The Thundering Herd has a new star in Chase Litton, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of the legendary quarterbacks who came before him.
By Keith Morehouse
HQ 94 | SUMMER 2016
It’s 10 a.m. on a Tuesday in early June. Do you know where your 20-year-old college student is? Lisa Litton could probably make an educated guess. Her son Chase — aka Marshall’s starting quarterback — has been up since 5:30 a.m. for an early weightlifting session. Now he’s decked out in his game uniform, sporting his brand new No. 1 jersey, well-coiffed hair and a ready smile. He’s working on his photo shoot game, this time for the cover of the Huntington Quarterly.
And so it goes when you’re the quarterback for the Herd. There are plenty of demands on your time. You have to try to give each task the attention it deserves, and audible when you need to.
“Even the photo shoot,” Litton says with a smile, “we’ve got to take that seriously. We’ve got to put everything toward this and make this the best one.”
If it seems he carries himself with an air of confidence these days, it’s not a miscalculation. Chase Litton came into his freshman season as the backup quarterback to Michael Birdsong. After an ineffective performance in a loss to Ohio, Birdsong ceded his spot to Litton. Litton, the 6-foot-5, 207-pounder from Tampa, Florida, was ready for his baptism as a starter against Norfolk State. On Sept. 19, 2015, he took the field at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium, a place where some great Marshall quarterbacks have indelibly carved their images into the brick façade. Litton quickly caught the attention of the fans, his teammates and his coaches when he completed 24 of 31 passes for 270 yards and became the first Marshall quarterback to throw four touchdowns in his starting debut.
Litton would go on to win his next six starts, making this quarterback thing look easier than it is. If there was ever a doubt that he was the newfound leader of the Herd’s offense, it was erased in Marshall’s overtime win against Kent State. He and the Herd were on the verge of an overtime loss — and there was plenty of sideline soul searching.
“I remember Davonte (Allen) coming to the sideline during the Kent State game,” Litton recalls, “and saying ‘Chase, play your game. Let’s write our story.’”
It wasn’t easy. The Golden Flashes had scored to make it 29-22, and Litton was staring at a fourth-and-goal from the Kent State 3-yard line. “Voice of the Herd” Steve Cotton on the game’s defining play:
“Marshall on fourth down and goal in overtime has to have a touchdown … Litton the freshman in the gun, Pittman set left of the quarterback … there’s the snap. Litton, flushed out of the pocket and rolling left, throws to the back of the end zone, and it’s a touchdown! Davonte Allen with a great catch. Barely a touchdown, and Marshall’s an extra point away from tying it up.”
Marshall did tie it up, and the Herd won it in double overtime 36-29.
Litton was beginning to write his story, which ended with another Marshall 10-win season. Doc Holliday had found himself a quarterback, with even better days ahead, he hopes.
“Chase has all the intangibles to be a great quarterback,” Holliday says. “He has the skill set and the qualities needed to lead our football team. Chase understands the responsibility of being the quarterback at Marshall and he embraces that responsibility.”
Still, Coach Holliday refuses to call 2015 a great season because Marshall, didn’t win the conference championship. Chase Litton and the head coach both read from the same playbook on their evaluation of the season:
“We know we want to win a conference title,” Litton says. “That’s our main goal — to bring a conference title back to Huntington. You can tell with each workout everyone’s buying in. We’re not satisfied with a 10-win season. We want to win conference, and we want to play in a New Year’s bowl.”
Even with the Herd’s three consecutive seasons with double-digit wins — the only team in the Group of 5 to achieve that — the national publications are a bit lukewarm on Marshall’s chances to win the league. Here’s the analysis in Lindy’s preseason magazine:
“Youth is the word for this year’s Herd, which seems to be pointing toward a better 2017. But there is more experience here than meets the eye, and this program is not interested in rebuilding seasons. The top of the east division is not easy — and the Herd plays contender Southern Mississippi from the west — but Marshall still has the talent for a 6-2 or 7-1 league mark.”
The expectations in this program aren’t for the faint of heart if you happen to play quarterback. Litton knows the faces on the Mount Rushmore of Marshall quarterbacks – and he knows they’re watching, from near and far.
“Obviously Marshall has a legacy of great quarterbacks — Michael Payton, Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, Rakeem Cato,” Litton says. “We know those guys before us are watching. We’re not going to go out there and get embarrassed, because we know everyone’s watching.”
Chad Pennington is watching, listening and sharing advice with Litton.
“I know he is really focused on becoming more consistent,” Pennington says of Litton. “He’s also focused on helping his team gel together to achieve great things. He knows they have the talent, but chemistry is the key. There’s no question he has the physical talent to be special. His greatest challenge will be contining to improve mentally to allow his physical talents to shine. Can he use his early success as a springboard to achieve greater things?”
It won’t be for lack of trying. Litton and his teammates are pushing themselves in the summer. Fall — and football season — has a way of sneaking up on you. Litton’s motto might be: seize the moment, use the day.
“You come in here (the Chris Cline Athletic Complex) late at night,” Litton says, “and there are guys running, catching balls, lifting weights. That’s good to see. I always say all work is easy work. If you don’t love doing this then there’s something wrong. Everybody on this team enjoys it. They love seeing improvements. They love seeing how good we can really be.”
It’s almost a wrap at the photo shoot, and Litton’s listening intently to photographer Rick Lee’s commands. He alternates serious looks with smiles and passes the time spinning the ball on his finger like a point guard with a basketball. Despite all this attention, he’s not brash enough to ever tell you he’s the face of this football team.
But the camera doesn’t lie.
