Gone are LeRoy Henley and Jakob Herres, and with Jasiah Williams also out there’s a good amount of change in the receiver room this year. While the staff sorts through the options to fill those positions one thing that won’t change is Nick DeGennaro, who is set to be the Spiders top receiver in 2023 and expand his role in this offense.

Player Profiles

Nick DeGennaro – https://richmondspiders.com/sports/football/roster/nick-degennaro/5716

Ja’Vion Griffin – https://richmondspiders.com/sports/football/roster/ja-vion-griffin/5729

Jerry Garcia Jr. – https://richmondspiders.com/sports/football/roster/jerry-garcia-jr-/5724

Quanye Veney – https://richmondspiders.com/sports/football/roster/quanye-veney/5761

Isaiah Wilson – https://richmondspiders.com/sports/football/roster/isaiah-wilson/5787

Quintarius Jefferies – https://richmondspiders.com/sports/football/roster/quintarius-jefferies/5734

Nick DeGennaro

Every now and then a transfer (or new recruit) shows up on campus and you can just tell that they’re different. We’ve seen this with a few QBs over the years (Michael Strauss coming from UVA, Lauletta in his first fall camp as a true freshman) and most recently saw it with transfer wide receivers LeRoy Henley and Jakob Herres. I felt the same way watching Nick DeGennaro in practices last year, and despite only having the fourth most catches on the team last year I think he quickly proved those thoughts to be true. The crispness in his routes and his ability to adjust to the ball in the air aren’t what you usually see from a redshirt freshman. He played his role well last season but I think stepping into the #1 spot will only further reveal his talents and show people just how ready he is to take on that role.

A lot of guys can play a complimentary role well but when forced to be “the guy,” their production drops off or they struggle facing off against better competition more often. I’m convinced this won’t be the case with Nick for two reasons. First – he’s been clocked running a 4.43 40 before even arriving at Maryland. We didn’t get to see him show off his speed too often last year but there’s no doubt we’ll let that shine this year. Teams won’t be able to press him outside for so long until they get burned so I’m expecting Richmond fans to really see just how fast #11 can move. Second – his ability to win in 1-on-1 coverage. The most UNDERRATED part of what LeRoy Henley did for this team was consistently win matchups on the outside for 7-8 yards. He could work deep and over the middle, but his bread & butter was winning against coverage in tight spaces. Everything DeGennaro has done feels like he’s got that same ability. I’ve seen plenty of high-quality reps in practice this fall, and with our cornerback play at a high level as well, consistent battles between him and Rankin Jr./Black II have made each guy better. Until we see this offense in game action we won’t know how they try and attack defenses, however we do know we’ve got a true #1 threat on the outside once again in 2023.

(somewhat) New faces

Here are the career receptions for the other UR receivers heading into this season:

• Isaiah Wilson – 60 catches (all at ETSU)
• Jerry Garcia Jr. – 16 catches
• Ja’Vion Griffin – 7 catches
• Quintarius Jefferies – 0 catches
• Quanye Veney – 0 catches (redshirted in ’22)

I think the above shows why the staff was so quick to move on a transfer receiver after Jasiah went down. The good news is that we have so few career receptions only because we couldn’t find enough snaps for these guys. Guys like Ja’Vion Griffin and Quintarius Jefferies have been on the two-deep for a year or two, however UR had multiple transfer receivers on the roster ahead of them in both 2021 and 2022 – long story short, while we enter 2023 very inexperienced it’s not as alarming as it might seem.

I eluded to this over the summer but I still think what happens outside is even more important than replacing Williams inside. Griffin and Wilson (ETSU transfer) will be tasked with lining up opposite DeGennaro and their ability to consistently win match-ups should dictate how defenses play the Spiders. Even though the best Richmond offenses we’ve seen have had a star #1 guy, there’s also been a clear #2 on the other side of the field (Ben Edwards/Stephen Barnette in 2013, Brian Brown/Reggie Diggs in 2015, the trio of Brissett, Simpson, & Wilkins in 2017, Herres/Henley in 2022). It’s imperative that a #2 WR takes a big step forward in 2023 and both of these guys have shown the ability to do so. Wilson was great a generating big plays at ETSU, and both he and Griffin’s route running look really good in practice. There’s a chance this new offense won’t throw outside as much as Billy Cosh did, so maybe the slot takes on an even bigger role, but having an X receiver take their game a few steps forward will be important for this new offense and QB.

Despite being newer faces, the names aren’t completely unfamiliar, as if you don’t recognize the name Jerry Garcia Jr. after last season you cut the Delaware game off about 10 minutes too early. His targets and touches aren’t high, but every time #4 (new number) touches the ball special things tend to happen.

Only 44 career touches for the junior, but at over eight yards per touch and three TDs it’s clear that he takes advantage of his moments. He shifted to running back in 2021 to help fill a void, and seamlessly stepped back to WR for 2022, so I’d imagine Coach October has a few ideas already of how to take advantage of his versatility. Expect something creative early on involving Garcia Jr.

Quanye Veney may end up starting ahead of Jerry, as the local product from Highland Springs impressed early in his first fall camp last year. He’s probably the guy I’m looking forward to seeing in action the most as I’ve been high on him early on. Both do a nice job of working in the slot and should hopefully continue to create space and keep their yards-after-catch high. Now, are either Garcia Jr. or Veney the equivalent of Jasiah Williams? No. Can they step up to fill that void this season? We’ll see.

What I’m watching for

Who establishes themselves as the #2 threat? We’ve had a ton of great receivers the past decade, but there’s always a 2nd or 3rd guy to maintain balance and keep defenses honest. Aside from the Tre Gray season of 2011 (nearly 1,200 yards and more than double the 2nd leading receiver) the Spiders offense has found two or three playmakers to establish themselves each season. It’s hard to not see DeGennaro separating himself as the clear #1 but who follows behind him?

The other thing I’ll be keeping an eye on is our screen game, which was incredibly successful last season. Using it with tempo really put defenses on their heels and typically led to a very manageable 2nd down. Combo that with a strong running game and this team could be ahead of the sticks a bunch. You can’t use wide receiver screens without strong perimeter blocking so that component of each receiver’s game will be used in evaluating reps and playing time.

One goal for 2023

Increase in 30+ yard plays – In 2022 Richmond had only 10 passing plays (to receivers) that went for more than 30 yards. That’s a big amount of yardage for one play so I don’t expect this to have a huge increase, but a few factors will likely help this number out. First off, we should be taking more shots downfield. The 2022 offense saw a lot of soft zone early on to try and slow down some of our deeper threats, however with our ground game at another level in 2023 teams shouldn’t be able to do that as much. This also won’t be as much of the “Air Raid” as it was last year, so while Billy Cosh was an expert at finding five yards each down we’ll likely be taking more shots to help move the chains. And lastly is Wickersham’s arm, which is conducive to working the ball downfield. With DeGennaro & Co having plenty of speed, adding a big arm QB to the mix should hopefully further expand the big play ability of this UR offense.

Next Post

2023 Position Overview – Safeties