Marshall Faulk isn’t interested in making Trey Holly comfortable.
The Southern coach wants his star running back to become uncomfortable — because he believes that’s what it will take for Holly to turn himself from one of the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s best running backs into an NFL prospect.
Faulk’s blunt approach toward Holly has already been evident this offseason. At one point, the Pro Football Hall of Famer challenged Holly to get into better shape. Holly also did not start Southern’s season opener against Alabama State for disciplinary reasons.
But Faulk insists the criticism isn’t personal. It’s preparation.
“The truth sometimes sparks a little sensitivity to where we feel like it’s criticism,” Faulk said on Tuesday during the SWAC coaches media availability. “I just told Trey if he wants it — Trey don’t want to be good, he wants to be great, and he wants to play on Sundays.”
That distinction is at the center of Faulk’s expectations for Holly.
Holly entered 2026 as one of the SWAC’s premier returning offensive players after a breakout 2025 season. He led Southern in rushing, finishing with 169 carries for 869 yards and nine touchdowns in 11 games, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. He also caught 15 passes for 126 yards. Southern named him to the 2026 preseason All-SWAC team.
He showed his explosiveness immediately last season, rushing for 119 yards and a touchdown on only 10 carries against North Carolina Central in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. He also had three 100-yard rushing games during the season.
Through two games this season, Holly has rushed 36 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns, while adding five receptions for 43 yards.
His second game provided the kind of performance Faulk wants to see more consistently.
After carrying 15 times for 38 yards in the season-opening loss to Alabama State, Holly responded against Kentucky State with 21 carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns as Southern earned Faulk his first victory as a college head coach.
“I don’t consider it a breakout game,” Holly said after the game. “ Something I’ve been doing my whole life.”
For Faulk, however, the numbers are only part of the evaluation.
The former NFL star wants Holly to master the plays that don’t necessarily show up in a highlight reel.
“I’m not just telling him how to be a good HBCU back,” Faulk said. “I’m telling him how to get to the next level and the things that he’s going to have to work on in order to be a professional football.”
That means running effectively when the blocking is imperfect.
Faulk sees Holly as a “waymaker,” a back capable of creating something when a play breaks down. But he wants him to embrace the less glamorous carries — the 2-yard, 3-yard and 4-yard runs that keep an offense ahead of the chains.
“It’s easy when there’s holes,” Faulk said. “That’s easy. When you got to do the dirty work, when you got to get the dirty two, the dirty three to keep us in second-and-seven, second-and-six, second-and-eight, so we’re not second-and-10 — that’s what I want to see from you.”
Faulk isn’t evaluating Holly simply on whether he can dominate at the HBCU level. He’s trying to prepare him for what comes next.
“When you get hit behind the line of scrimmage and we’re at second-and-10, I want to see those things from you,” Faulk said. “Those are the hidden yards. Those are the things that people — they’re not going to celebrate you about, but they make a difference to this team.”
Holly’s talent isn’t in question.
Now Faulk wants to turn that talent into something bigger.
