Six practices in and the Spiders now get a week off for spring break. Only two practices since the last update but here’s where we stand.

Coaching changes

Tight ends coach Trey Caso announced on Instagram he is “moving on to the next chapter of his life” and that’s it’s “been an amazing 6 seasons getting to coach the game of football.” Make that two open spots Coach Huesman needs to fill now.

Portal updates

None

Practice updates

I focused on the main groups last update, so this will feature the skill positions and younger guys a bit more.

Wide Receivers – Strong start from this receiving corps in 2024. While I don’t want the spring to focus on Nick DeGennaro, it’s also hard to ignore him. #11 is setting a high bar for this group and there’s no doubt he’s got his sights set on a 1st team All-CAA honor this year. What’s been just as encouraging is the play of Ja’Vion Griffin and Landon Ellis. Finally getting to see a fully healthy Griffin and he’s doing some damage against our secondary. Winning a majority of his 1-on-1 matchups and can definitely compliment DeGennaro as a depth threat. Landon Ellis is in that conversation too, as the true sophomore’s catch radius makes him difficult to cover 1-on-1. There’s still some targets for our slot receivers Jerry Garcia Jr. and Quanye Veney, along with ETSU transfer Isaiah Wilson, but the trio of DeGennaro/Griffin/Ellis look great early on.

Cornerbacks – We know QB is an open competition, however I think cornerback is as well. All four corners (D’Angelo Stocker, Trae Tomlinson, Chance Graves, CJ Fraser) have worked with the 1s and 2s an equal amount (or at least fairly close). Feels like the coaching staff is looking for someone to step up and the competitiveness has been great so far. The strong receiver play helps this group too, as they’re all going against high level CAA receivers each day. I don’t imagine we’ll see two guys take control of any starting spots until the fall but I know a lot of Spiders fans will be anxious to see the progress within this group.

Younger guys

• TJ Baldwin – With no Aidan Murray, the Spiders are looking for a third guy in the defensive tackle rotation right now. We know Stocklinski and Fitz are 1 & 2, and I think Baldwin is set to take that #3 role. Impressed me during his first fall camp last season and has looked good early on. Just a redshirt freshman in 2024, Baldwin has great size (6’1″ 290 lbs) and is local product (Benedictine). I’ve got high expectations for #93.
• Matthew Traynor – There’s depth returning at safety but it’s going to be hard to keep Traynor on the sidelines this fall. Very aggressive young safety that’s not afraid to attack downhill and make plays in the box. His aggressiveness sometimes hurts him in coverage but #7 (new number) seems to be oozing with potential right now. At the very least I feel confident we’ll have three safeties to play this season if we want to keep the 4-2-5 package added.
• Jamaal Brown – Brown is getting plenty of reps with the 1s right now, as it seems he and Zach Palmer-Smith (Wagner transfer) will get a majority of the touches for the Spiders in 2024. So far we haven’t seen them involved too much in the passing game, as the primary focus has been downhill/inside running. We won’t see too much contact this spring but Brown didn’t seem shy hitting the hole in his four appearances in 2024.

Quarterbacks – Only two practices since the last update however there was a lot of redzone work done this past week. Really got to see the timing these QBs had with the WRs and their decision making. Probably more turnovers over the two practices than we would’ve liked but not the end of the world. Coleman had one really strong day one practice, then Wickersham had an equally strong day in the other. Fun competition so far.

Next Post

Practice resumes March 19th – Hoping the men’s basketball team makes the NCAA tourney and I’ve got some more traveling to do, which would mean I’ll miss a few practices during that week. Ideally one final update before the Spring Game likely in late March or April 1st.