Back in 2021, Marshall football landed a commitment from the son of a program legend when three-star prospect Cole Pennington announced his intent to play for the Thundering Herd. If you cannot tell by the name, Pennington is the son of former Marshall and 11-year NFL veteran QB Chad Pennington.
Cole chose Marshall over offers from Akron and Ball State, among others.
The 6-foot-3, 212-pound redshirt freshman quarterback got his first start last week and took some sound advice from his father.
The youngster listened well as he completed 15 of 20 passes for 201 yards and threw one interception. The biggest moment of the game was Pennington recovering two fumbles on the same crucial drive in the fourth quarter that would win the game for them.
Pennington helped snap Marshall’s five-game losing streak with a solid performance. The Marshall football team got back in the win column for the first time since September with a 38-33 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday night at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
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Also helping out in this game were his teammates.
Jayden Harrison returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown while Rasheen Ali had 163 yards rushing and ran for three second-half TDs.
If nothing else, landing the son of an all-time great at Marshall should enthuse the Thundering Herd fan base. Chad Pennington, who is the coach for his son’s high school team at Sayre School in Lexington, played for Marshall from 1995-99 and quarterbacked the team during its successful transition from the FCS to FBS level.
Pennington played in the NFL from 2000-10, covering stints with the Jets and Dolphins after being selected with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.
