Now that the semifinals are done and we’ve got our FCS Championship matchup (sorry, Albany) it’s time to take a look back on 2023 and preview some things for 2024. You all know how 2023 went so I won’t restate the basics, but let’s look at a few things that stood out to me, along with the current state of the transfer portal and the 2024 recruiting class. 

2023 season

Won’t be too many seasons where we argue with an 8-3 regular season, CAA title, and a playoff victory. I said over the summer that most people had us going 8-3, but I doubt you had a 2-3 September along with it. We got a reality check of just where things stood up in Albany however it’s a been a steady climb to this point and I think we’re well positioned for 2024.

Slow start – Another not great 1st half of the season for the Spiders. This one was worse than others, and although it was somewhat expected with newer personnel, it’s still not a great trend.

Five out the past six seasons we’ve picked up multiple FCS losses in our first five FCS games. It’s valid to say this might not happen if Mancuso doesn’t go down in 2021, however there’s a clear pattern. This season wasn’t supposed to feature a quick start, with a new QB and new play callers, but I think everyone was caught off guard by Morgan State and Hampton. 

What we can’t lose sight of are the great finishes we’ve had the past three years. 13-2 to close out the regular season since 2021, not counting two additional playoff wins. The Spiders have defined themselves as a 2nd half team, which speaks to the culture that’s been built, however a faster start in 2024 will no doubt be on everyone’s mind.

October/Ross – Progress will define their first seasons as FCS coordinators, as they were able to put the rough start behind them and get this team into gear. It was a big decision for Coach Huesman to go in house with this hire and for now he nailed it. Two consecutive strong hires at OC is a good omen for sustaining success, especially with a lot of key pieces returning. Now that they’ve got a full season under their belts, I’m hoping we can have a much stronger September and see an even more consistent attack in 2024.

Quarterback play – I was very high on the QB room in general and 2023 did not disappoint. I did my best to set fair expectations for Wickersham as a first year starter, however I likely undersold him in the end. I said that completing 64% of passes would be a fair target and that we shouldn’t expect any similar numbers to that of Udinski, yet all he did was complete 72.3% of his passes, nearly matching Udinski’s mark of 2022. His running ability was everything it was hyped up to be and once we let him loose it was clear he was very much the QB1 I hoped he would be.

There’s also no chance I’ll ever be as right about a true freshman QB ever again as I was about Cam Coleman. We all know what he did in his first season on campus and by November we had two QBs capable of winning big time CAA games. I deflected discussing how this QB situation plays out any further in the Albany recap and I’ll do it again here. There’s a big conversation to have but let’s get through the signing periods first.

Special Teams – Pretty accurate in my QB predictions, dead wrong on special teams. A lot of areas from this third phase were regressing and I wasn’t optimistic over the summer, yet by the end of the season things turned out incredibly well. 

Both kickoff units got back into the top half of the CAA, we blocked more kicks, and this doesn’t even factor in Aaron Trusler’s superb 1st team All-CAA season. Plenty of reasons to be excited about this phase for the Spiders moving forward.

Heading into 2024

There will be plenty to discuss once spring practice gets underway in a few months, so here’s just a quick glance at what I’ll have my eye on during these signing periods.

Offensive Line – Just a messy 2023 for this group. Cade Salyers suffered a season-ending injury in September, which led to both Ryan Coll and Parker Mitchell playing different spots than we expected, all while Gavin Lamp was still returning to game form after missing 2022. They meshed well down the stretch but stability will be big in 2024. It was clear during the playoffs that we’ve got another step to take, and it starts at tackle. The interior is all but set however tackle could see the most change. Expecting us to add a transfer here and very interested to see how things start to shake out this spring.

Secondary – If it weren’t for quarterback, this would be the area to watch the most this spring. We’re thin at both corner and safety due to multiple transfers/graduations, and it’s clearly our area where we’ve got the most room to improve. I’m hoping for two transfer signees in this area – right now we don’t have the depth needed, and while I’m high on young guys like Matthew Traynor that’s a big ask to enter the season with such a young group. A corner and a safety addition would be ideal.

Transfer Portal

Pretty quiet so far, but you never know what might happen in the coming weeks. Here’s where we stand, with four offers outstanding that I know of.

Leaving:

• Angelo Rankin Jr. – committed to ODU
• Stefan Black II
• Marlem Louis – offers from FIU, San Diego State, Western Michigan

Offers:

• Wande Owens – Defensive back – Yale
• Matt Robbert – Tight End – Cornell
• Evan Eller – LB/Rover – VMI
• Carter Glassmyer – Linebacker – St. Francis

    RUMORED INTEREST:

• Bryce Duke – Running Back – Virginia Tech
• Marlon Krakue – Linebacker – Florida Atlantic

Early Signing Period

Coming up on Wednesday, and thankfully no surprising decommits so far. Lots of tweets about successful home visits the past few weeks and expecting everyone to stay on board. There’s a strong QB in the class, along with a few local stars, so I’ll do a rundown once they make it official. Huesman said he was expecting roughly 14 high school signees and four transfers this class, however the transfers will take longer to sort out.

Next Post

Early signing period update and roster overview