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Zach Bryan Put On A Marshall Football Helmet & Tailgated With Fans Ahead Of His Huntington, WV Show This Weekend
Could have used him on the field.
Marshall University, which happens to be my alma mater (fun fact, I was also the mascot for the Herd back in the day…good times) opened their football season this past weekend in Athens, Georgia, taking on the #5-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. And…well, it wasn’t pretty.
As expected, the game wasn’t really close for our first-year coach after losing most of our team in the offseason, with Georgia beating the Thundering Herd 45-7. (But hey, at least we covered the spread).
But while the football team was on the road, Joan C. Edwards Stadium back in Huntington, West Virginia was gearing up to host its first ever concert as Zach Bryan made one of his few stops of 2025.
It looks like Zach was even ready to jump into the game, posting a picture during the blowout offering his services to the Herd.
And ahead of the sold-out concert, Zach even took some time to visit with the fans who were tailgating outside the stadium – while still wearing his kelly green football helmet.
@hollyaldridge0
Beautiful views in downtown Huntington WV #FYP #foryoupage #tiktokchallenge #viral #trending
♬ The Boys Are Back In Town – Thin Lizzy
@greatamericanbarscene
Let him play for the team #zachbryan #zachbryanconcert #marshallstadium
♬ original sound – greatamericanbarscene
@tuckwbt
So this just happened. Zach showed up at his dads tailgate while I was there. You kidding me!!!? #countrymusic #zachbryan #marshall #huntington
♬ Revival (Live From Knoxville) – Zach Bryan
While it’s his first time performing in Huntington, this wasn’t Zach’s first visit to Marshall. Last year, Zach attended our homecoming game against Appalachian State while one of his bandmates and background vocalists, Elijah Gastelum, performed the national anthem ahead of the contest.
@abbyyhanlon
your honor that is zach bryan at the homecoming college football game in my small WV town WILD #zachbryan #wv #music #marshallu #fyp
♬ original sound – Spedup Audios
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A post shared by The Parthenon (@muparthenon)
Seems like Zach is becoming quite the fan of the Thundering Herd. You love to see it.
The connections to Marshall don’t end there for Zach though. If you remember back in 2006, McConaughey starred as former Thundering Herd football coach Jack Lengyel in the movie We Are Marshall, which told the story of the 1970 plane crash that killed the school’s entire football team.
McConaughey recently announced that he would be going on the road for a book tour to promote his new project Poems & Prayers. The 55-year-old is following up his uberly popular and best seller Greenlights, which he released in late 2020. While that book was more anecdotal, this one is described to be a “faith-filled” collection of poetry and written prayer.
And ahead of the release of Poems & Prayers on September 16, the Oscar-winning actor is taking his book out on the road. McConaughey has already scheduled stops in Brooklyn, New York; Nashville, Tennessee; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Los Angeles, California and Austin, Texas. In a statement back in July, the movie star described his latest project as the following:
“Poems & Prayers is more than a book. It’s a memory — a place where we can rediscover what we’ve lost, celebrate what remains and maybe even leave behind what no longer serves us. I’ve always relied on logic to make sense of myself and the world.
A prescriptionist at heart, I’ve always looked to reason to find the rhyme, the practical to get to the mystical, the choreography to find the dance, the proof to get to the truth and reality to get to the dream.
I’ve been finding that tougher to do lately. It’s more than hard to know what to believe in; it’s hard to believe. But I don’t want to quit believing, and I don’t want to stop believing in humanity — you, myself our potential.”
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A post shared by Matthew McConaughey (@officiallymcconaughey)
Each stop along on Poems & Prayers book tour is advertised to include live music and spoken word performances. And for every date and location, Matthew McConaughey is set to be joined by a friend of his to help with the cross-country book tour.
Those special guests have slowly been revealed today, and it was announced that country music star Zach Bryan will be the one that joins McConaughey at the Tulsa, Oklahoma stop:
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A post shared by Matthew McConaughey (@officiallymcconaughey)
Bryan teaming up with McConaughey in Oklahoma only makes sense.
The pair have been friendly in the past, and have even collaborated on many different occasions. McConaughey and Bryan are both fans of one another, and have been happy to help each other when the opportunity has presented itself. Evidently, the movie star and author thought it’d be great to add an Oklahoma stop along his book tour, and Zach Bryan was the obvious choice to help out.
Though the music and spoken word performance portion of the book tour is still to be seen, it’s great to see Bryan and Matthew McConaughey working together again, as the movie star first helped out the country artist by starring in the memorable music video for his song “Nine Ball” back in 2024.
And it looks like Zach even watched his friend’s performance in We Are Marshall after the show.
Go Herd! We Are…The post Zach Bryan Put On A Marshall Football Helmet & Tailgated With Fans Ahead Of His Huntington, WV Show This Weekend first appeared on Whiskey Riff.