New Memphis football head coach Charles Huff brings a resume of recruiting, coaching and player development that should make Memphis fans feel optimistic about the future.
Charles Huff is known firstly for his recruiting skills. He worked as the running backs coach for Penn State and helped recruit NFL superstar Saquan Barkley to the team. Barkley was selected 2nd overall in the NFL draft and had high praises for Huff on NFL draft day in 2018.
“Those two guys right there helped shape me more as a player, helped shape me as a man and got me ready for this experience,” Barkley said about former Penn State head coach James Franklin and new Memphis head coach Charles Huff.
After this, Huff became an associate head coach and running backs coach at Alabama. He played a large part in Alabama’s recruiting in 2021 when they got the highest ranked recruiting class of all time. He was given the National Recruiter of the Year award for this.
While coaching at Alabama, Huff helped produce another running back drafted to the NFL in the first round, Najee Harris. In 2020, Harris was an All-American while rushing for 1,466 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Huff cemented his place in football at Alabama where he learned under legendary coach Nick Saban.
“And when you look at the Alabama program, the one thing that a lot of people will recognize is the sustained success. And coach Saban has instilled that in me, of how to sustain success,” Huff said.
Huff left to be the head coach for Marshall in 2021. He got the top ranked recruiting class in the Sun Belt in 2022, and it was 57th in the country, ahead of multiple power-4 schools. Huff had a good but inconsistent stretch at Marshall. This is highlighted by two games in 2022. In week two Marshall played at No. 8 Notre Dame and beat them, then lost the next week to Bowling Green.
In 2024, Huff got Marshall over the hump and won the Sun Belt championship with a 10-3 record. Despite this, Huff and the program mutually parted ways just a day after the game because of a contract dispute.
In 2025, Huff became the head coach of Southern Miss and took advantage of the transfer portal, bringing many of his players from Marshall with him. It was the top ranked transfer class in the Sun Belt, and he turned the team around from a 1-11 record in 2024 to 7-5 in 2025. This season was also marked with inconsistencies though. The team was 7-2 and was competing for a Sun Belt title but lost their last three games.
Despite these inconsistencies, Charles Huff was well-liked by his players. After a disappointing loss to Texas State last year, Charles Huff took full responsibility.
“That’s why you got to respect coach Huff as a coach,” said Chris Jones, Southern Miss safety. “That's what a head coach does.”
Huff will quickly have to put his recruiting talents to work. Memphis currently has the second-best recruiting class in the American conference for 2026 and has many unknowns. Some players could go with Silverfield to Arkansas, and Huff might bring some players from Southern Miss with him to Memphis.
Huff’s track record should give Memphis fans confidence that he has what it takes to get this program to a conference championship and compete for a playoff spot for years to come.
“He puts his players in situations where they’ll be successful, and they love playing for him,” said hall of fame coach Nick Saban. “I’m confident the Memphis community will love him just as much.”
