Charles Huff (American football)

Last updated

Charles Huff
Current position
Title Head coach
Team Southern Miss
Conference Sun Belt
Record0–0
Biographical details
Born (1983-04-26) April 26, 1983 (age 41)
Denton, Maryland, U.S.
Playing career
2001–2005 Hampton
Position(s) Fullback, tight end, guard, center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2006 Tennessee State (OL)
2007–2008Tennessee State (TE/ST)
2009 Maryland (asst. OL)
2010 Hampton (OL/RGC)
2011 Vanderbilt (OQC)
2012 Buffalo Bills (asst. RB)
2013 Western Michigan (RB)
2014–2017 Penn State (RB/ST)
2018 Mississippi State (AHC/RGC/RB)
2019–2020 Alabama (AHC/RB)
2021–2024 Marshall
2025–present Southern Miss
Head coaching record
Overall32–20
Bowls1–2
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 Sun Belt (2024)
1 Sun Belt East Division (2024)

Charles Huff Jr. (born April 26, 1983) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Southern Mississippi, a position he has held since December 8, 2024. Prior to Southern Miss, he was the head coach at Marshall University from 2021 to 2024 and the associate head coach and running backs coach at the University of Alabama. Additionally, he had coaching stints at Mississippi State and Penn State and has gained the reputation of being one of the top recruiters in college football. [1]

Contents

Playing career

Huff played at Hampton University, joining the football team as a walk-on fullback. [2] In addition to fullback, he also spent time at tight end and guard before being named the starting center. He was named a team captain his senior season in addition to being the starting center.

Coaching career

Huff got his first coaching job at Tennessee State in 2006 working under Tigers offensive coordinator Fred Kaiss, who he played under at Hampton. He was named the tight ends and special teams coach in 2007, and also added football operations duties as well. He left to join the coaching staff at Maryland as the assistant offensive line coach in 2009, before joining his alma mater Hampton in 2010 as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator. He spent 2011 as an offensive quality control coach at Vanderbilt under first-year Commodores head coach and former Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin. He spent 2012 with the Buffalo Bills as their assistant running backs coach under head coach Chan Gailey before joining the coaching staff at Western Michigan in 2013 as their running backs coach under first year head coach P. J. Fleck. [3]

Penn State

Huff was named the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Penn State in 2014, reuniting with James Franklin, who was the offensive coordinator at Maryland when Huff was the assistant offensive line coach. [4] During his time at Penn State, he played a crucial role in the recruitment and development of running back Saquon Barkley, who was named a consensus All-American, 2× Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, and left as one of the program's top running backs of all time. [5]

Mississippi State

Huff joined the coaching staff at Mississippi State in 2018, the first hire of new Bulldogs head coach and former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. [6] In his lone season at Starkville, their running backs ran the ball 253 times, and did not lose a fumble once. [7]

Alabama

Huff was named the associate head coach and running backs coach at Alabama in 2019. [8] At Alabama, Huff was the position coach for Najee Harris, who was named the 2020 Doak Walker Award [9] for the best running back in the nation en route to Alabama's 18th National Championship. [10]

Marshall

Huff was hired as the head coach at Marshall in 2021, replacing Doc Holliday. [11] On September 10, 2022, Huff led Marshall to their second all-time victory over a top-10 opponent after defeating the No. 8-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish 26–21 in South Bend, Indiana. [12] Huff earned his first bowl win as a head coach in the 2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl against the UConn Huskies 28–14. [13] In 2024, Huff led the Thundering Herd to their first Sun Belt crown ever and their first conference championship for any league in ten years.

Southern Miss

Despite winning the Sun Belt in his final contract year at Marshall, the two parties failed to reach an agreement on an extension leading to Huff's departure. On December 8, 2024, Huff was named the head coach at fellow Sun Belt Conference member, Southern Miss. [14]

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffs
Marshall Thundering Herd (Conference USA)(2021)
2021 Marshall 7–65–3T–2nd (East)L New Orleans
Marshall Thundering Herd (Sun Belt Conference)(2022–2024)
2022 Marshall 9–45–33rd (East)W Myrtle Beach
2023 Marshall 6–73–5T–5th (East)L Frisco
2024 Marshall 10–37–11st (East) Independence [a]
Marshall:32–2020–12
Southern Miss Golden Eagles (Sun Belt Conference)(2025–present)
2025 Southern Miss 0–00–0
Southern Miss:0–00–0
Total:32–20
      National championship        Conference title        Conference division title or championship game berth
  1. ↑ Huff left for Southern Miss before Marshall's bowl game. Marshall also subsequently withdrew from the bowl game after losing over two dozen players to the transfer portal.

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References

  1. ↑ "Alabama's Charles Huff becomes nation's No. 1 CFB recruiter". USA Today. July 2, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  2. ↑ "GAME DAY: Alabama's Charles Huff a college coach on the rise". Tuscaloosanews.com. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Fleck Finalizes Coaching Staff". Western Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  4. ↑ "WMU football assistant coach Charles Huff has left to join Penn State staff". mlive. January 17, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  5. ↑ "What makes Alabama's Charles Huff the No. 1 recruiter in college football". The Athletic. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Huff finds a good situation in Starkville". Daily Journal. March 5, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Mississippi State running backs coach Charles Huff to join Alabama's staff". Mississippi Clarion Ledger. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Reports: Alabama set to add Charles Huff to offensive staff". Chattanooga Times Free Press. January 21, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  9. ↑ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/walker.html
  10. ↑ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2021-01-11-alabama.html
  11. ↑ "Sources: Alabama assistant Charles Huff set to be hired as Marshall's new football coach". ESPN. January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  12. ↑ Cooper, Sam (September 10, 2022). "No. 8 Notre Dame upset 26-21 by Marshall, still winless in Marcus Freeman era". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  13. ↑ Walsh, David (December 19, 2022). "Marshall builds big first-half lead, holds off UConn for 28-14 victory in Myrtle Beach Bowl". WV Metro News. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Charles Huff Named 23rd Head Football Coach". Southern Miss Golden Eagles. December 8, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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