The Spiders’ defense set the tone early and the offense followed behind to snag a key September CAA victory. Lots of promise on both sides of the ball and it was encouraging to see this team play a complete game in a critical spot.

Drives

Offense

62 snaps | 9 drives – 3 FG attempts (33%), 3 punts (33%), 2 TDs (22%), 1 turnover (12%)

The offense would’ve had a third TD had we not been running the clock out at the end, but it was still a very balanced day from this group.

Fast start – Offense didn’t get that fast start I was hoping for. They started with the ball at midfield, after the defense got a 4th down stop, but turned that into just 3 points. They moved the ball near midfield on the second drive and got into Elon territory the next trip before Andrew King fumbled. Between the great starting field position and a turnover, the 1st quarter could’ve seen the Spiders up multiple scores instead of 3-0.

Cam Coleman – Coleman’s first few drives contributed to the offense’s slow start, as he started 0/5 and finished the 1st quarter just 2/7 passing. How he played in the 2nd & 3rd quarters defines his afternoon though, going 11/12 for 164 yards. He didn’t miss the easy throws and was sharp in the intermediate game. He went 7/9 for 97 yards in the 6-15 yard bucket overall, as despite not being able to take the top off the Elon defense we found plenty of success with intermediate patterns.

I loved him having a strong finish to the day even without the big plays. That was a different style of win than we’ve seen with Coleman at QB, and it shows the growth of this offense. Most importantly, it was a zero INT day for the sophomore. Glad he’s got one of those this season and I’m expecting the patience he showed on Saturday to continue into October.

Offensive line – I’ll admit I had some doubts about how this group would develop, especially on the edges, however five games in and they just keep raising their level of play. Despite Gouveia’s absence, Hummel has plugged in seamlessly, Parker Mitchell has been outstanding at right tackle, and both Carbajal and Gray continue to hold things down at LT. The Spiders continue running behind seniors Elia and Salyers and it’s led to consistent results. We’re now averaging 200 yards/game on the ground, a number we haven’t come close to in years. Add in another game with zero sacks allowed and there’s no offensive line in the CAA playing better than ours.

Zach Palmer-Smith – The last three games ZPS is averaging 23 carries, 134 yards, and 2 TDs. I thought he would be a great transfer addition, and he’s already exceeded that high bar I set. A steady fixture in the running game, he’s on pace for a 1,000-yard season which would be UR’s first since Jacobi Green in 2015. It was his second straight week with a run of 50+ yards, as #9 continues to create big plays while managing a majority of the carries. Palmer-Smith isn’t just great at running the ball, he’s been excellent in pass protection too. By far the highest rated Spiders RB in that field, as both he and tight end Matt Robbert have really supported the O-line.

Redzone – Pretty conservative in the redzone, as the Spiders on scored a TD on just one of three trips. We couldn’t punch it in with runs on both 2nd and 3rd down inside the 5, and then only threw it once on our final redzone trip. It makes sense given our issues last game and holding a two-score lead, but that level of hesitation won’t work forever. Seeing Coleman run it numerous times was surprising, especially with Wickersham still out, so it’ll be interesting to see if our approach changes against A&T.

Defense

63 snaps | 11 drives – 4 turnovers [1 on downs] (37%), 3 punts (27%), 2 TDs (18%), 2 FG attempts (18%)

Fast start – The defense brought the fast start this weekend. Turnover on downs to open the game, followed by a punt, another punt, a pick-6, and then another interception in the redzone. With a huge Elon crowd in attendance and a team fighting for their playoff lives, Richmond seized the energy early and didn’t give them anything to cheer about for the first 25 minutes. Huge response from this unit.

Turnovers – It’s amazing what turnovers can do for a defense. I talked about this group lagging behind compared to other years, but Saturday was a lot more like what we’ve seen in recent years. The pick-6 from Quantraill Morris-Walker put Elon on their heels, and then CJ Fraser’s first collegiate interception forced a QB change for the Phoenix. The game was somewhat close throughout the 2nd half, but the turnovers caused early on allowed Richmond to take control by the 2nd quarter. It was only fitting for a third turnover to officially seal the game, and if this defense continues forcing turnovers down the road, we’ll all look back at this game as the turning point.

Pressure – Pressure solves most problems. Three sacks and six TFLs for the Spiders, who got pressure in a variety of ways.

Linebacker pressures were up, with eight plays seeing UR blitz a linebacker. Wayne Galloway had 1/2 a sack along with his team leading nine tackles, with Glassmyer totaling eight tackles and a TFL. Jeremiah Grant continued his impressive 2024 – 1/2 sack, a QB hurry, a deflection, and played 57 snaps on the day. We’re going to have to figure out how to get him some rest, but that level of production for a guy playing both inside and outside is unprecedented.

And then there’s Jamar Hodges, who had exactly zero college snaps before Saturday. Once Thaos Figaro went down, Hodges was forced into action and made the most of his chance. Despite just 16 snaps, he tallied 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and his disruption forced a bad throw on Fraser’s INT. Plenty of teams talk about “next man up” and staying ready, but to have a guy perform like that in his first game is special. I’m sure we’ll see more of #32 in the near future.

Personnel – The Spiders are struggling to keep our front-7 on the field. Feels like we’re losing a different contributor each game, something Coach Huesman talked about a lot in the postgame (None of these are injuries that haven’t been publicly discussed)

• Will linebacker – QMW had a great 1st half, but didn’t play the 2nd half after he got up slow in the 2nd quarter. Credit to Jordan Allen – he stepped up and made some nice plays in relief. Another guy he had barely played before Saturday but was ready when called upon.
• Defensive tackle – TJ Baldwin went down early, only getting 17 snaps for the game, which forced true freshman Braxton Lassiter into his first action. Lassiter was one of the true freshmen that stood out most to me during camp, so I’m hoping he can help plug any holes while still maintaining his redshirt. While I’m talking about defensive tackles, Fitz and Stocklinski deserve a lot of praise. They’re both handling a ton of snaps, and Fitz has recorded 1/2 sack in the past two games. Lots of attention will be given to the new guys stepping in, but we can’t forget the workhorses who continue to produce each week.
• Defensive end – If Figaro misses time, Richmond will be without DEs #2, #4, and #5. We’ll surely see Hodges, and maybe true freshman Daniel Sellers for a few games.

Secondary/Coverage – With Bryson Parker not traveling to Elon, there were some changes in the secondary. With Hayes and Traynor starting, there are no safeties behind them that aren’t a redshirt freshman or true freshman. That meant D’Angelo Stocker stepped into the dime role in Parker’s absence, putting three UR corners on the field together. Stocker playing the dime allowed for both Chance Graves and CJ Fraser to play boundary corner, and it was the first game we had four cornerbacks play 15+ snaps. Tomlinson continues to play the most snaps, but it seems the other three will continue to work in.

The downside of yesterday was another team finding plenty of space in the middle of our defense.

Over half of their attempts were in the 6-15 yard range, with Elon QBs going 13/20 for 147 yards on those throws. That’s been a vulnerable spot the past few weeks and teams are clearly keen on attacking that area. This isn’t all on the secondary, as the linebackers will play a big part on throws over the middle of the field. Elon’s backup QB came in and didn’t have much trouble finding open receivers, so this is definitely a focal point of practice/games the next few weeks.

Special Teams

Quiet day on special teams. Trusler averaged 47 yards/punt, kick coverage was solid, and Jerry only had one kickoff return opportunity. Peskin’s miss from 29 yards was uncharacteristic, but he was still 2/3 on the day. Another good day overall.

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Game 6 – 2024: North Carolina A&T Preview – Friday, October 4th