“Big Snack” is hungrier for more.

Latrobe graduate Trent Holler changed the course of his college football career last November when he left East Carolina for Marshall.

At the time, the hulking lineman whose nickname travels with him like a sidecar, said he was “excited to get going and help them win some championships.”

For now, he’ll settle for a bowl game.

Any team still playing around the holidays feels like they’re playing for a championship anyway, with one game left and nothing to lose. Holler is treating it like one.

The 6-foot-2, 311-pound redshirt sophomore will help lead the Thundering Herd (8-4) against UConn (6-6) in the Myrtle Beach Bowl at 2:30 p.m. Monday at Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C.

He sees this as a well-earned opportunity as the first of his three remaining years of eligibility comes to a close.

“This means a lot to me,” Holler said. “Because this is my first winning team I’ve been on my whole football career and will also be my first bowl game experience.”

Perhaps, quite literally, he could not have done it without the game-changing transfer portal, which essentially has given coaches a free-agent database of hundreds of players to recruit.

Holler did what every aspiring Division I prospect strives to do: Make it at an FBS program.

“The portal has helped me put my talents on film right away at a new school and to play at a high level,” Holler said. “And, most importantly, (compete for championships).”

The recipient of the team’s “Iron Man” award, Holler has started eight of the 12 games he has played in this season.

Marshall has a balanced offense that averages 205.6 yards rushing and 200.3 passing.

Holler has blocked for Khalan Laborn, a sixth-year running back who is 12th among all FBS rushers with 1,423 yards. He has 16 of the team’s 19 rushing touchdowns.

Holler made the move to the transfer portal already having a familiarity with Marshall. East Carolina played the Thundering Herd regularly.

Marshall lost to the Pirates in the third game of last season, 42-38.

“We beat them at the beginning of the season, so they already knew who I was,” Holler said.

A three-star prospect coming out of Latrobe, Holler had numerous Division I offers, including Pitt, West Virginia and even UConn.

He believes he found the best fit in Huntington, W.Va.

He feels a secure sense of belonging not only at Marshall but as an FBS lineman.

“The relationships I’ve made here just in the last year since I’ve gotten here have translated to the field with chemistry,” he said. “My confidence has always been that I could play and compete at this level, and I feel like it shows. There is much for me to work on everyday, so I would not say I’ve made it but have reached a goal of mine.”

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