This is finally the year that Savon Smith gets to be the featured back, and with two seniors behind him we can expect the Spiders to have another balanced attack from this position group, all while expecting our #1 guy to take his game to another level.

Player Profiles

Savon Smith – https://richmondspiders.com/sports/football/roster/savon-smith/5753

Milan Howard – https://richmondspiders.com/sports/football/roster/milan-howard/5785

Dante Black – https://richmondspiders.com/sports/football/roster/dante-black/5705

Savon Smith

Wearing #2 for his senior season yet very much the #1 back for Richmond this year. Savon enters his final campaign coming off a six TD season that saw him catch three, run for two, and even throw for one. A career 5.0 ypc running back, Smith showed us his ability to cut on a dime in his freshman season and really started to make his mark during the COVID year. He enrolled at UR the year behind Aaron Dykes, so until now he’s never been the feature back. Between what he’s shown and getting a few starts with Dykes out via injury, it’s very clear that he’s ready to be a featured RB in this offense. He’ll be playing in his 40th game come the opener and has displayed his reliability in the backfield as well as on special teams.

An area I think we will continue to see Savon have success in is his pass catching ability, as 2022 saw Savon average 2.5 receptions a game. Billy Cosh made sure to get him his touches in a variety of ways, something I don’t imagine changing this year. I still think this is an offense that will value getting playmakers in space, so don’t be surprised for Smith’s touches to remain high in both the running and passing games. UR really struggled last year in terms of running back screens so I’m hoping that’s an area we take a step forward in 2023. Ensuring #2 is able to make his impact on each game will be a center point of our offensive game plan each week.

FBS Success

Before I jump down the depth chart, it’s worth mentioning the success Savon has had in FBS games – here are his box score numbers against Boston College (2019), Virginia Tech (2021), and UVA (2022):

Nearly six yards per touch, with over 80 yards and one TD per game on average. I don’t care if it’s only three games – putting up those numbers against FBS competition is no coincidence. Savon has all the talent you could ask for in a starting running back and here’s to hoping he picks up his fourth TD against FBS competition in a few weeks.

Senior depth

There’s plenty of positions on the UR roster that have a heavy senior presence, and running back is no exception. The second and third string backs are also both graduate students, as Milan Howard and Dante Black both return for a final year at UR. Howard entered the portal but ultimately couldn’t leave SpiderNation, while Black transferred in from UConn a few years ago. Both guys are coming off their first full healthy season at UR, with Howard getting in 12 games last season while Black appeared in 11. Despite the durability concerns I thought both played their roles extremely well. Howard is easily the hardest runner on the team, as he has a very downhill approach with no hesitation in hitting the hole. Black did a great job coming in and complimenting Savon’s quickness and shiftiness, as he also found success in both the running and passing game.

Neither Howard nor Black had stats that stood out in 2022, as Dykes and Smith got most of the action, but I think anyone who watched the games last year could see just how reliable and solid both are. As Spiders they have very few career touches, yet they’ve both been in this program long enough to play a valuable role in 2023. The flashes they showed last season are indication enough that this running back room is much more than just Savon Smith.

New additions

When your top three running backs are seniors it’s hard to not peak ahead to 2024 to see who’s left. Typically you’d think that would be a big concern but I’m betting Spiders fans will be pleasantly surprised with the younger Spiders at this position.

Fonnae Webb made headlines in October when he took his first collegiate carry for an 87 yard TD at Hampton. He was a high-school QB and operated the Spiders wildcat package for a few weeks in November. Despite only getting three touches all year it was clear he’s a more than viable option down the road.

The real excitement from the younger Spiders in the group comes in the two true freshmen, Jamaal Brown and Aziz Foster-Powell. Brown joins Richmond after choosing the Spiders over UNH, Army, Navy, Fordham, and multiple other CAA schools. The highly touted Pittsburgh running back also played linebacker in high school and you can really see that side to come out in his running style. Listed at 5′ 11″, 205 lbs, Brown excels in running between the tackles while also being a threat in the passing game. A really nice pickup for the Spiders here.

Aziz Foster-Powell will immediately be loved by Spiders fans as the recent Highland Springs Springer flipped his commitment late to ultimately end up at UR. The Springers have been a powerhouse in Virginia (five of the last eight state championships) and Foster-Powell was a large part of the success. 1st team All-Virginia, 1,300 yards, and 18 TDs on the ground. Listed at 5′ 9″, 215 lbs, Foster-Powell won’t be the fastest guy on the field but will give UR a pure power-back for the first time in a while. I won’t sit here in 2023 and predict how things will look in 2024 or 2025, however there’s real reason for optimism with the two running backs in this year’s class.

What I’m watching for

Savon is the feature, but how much of a feature back will he be? Dykes got 62% of the carries between he and Smith so I’m guessing we’ll see Savon get somewhere in the 65% range. Between coming off off-season surgery, returning punts, and having Howard/Black behind him, I doubt we see #2 take 70% of the carries this season. Likely difficult to tell too much on this during camp, but I’d expect Savon to get roughly 2/3 of the carries while Howard/Black split the other 1/3.

With a clear #1 back the only other thing I’ll keep my eye on is if we see a primary redzone or goal-line running back. Wouldn’t hate seeing Milan Howard get penciled into the role early on, as I think he could be the spark that ignites the UR offense in redzone and short yardage situations. The combination of Wickersham & Howard in the redzone would be a bruising one that no defense would enjoy lining up against.

One goal for 2023

Get an All-CAA selection. The last time UR had an All-CAA selection at the running back position was Jacobi Green in 2015. Between a more focused rushing attack, one of the best O-lines in the CAA, and Savon likely to grab a good majority of the touches, this is something that we quite frankly should expect from this team in 2023. The uncertainty around how exactly this offense will look makes it tricky to come up with too many statistical targets, however an All-CAA selection from a Richmond running back for the first time in eight years would be a nice sign for a program coming off a pass-happy 2022.

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2023 Position Group Overview – Linebackers