The Spiders essentially closed out their transfer portal window with multiple additions and added a few surprise names to the roster. With new numbers assigned it seems things are relatively final for 2023, with the staff’s local focus really starting to show this season.

Additions

No flashy announcements for the safety additions, as the first official word I saw online was the updated roster on the website. Either way, both Mikey Jarmolowich and Quantraill Morris-Walker are now officially Spiders and the safety room hasn’t looked this good in a LONG time. For the past five years it’s felt like a revolving door of trying to find two guys to fill the spots, with no real clear direction until last season. Now UR adds two established defensive players to compliment the mostly returning secondary and really remove any glaring weaknesses in this defensive group.

Mikey Jarmolowich – A very early target by this staff during portal season and the All-Patriot League safety will plug & play into this system very well. Playing most of his collegiate career at the strong safety spot (in the boundary), Jarmolowich will compliment Aaron Banks well as he’s an excellent tackler and has no problem playing in the box. I don’t think he necessarily starts ahead of Bryson Parker, which speaks to the depth of the safeties. Any other time since Russ has been here Jarmo would be a guaranteed starter but this group has finally found their footing, so how the rotations play out will be fun to watch this August.

Quantraill Morris-Walker – On the flip side Morris-Walker likely slides in as the #2 free safety as he spent a lot of time in the wide side of the field in coverage. He looks to be very skilled at playing the ball in the air and got plenty of experience against strong teams playing in the Big Sky. He faced playoff teams like Idaho, Weber St, Montana St., and a few others so finding a safety with multiple years of eligibility that has such strong experience is a high-level addition. Don’t see him jumping Banks but hard to leave a guy with his skillset on the sidelines for too long.

Other Additions

• Will McManus – Kicker – Previous school = Illinois | Good competition for Lopez here, and another FBS transfer for the Spiders. We won’t be a heavy FBS transfer team compared to other CAA schools but we don’t seem to be falling too far behind, which is a win for a school like Richmond.
• The freshmen class has ballooned to 21 total, with the addition of a few walk-ons and late signees. Really strong group and great to see we aren’t struggling to increase numbers.

Roster Breakdown

Despite massive turnover due to the extra COVID year we are only down two spots from 2022, which was one of our larger teams to begin with. The 2018 and 2019 seasons (pre-COVID) each had 83 players so ending up just shy of 90 after losing nearly double digit guys to the FBS/NFL level is incredibly encouraging.

Virginia presence

The other takeaway that stands out from the 2023 roster is that over 28% of the team is from the state of Virginia. When JMU left for the FBS it really felt like UR had to increase their VA presence, something that isn’t easy for us to keep up with compared to other schools (near $60k tuition with no in-state rate, higher academic standards, and smaller size). W&M will almost always have more in-state guys and walk-on help but for Richmond’s roster to be nearing 30% from Virginia is a great step in the direction. We’ve got three guys from local powerhouse Highland Springs and over a third of the freshmen class this year is from VA. Credit to the staff for having a plan and executing it these past few classes.

One other notable return

I can’t look through the full 2023 roster and not discuss the first man you see:

Fortunately this isn’t an instance where someone just forgot to update the roster from last season – Howard went portaling after the 2022 season completed but ultimately will return to the Spiders for one final show in 2023. Savon Smith remains the feature back but Howard showed just how valuable of a #2 back he can be to this team throughout last season. Dykes and Smith both had a little injury trouble last year and Howard took those snaps in stride, showing his ability to both run and catch the ball out of the backfield. I maintain he’s the hardest runner on this team and wouldn’t be shocked if he was featured in the redzone early on. Very excited to see Milan in a Spiders uniform for another season.

Next Post(s)

Just about seven weeks until camp, so here’s what will be posted leading up until then. Always open to suggestions and looking into any stats/trends you may think of or want to see – just let me know.

Late June – What changed in 2022 compared to prior years, and what needs to continue happening (and what still needs to improve) heading into 2023.

Early July – With four solid options at safety, along with what we saw this spring, how much more will we see the 4-2-5 this season? And based on the number of returning starters, just how high should our expectations for this defense be?

Late July – Season preview – Offense, Defense, Special Teams

August – Fall Camp begins w/ weekly updates and deep dives into each position (more detailed schedule later)