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
Passing touchdowns
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
Rushing touchdowns
Receiving
Receptions
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
Receiving touchdowns
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
Touchdowns responsible for "Touchdowns responsible for" is the official NCAA term for combined passing and rushing touchdowns.[ 22]
Defense
Interceptions
Tackles
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
Kicking
Field goals made
References
^ a b c "2015 Marshall Thundering Herd Record Book" (PDF) . HerdZone.com . Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016 .
^ "NCAA changes policy on football stats" . ESPN.com . AP. August 28, 2002. Retrieved August 20, 2016 .
^ a b c "Grant Wells" . ESPN.com .
^ a b c d GMAC Bowl
^ a b c "Litton with 2 TD passes; leads Marshall past Charlotte 34-10" . ESPN.com . October 31, 2015.
^ a b c d I-AA Playoff game
^ "Marshall comes back at Tulsa 45-34" . ESPN.com . November 14, 2013.
^ a b "Brandon Doughty's 8 TD passes, 2-point conversion sink Marshall" . ESPN.com . November 28, 2014.
^ "Litton throws 6 TD's, Marshall blasts Morgan St 62-0" . ESPN.com . September 10, 2016.
^ a b "Brenden Knox" . ESPN.com .
^ a b c d "Rasheen Ali" . ESPN.com .
^ a b "Khalan Laborn" . ESPN.com .
^ "No. 23 Marshall beats Florida Atlantic 35-16" . ESPN.com . October 25, 2014.
^ "Marshall vs. Florida Atlantic Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019 .
^ "Corey Gammage" . ESPN.com .
^ "Caleb TerBush throws 4 TDs, leads Purdue past Marshall" . ESPN.com . September 29, 2012.
^ "Rakeem Cato ties TD mark as Marshall wins Boca Raton Bowl" . ESPN.com . December 23, 2014.
^ Boca Raton Bowl
^ "Marshall at NC State boxscore" . ESPN.com . September 9, 2017.
^ MAC Championship Game
^ "2022 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved October 2, 2022 .
^ "2022 Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved October 2, 2022 .
^ a b "Micah Abraham" . ESPN.com .
^ a b "Mike Green" . ESPN.com .
^ "Individual Career History" (PDF) . HerdZone.com . Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016 .
^ "Koby Cumberlander" . ESPN.com .
^ "Owen Porter" . ESPN.com .
^ "Justin Rohrwasser" . ESPN.com .
^ "Marshall rallies past Louisiana Tech in Conference USA title game" . ESPN.com . December 6, 2014.
^ Conference USA Championship Game
^ "Marshall vs. Western Kentucky boxscore" . ESPN.com . October 26, 2019.
^ "Marshall vs. Old Dominion Box Score" . ESPN.com . November 5, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold