards and three touchdowns. He also excelled on the back end defensively, finishing with 42 tackles, four interceptions, six pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He also returned seven punts for 111 yards.
There is much of a Morgantown flavor among Marshall’s addition by way of transfer. That group includes four former Mountaineers — offensive lineman and Huntington native Robby Martin, offensive lineman and South Charleston native Xavier Bausley, quarterback Khalil Wilkins and wideout Christian Hamilton.
Martin and Hamilton figure to have a good chance to an make immediate impact, while Wilkins got valuable playing time in 2025 at WVU and will be sparring with returning starting quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson for fall playing time.
Marshall also added a group of Kentucky transfers in cornerback Aumad Edwards, defensive lineman Kenyatta Hardge III and running back Jamarion Wilcox.
Wilcox was a significant contributor at UK in 2024, when he rushed for 590 yards and two touchdowns.
Marshall will begin spring practice on March 2 and conclude it with the annual Spring Football Game on April 11.