The Spiders last took the field roughly 12 weeks ago and thankfully that long layoff ends this week. Spring practice #1 begins tomorrow, and with plenty of solid pieces still in place it should be the start to a great 2024 campaign.

Spring Schedule

What to expect

More of the same to come for this defense in 2024. Justin Wood returns at defensive coordinator, as does the rest of the defensive coaching staff. Add in 8/11 starters from the playoff run back in uniform and there aren’t too many question marks early on. For too early to be doing full position group overviews, so below are a few individual players and a couple positional areas I’m focused on this spring.

Players to watch

Jeremiah Grant – With Marlem Louis off to San Diego State, it’s time for Jeremiah Grant to take the spotlight of this UR pass rush. Grant has seven sacks and 18 TFLs the past two seasons, while playing DE on early downs and more inside on 3rd downs. Now that he’s the main threat, do we see his role change? In what should be a 13+ game season you’d like to keep him as fresh as possible as an edge rusher, however you also can’t deny his production at the 3-technique.

Donovan Hoilette – #34 remains a favorite of mine because he can contribute in so many ways. The question for Hoilette in 2024 is where he’ll create most of his production. He began 2023 as a starting linebacker, but once Wayne Galloway took over we mostly saw him in a pass rushing role. Tristan Wheeler’s linebacker spot is now open – does Hoilette end up being a starting LB once again or do we see his production stay mainly as a pass rusher?

Matthew Traynor – I was high on Traynor entering his freshman season and he managed to live up to that hype purely through his special teams play. His blocked PAT was the difference at Stony Brook and he made solid contributions in his four games across multiple return units. With the secondary thin right now, Traynor has a chance to at least secure the #3 safety spot, if not compete for a starting job in the fall. One of the few freshman on an experienced team that could make a huge impact in 2024.

D’Angelo Stocker – 2023 was a strange year at cornerback for UR. Aamir Hall transferred out right after the 2022 playoffs, incoming transfer Stefan Black II never made it on the field, and Angelo Rankin Jr. went down fairly early with a season-ending injury. All that turnover at the boundary corner spot resulted in R-Fr. D’Angelo Stocker making eight starts down the stretch. Coach Huesman is always extremely high when discussing Stocker, so it wasn’t a surprise when he played well. Now that he’s got a full season under his belt I’m very curious to track his progression at a crucial position in our secondary.

Groups to watch

Depth in the secondary – As I write this there are still zero secondary commits from the portal. Multiple offers out there but no help coming this spring, so we should see Bryson Parker, Jabril Hayes, Trae Tomlinson, and D’Angelo Stocker with the 1s early on. After that? Very unknown. Seeing who can play well with the 2s, and maybe get some reps with the 1s, is the top thing I’ll be watching for on the defensive side.

Plenty of talent at linebacker – Unknown depth in the secondary, yet plenty at linebacker. The addition of freshman All-American Carter Glassmyer (St. Francis) makes this all the more interesting as the Spiders boast at least five starting caliber linebackers early on. Jared Joseph and Quantraill Morris-Walker split time at the Will linebacker spot in 2023, and no matter how that shakes out we’re set at that position in 2024. Wayne Galloway had a breakout 2023 campaign that I expect to continue into 2024, as he and Glassmyer could very well be your inside linebackers this year. Throw in Donovan Hoilette and the competition at LB should be fun to watch.

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2024 Spring Preview: Offense (tomorrow)