Marshall Thundering Herd football statistical leaders

The Marshall Thundering Herd football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Marshall Thundering Herd football program in various categories, ^[1] including passing, rushing, receiving, total offense, defensive stats, and kicking. Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders. The Thundering Herd represent Marshall University in the NCAA Division I FBS Sun Belt Conference.

Although Marshall began competing in intercollegiate football in 1895, ^[1] the school's official record book considers the "modern era" to have begun in 1950. Records from before this year are often incomplete and inconsistent, and they are generally not included in these lists.

These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:

• Since 1950, seasons have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length.
• With the exception of the World War II years, freshmen were not allowed to play until the 1971 season in the aftermath of the crash of Southern Airways Flight 932. The NCAA allowed freshmen at all schools to start playing in 1972.
• Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002. ^[2] The Thundering Herd have played in seven bowl games since this decision, giving many recent players an extra game to accumulate statistics.
• Although bowl games were not counted toward single-season and career statistics until 2002, games in NCAA championship tournaments have always been included. This is relevant because Marshall had a very successful tenure in Division I-AA, now known as the Football Championship Subdivision. When Marshall first played at the I-AA level in 1982, the tournament involved 12 teams; it expanded to 16 teams in 1986, remaining at that size through Marshall's final I-AA season in 1996. The Herd were regularly involved in the division's championship tournament, advancing to the championship game seven times and winning it twice. Several single-season records date from this era.

These lists are updated through the end of the 2020 season.

Passing

Passing yards

Career Rk Player Yards Years 1 Rakeem Cato 14,079 2011 2012 2013 2014 2 Chad Pennington 13,143 1995 1997 1998 1999 3 Byron Leftwich 11,903 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 4 Michael Payton 9,411 1989 1990 1991 1992 5 Chase Litton 8,335 2015 2016 2017 6 Todd Donnan 7,050 1991 1992 1993 1994 7 John Gregory 7,020 1986 1987 1988 1989 8 Carl Fodor 6,655 1982 1983 1984 1985 9 Tony Petersen 6,501 1986 1987 10 Grant Wells 5,623 [3] 2019 2020 2021

Single season Rk Player Yards Year 1 Tony Petersen 4,902 1987 2 Byron Leftwich 4,268 2002 3 Rakeem Cato 4,201 2012 4 Byron Leftwich 4,132 2001 5 Rakeem Cato 3,916 2013 6 Rakeem Cato 3,903 2014 7 Chad Pennington 3,799 1999 8 Michael Payton 3,610 1992 9 Grant Wells 3,532 [3] 2021 10 Chad Pennington 3,480 1997

Single game Rk Player Yards Year Opponent 1 Byron Leftwich 576 2001 East Carolina [4] 2 Michael Payton 496 1991 VMI 3 Chase Litton 486 [5] 2015 Charlotte 4 Tony Petersen 481 1987 Western Carolina 5 Tony Petersen 474 1987 Northeast Louisiana [6] 6 Byron Leftwich 471 2001 Central Michigan 7 Byron Leftwich 469 2002 Appalachian State 8 Rakeem Cato 456 [7] 2013 Tulsa 9 Byron Leftwich 455 2001 Buffalo 10 Eric Kresser 449 1996 Delaware

Passing touchdowns

Career Rk Player TDs Years 1 Rakeem Cato 131 2011 2012 2013 2014 2 Chad Pennington 115 1995 1997 1998 1999 3 Byron Leftwich 89 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 4 Chase Litton 72 2015 2016 2017 5 Michael Payton 69 1989 1990 1991 1992 6 Todd Donnan 61 1991 1992 1993 1994 7 John Gregory 51 1986 1987 1988 1989 8 Tony Petersen 43 1986 1987 9 Carl Fodor 39 1982 1983 1984 1985 10 Stan Hill 38 2001 2002 2003 2004

Single season Rk Player TDs Year 1 Rakeem Cato 40 2014 2 Chad Pennington 39 1997 Rakeem Cato 39 2013 4 Byron Leftwich 38 2001 5 Chad Pennington 37 1999 Rakeem Cato 37 2012 7 Tony Petersen 35 1987 Eric Kresser 35 1996 9 Todd Donnan 33 1994 10 Michael Payton 31 1992

Single game Rk Player TDs Year Opponent 1 Rakeem Cato 7 [8] 2014 Western Kentucky 2 Byron Leftwich 6 2001 Ohio Chase Litton 6 [9] 2016 Morgan State

Rushing

Complete yardage totals for Jackie Hunt and John Zontini are not available because such specific statistics were not always kept back then. However, the Marshall record book estimates career totals for them and includes them in the official career rushing yards list. ^[1]

Rushing yards

Career Rk Player Yards Years 1 Chris Parker 5,924 1992 1993 1994 1995 2 Doug Chapman 4,016 1996 1997 1998 1999 3 Ron Darby 3,903 1986 1987 1988 1989 4 Jackie Hunt 3,900 1939 1940 1941 5 Ahmad Bradshaw 2,982 2004 2005 2006 6 John Zontini 2,900 1931 1932 1933 1934 7 Darius Marshall 2,857 2007 2008 2009 2010 8 Brenden Knox 2,852 [10] 2018 2019 2020 9 Rasheen Ali 2,831 [11] 2020 2021 2022 2023 10 Glenn Pedro 2,724 1990 1991 1992 1993

Single season Rk Player Yards Year 1 Chris Parker 1,833 1995 2 Devon Johnson 1,767 2014 3 Chris Parker 1,750 1993 4 Chris Parker 1,728 1994 5 Ahmad Bradshaw 1,523 2006 6 Khalan Laborn 1,513 [12] 2022 7 Ron Darby 1,506 1987 8 Rasheen Ali 1,401 [11] 2021 9 Brenden Knox 1,387 [10] 2019 10 Erik Thomas 1,296 1996

Single game Rk Player Yards Year Opponent 1 Devon Johnson 272 [13] 2014 Florida Atlantic 2 Ron Darby 262 1988 Western Carolina 3 Ahmad Bradshaw 261 2006 UTEP 4 Larry Fourqurean 245 1981 Appalachian State 5 Ahmad Bradshaw 242 2006 UAB 6 Steward Butler 233 2014 Western Kentucky 7 Jack Mahone 224 1963 Ken State 8 Brenden Knox 220 [14] 2019 Florida Atlantic 9 Ron Lear 218 1979 Furman 10 Chris Parker 209 1993 Chattanooga

Rushing touchdowns

Career Rk Player TDs Years 1 Chris Parker 68 1992 1993 1994 1995 2 Doug Chapman 52 1996 1997 1998 1999 3 Jackie Hunt 43 1939 1940 1941 4 Tom Stark 41 1927 1928 1929 1930 5 Rasheen Ali 39 [11] 2020 2021 2022 2023 6 Ron Darby 38 1986 1987 1988 1989 7 Glenn Pedro 31 1990 1991 1992 1993 Ahmad Bradshaw 31 2004 2005 2006 9 Franklin Wallace 29 2000 2001 2002 2003 10 John Zontini 27 1931 1932 1933 1934

Single season Rk Player TDs Year 1 Jackie Hunt 27 1940 2 Chris Parker 23 1993 Chris Parker 23 1994 Rasheen Ali 23 [11] 2021 5 Ahmad Bradshaw 19 2006 6 Chris Parker 18 1995 7 Devon Johnson 17 2014 8 Mickey Jackson 16 1965 Ron Darby 16 1987 Ron Darby 16 1988 Khalan Laborn 16 [12] 2022

Single game Rk Player TDs Year Opponent 1 Jackie Hunt 5 1940 Detroit Tech Ahmad Bradshaw 5 2006 UTEP

Receiving

Receptions

Career Rk Player Rec Years 1 Tommy Shuler 322 2011 2012 2013 2014 2 Josh Davis 306 2001 2002 2003 2004 3 Darius Watts 272 2000 2001 2002 2003 4 Mike Barber 249 1985 1986 1987 1988 5 Tim Martin 221 1993 1994 1995 1996 6 Nate Poole 212 1997 1998 1999 2000 7 Cody Slate 199 2006 2007 2008 2009 8 Corey Gammage 178 [15] 2019 2020 2021 2022 9 Ricky Carter 176 1992 1993 1994 1995 10 John "Fuzzy" Filliez 168 1973 1974 1975 1976 Randy Moss 168 1996 1997

Single season Rk Player Rec Year 1 Tommy Shuler 110 2012 2 Mike Barber 106 1987 Tommy Shuler 106 2013 4 Troy Brown 101 1992 5 Sean Doctor 96 1987 6 Tommy Shuler 92 2014 7 Darius Watts 91 2001 8 Randy Moss 90 1997 9 Denero Marriott 86 2002 Josh Davis 86 2004

Single game Rk Player Rec Year Opponent 1 Tommy Shuler 19 [16] 2012 Purdue 2 Tommy Shuler 18 [17] 2014 Northern Illinois [18] 3 David Foye 15 2000 Kent State Denero Marriott 15 2001 East Carolina [4] Josh Davis 15 2001 Akron 6 Mike Barber 14 1987 Western Carolina Tommy Shuler 14 2012 East Carolina 8 Randy Clarkson 13 1985 Ohio Randy Moss 13 1997 Ball State Antavious Wilson 13 2009 Southern Miss

Receiving yards

Career Rk Player Yards Years 1 Mike Barber 4,262 1985 1986 1987 1988 2 Darius Watts 4,031 2000 2001 2002 2003 3 Josh Davis 3,889 2001 2002 2003 2004 4 Tommy Shuler 3,563 2011 2012 2013 2014 5 Randy Moss 3,467 1996 1997 6 Tim Martin 2,886 1993 1994 1995 1996 7 Nate Poole 2,775 1997 1998 1999 8 Troy Brown 2,746 1991 1992 9 Cody Slate 2,619 2006 2007 2008 2009 10 Aaron Dobson 2,398 2009 2010 2011 2012

Single season Rk Player Yards Year 1 Mike Barber 1,757 1987 2 Randy Moss 1,709 1996 3 Troy Brown 1,654 1992 4 Randy Moss 1,647 1997 5 Darius Watts 1,417 2001 6 Sean Doctor 1,372 1987 7 Mike Barber 1,325 1988 8 Brian Dowler 1,197 1991 9 Josh Davis 1,191 2002 10 Mike Barber 1,180 1986

Single game Rk Player Yards Year Opponent 1 Randy Moss 288 1996 Delaware [6] 2 Josh Davis 264 2002 Appalachian State 3 Andre Motley 262 1990 Chattanooga 4 Troy Brown 248 1991 VMI Tyre Brady 248 [19] 2017 NC State 6 Denero Marriott 234 2001 East Carolina [4] 7 Davonte Allen 232 [5] 2015 Charlotte 8 Mike Barber 222 1988 East Tennessee State 9 Randy Moss 220 1996 Montana [6] 10 Randy Moss 216 1997 Kent State

Receiving touchdowns

Career Rk Player TDs Years 1 Randy Moss 53 1996 1997 2 Darius Watts 47 2000 2001 2002 2003 3 Gator Hoskins 28 2010 2011 2012 2013 4 Mike Barber 26 1985 1986 1987 1988 5 Tommy Shuler 25 2011 2012 2013 2014 6 Troy Brown 24 1991 1992 1993 1994 Aaron Dobson 24 2009 2010 2011 2012 8 Tim Martin 23 1993 1994 1995 Josh Davis 23 2001 2002 2003 2004 Cody Slate 23 2006 2007 2008 2009

Single season Rk Player TDs Year 1 Randy Moss 28 1996 2 Randy Moss 25 1997 3 Darius Watts 18 2001 4 Troy Brown 16 1992 5 Gator Hoskins 15 2013 6 Brian Dowler 13 1991 James Williams 13 1999 8 Keith Baxter 12 1987 Darius Watts 12 2002 Aaron Dobson 12 2011

Single game Rk Player TDs Year Opponent 1 Randy Moss 5 1997 Ball State 2 Randy Moss 4 1996 Montana [6] Denero Marriott 4 2001 Toledo [20]

Total offense

Total offense is the sum of passing and rushing statistics. It does not include receiving or returns. ^[21]

Total offense yards

Career Rk Player Yards Years 1 Rakeem Cato 14,918 2011 2012 2013 2014 2 Chad Pennington 13,048 1995 1997 1998 1999 3 Byron Leftwich 12,084 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 4 Michael Payton 9,704 1989 1990 1991 1992 5 Todd Donnan 7,057 1991 1992 1993 1994 6 John Gregory 6,720 1986 1987 1988 1989 7 Bernard Morris 6,705 2004 2005 2006 2007 8 Carl Fodor 6,377 1982 1983 1984 1985 9 Tony Petersen 6,268 1986 1987 10 Chris Parker 5,924 1992 1993 1994 1995

Single season Rk Player Yards Year 1 Tony Petersen 4,737 1987 2 Rakeem Cato 4,385 2014 3 Byron Leftwich 4,267 2002 4 Rakeem Cato 4,232 2012 5 Byron Leftwich 4,224 2001 6 Rakeem Cato 4,210 2013 7 Chad Pennington 3,902 1999 8 Michael Payton 3,744 1992 9 Bernard Morris 3,637 2007 10 Grant Wells 3,588 [3] 2021

Single game Rk Player Yards Year Opponent 1 Byron Leftwich 566 2001 East Carolina [4] 2 Chase Litton 497 [5] 2015 Charlotte 3 Byron Leftwich 495 2001 Central Michigan

Touchdowns responsible for

"Touchdowns responsible for" is the official NCAA term for combined passing and rushing touchdowns. ^[22]

Career Rk Player TDs Years 1 Rakeem Cato 146 2011 2012 2013 2014

Single season Rk Player TDs Year 1 Rakeem Cato 48 2014 2 Rakeem Cato 45 2013 3 Byron Leftwich 40 2001 4 Rakeem Cato 38 2012 5 Tony Petersen 36 1987 Eric Kresser 36 1996 7 Michael Payton 35 1992 8 Todd Donnan 34 1994 9 Byron Leftwich 33 2002 10 Michael Payton 28 1991

Single game Rk Player TDs Year Opponent 1 Rakeem Cato 7 [8] 2014 Western Kentucky

Defense

Interceptions

Career Rk Player Ints Years 1 Reggie Giles 19 1985 1986 1987 1988 2 Larry Coyer 13 1962 1963 1964 Joe Chirico 13 1990 1991 1992 Danny Derricott 13 1997 1998 1999 2000 5 Melvin Cunningham 12 1993 1994 1995 1996 Micah Abraham 12 [23] 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 7 Shannon Morrison 11 1991 1992 1993 1994 Rogers Beckett 11 1996 1997 1998 1999 9 Glenn Bates 10 1982 1983 Von Woodson 10 1986 1987 1988 1989 Mark Snyder 10 1987 Jayson Grayson 10 1993 1994 1995

Single season Rk Player Ints Year 1 Mark Snyder 10 1987 2 Reggie Giles 8 1986 3 Reggie Giles 7 1987 4 Von Woodson 6 1988 Shannon Morrison 6 1994 Danny Derricott 6 1998 Chris Royal 6 2004 Micah Abraham 6 [23] 2022

Single game Rk Player Ints Year Opponent 1 Jackie Hunt 3 1941 Wake Forest George Barlow 3 1989 East Tennessee State Joe Chirico 3 1990 Appalachian State

Tackles

Career Rk Player Tackles Years 1 Roger Johnson 548 1991 1992 1993 1994 2 Bill Yanossy 471 1973 1974 1975 1976 3 Larry McCloud 451 1994 1995 1996 1997 4 William King 443 1990 1991 1992 1993 5 Mario Harvey 420 2007 2008 2009 2010 6 Donahue Stephenson 420 1990 1991 1992 1993 7 John Grace 414 1996 1997 1998 1999 8 Shannon King 409 1990 1991 1992 1993 9 John Spellacy 392 1985 1986 1987 1988 10 Max Yates 382 1998 1999 2000 2001

Single season Rk Player Tackles Year 1 John Spellacy 189 1987 2 William King 178 1993 3 Duran Smith 160 2002 4 Max Yates 159 2001 5 Bill Yanossy 157 1974

Single game Rk Player Tackles Year Opponent 1 Charles Henry 30 1972 Miami (Ohio)

Sacks

Career Rk Player Sacks Years 1 B. J. Cohen 51.0 1994 1995 1996 1997 2 Billy Lyon 30.0 1993 1994 1995 1996 3 Johnathan Goddard 27.5 2001 2002 2003 2004 4 Vinny Curry 26.5 2008 2009 2010 2011 5 Cecil Fletcher 23.0 1985 1986 1987 John Duncan 23.0 1993 1994 1995 1996 7 Albert McClellan 20.0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 8 Jamus Martin 19.5 2001 2002 2003 2004 9 Gary Thompson 19.0 [24] 2013 2014 2015 2016 Koby Cumberlander 19.0 [25] 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Owen Porter 19.0 [26] 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Single season Rk Player Sacks Year 1 Cecil Fletcher 17.0 1987 2 B. J. Cohen 16.0 1995 Johnathan Goddard 16.0 2004 4 Tony Bolland 14.0 1987 5 B. J. Cohen 13.0 1997

Single game Rk Player Sacks Year Opponent 1 Johnathan Goddard 4.0 2004 Miami (Ohio)

Kicking

Field goals made

Career Rk Player FGs Years 1 Dewey Klein 54 1988 1989 1990 1991

Single season Rk Player FGs Year 1 Dewey Klein 19 1988 David Merrick 19 1993 Tim Openlander 19 1995 4 Nick Smith 18 2015 Justin Rohrwasser 18 [27] 2019 6 Justin Haig 17 2014

Single game Rk Player FGs Year Opponent 1 David Merrick 4 1993 East Tennessee State Tim Openlander 4 1995 The Citadel Billy Malashevich 4 1999 Miami (Ohio) Justin Haig 4 [28] 2014 Louisiana Tech [29] Justin Rohrwasser 4 [30] 2019 Western Kentucky Rece Verhoff 4 [31] 2022 Old Dominion

References

1. "2015 Marshall Thundering Herd Record Book" (PDF). HerdZone.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
2. "NCAA changes policy on football stats". ESPN.com. AP. 2002-08-28. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
3. "Grant Wells". ESPN.com.
4. GMAC Bowl
5. "Litton with 2 TD passes; leads Marshall past Charlotte 34-10". ESPN.com. 2015-10-31.
6. I-AA Playoff game
7. "Marshall comes back at Tulsa 45-34". ESPN.com. 2013-11-14.
8. "Brandon Doughty's 8 TD passes, 2-point conversion sink Marshall". ESPN.com. 2014-11-28.
9. "Litton throws 6 TD's, Marshall blasts Morgan St 62-0". ESPN.com. 2016-09-10.
10. "Brenden Knox". ESPN.com.
11. "Rasheen Ali". ESPN.com.
12. "Khalan Laborn". ESPN.com.
13. "No. 23 Marshall beats Florida Atlantic 35-16". ESPN.com. 2014-10-25.
14. "Marshall vs. Florida Atlantic Box Score". ESPN.com. October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
15. "Corey Gammage". ESPN.com.
16. "Caleb TerBush throws 4 TDs, leads Purdue past Marshall". ESPN.com. 2012-09-29.
17. "Rakeem Cato ties TD mark as Marshall wins Boca Raton Bowl". ESPN.com. 2014-12-23.
18. Boca Raton Bowl
19. "Marshall at NC State boxscore". ESPN.com. 2017-09-09.
20. MAC Championship Game
21. "2022 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF). NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
22. "2022 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF). NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
23. "Micah Abraham". ESPN.com.
24. "Individual Career History" (PDF). HerdZone.com. Retrieved 2016-12-10.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
25. "Koby Cumberlander". ESPN.com.
26. "Owen Porter". ESPN.com.
27. "Justin Rohrwasser". ESPN.com.
28. "Marshall rallies past Louisiana Tech in Conference USA title game". ESPN.com. 2014-12-06.
29. Conference USA Championship Game
30. "Marshall vs. Western Kentucky boxscore". ESPN.com. 2019-10-26.
31. "Marshall vs. Old Dominion Box Score". ESPN.com. November 5, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022.