10 things you didn't know about South Alabama and Marshall

Every week before a game, the sports information staffs at both schools put together game notes — thick packets full of stats, rosters, history and stories about their players. The South Alabama and Marshall SID staffs produced a combined 79 pages for Tuesday's game. They're detailed, they're fascinating and almost nobody outside of the press box ever sees them. Honestly? A lot of media don't dig through them, either. We do. We went through every page of both sets of notes to find the most interesting things about the most interesting people on both sidelines. Here are 10 things you might not have known about Tuesday night's game.

1. Keenan Phillips rushed for 157 yards, scored four touchdowns and returned a kickoff 100 yards — in one game.

The junior running back went to Arkansas State on Oct. 8 and put together a stat line the game notes can barely contain. He rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns and took a kickoff back 100 yards for a fourth score, finishing with 264 all-purpose yards.

2. Marshall has three quarterbacks who have started Division I games — and one of them once played against Marshall.

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson started 10 games for the Thundering Herd last season. Khalil Wilkins made one start for West Virginia in 2025. And Zion Turner started 12 games for UConn in 2022, including against Marshall in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Turner then transferred to Jacksonville State before landing in Huntington. Gibson has not named a starter for Tuesday. All three are in the mix.

3. South Alabama has scored on its opening possession in five of six games this season.

The Jaguars scored touchdowns on their first drives against Southeastern Louisiana, Ohio, ULM and Arkansas State. They kicked a field goal on their opening drive at Tulane. The only opening possession that didn't produce points was at Kentucky. Whatever Major Applewhite is doing to get this offense ready to play from the first snap, it's working.

4. Javae Gilmore's fourth-down stop inside the 10-yard line preserved Marshall's win at Missouri State.

Marshall was clinging to a 30-24 lead in Springfield with under a minute left when Missouri State drove inside the Marshall 10-yard line. On fourth down, Gilmore swatted down a Skyler Locklear pass to preserve the win. Gibson afterward: "I'm just really proud of our kids for the way they finished. Defensively, we gave up way too much stuff, but we got tight when we needed to and held them out before the half with a blocked field goal, which ended up being really big, and then the goal-line stand at the end."

5. Damyrion Darby has intercepted passes in consecutive games.

The South Alabama cornerback picked off passes against ULM on Oct. 3 and at Arkansas State on Oct. 8 and now has three interceptions on the season, fourth nationally.

6. The 108,409 fans at Penn State were the most a Marshall team has ever played in front of.

The Thundering Herd opened the season with a 45-0 loss at No. 18 Penn State. The result was forgettable. The atmosphere was not. The crowd of 108,409 eclipsed the previous Marshall record of 106,520, set at Tennessee in 2003. That's a tough way to open a season.

7. The last time a South Alabama player scored a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game? Against Marshall.

La'Damian Webb did it on Nov. 18, 2023 — the only previous meeting between these two programs. South Alabama won 28-0 in Mobile. That is the entirety of the series history. Tuesday is the first trip to Huntington for the Jaguars.

8. Huntington native Zah Jackson made the biggest play of Marshall's first home game.

Marshall's 28-26 win over Middle Tennessee came down to a play from a local kid. Jackson, a Huntington native, stepped in front of a Roman Gagliano pass and returned the interception 54 yards to set up T.J. Lester's first touchdown with the Herd — a 2-yard run that made it 28-20. The 25,662 fans at Joan C. Edwards Stadium for the home opener got their money's worth that night.

9. Jared Hollins' 72-yard touchdown pass to Brendan Jenkins is the longest completion by a South Alabama player this season.

Hollins connected with Jenkins on the 72-yard strike against ULM on Oct. 3, clearing the 50, 60 and 70-yard thresholds on the same play. Hollins ranks fourth nationally in yards per completion (15.27) and 17th in yards per attempt (9.29). He does not throw the ball often, but when he does, it tends to go a long way.

10. Carlos Del Rio-Wilson holds the Marshall single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback.

Del Rio-Wilson ran for 660 yards on 160 attempts in 2025, breaking a record that had stood since Danny Wright ran for 652 yards on 195 carries in 1978. He also accounted for 23 total touchdowns — 17 passing and six rushing — after transferring from Syracuse. He is already fourth on Marshall's career quarterback rushing list with 878 yards.