Marshall Hiring
By Anthony Doria, FM88 Sports
Jan. 7, 2025
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) — For the second straight year, Marshall has hired a new play caller for the offense, as today it welcomed Rod Smith at the helm.
Smith replaces Seth Doege, who moved on to Arizona after serving last season with the Thundering Herd.
Smith has been coaching since 1997 and brings over 25 years of worthy coaching experience to Marshall, who are looking to keep its strong offensive attack going.
Smith most recently was the offensive coordinator at Jacksonville State from 2022 to 2024. In 2023, the Gamecocks’ offense was ranked 3rd nationally in rushing yards per game at 237, while also averaging 30.2 points per game. Much like his predecessor Doege, Smith runs a fast paced offense. Jacksonville State’s offense was difficult to stop as it averaged a play every 20.6 seconds in 2023, which ranked as the fastest offense in the country.
2024 saw much similar success for Smith as Jacksonville State had the 12th-best scoring offense, the 20th-best overall offense averaging 36 points per game, and the 3rd-ranked rushing offense averaging over 250 yards per game.
Smith runs a spread option offense much similar to the traditional spread offense that was run by Doege. Smith’s style incorporates more read options to use the athleticism of his playmakers to open up or “spread” the defense out
Marshall looks to keep the offense flowing as it heads into 2025 season, opening the year at Georgia on Aug. 30.
More updates will be provided as they are available.