Richmond’s season came to an abrupt end a few short weeks ago. Easy to get caught up in the negatives of what went wrong, so it’s important to view the season as a whole and project where we go from here.

Season-long takeaways

Nothing too detailed, just some overall thoughts on the year before we turn the page on 2024.

Standard = raised – This team set out to raise the bar and did just that. 10-2 (8-0) is a historic regular season. Richmond had never gone undefeated in CAA play, and we secured a third straight playoff berth for just the third time in school history. This program should be stringing playoff appearances together often and having this senior class play in role in three of those is special. There’s no better recruiting pitch than continually showing off conference championship rings and playoff appearances, something that will continue to go a long way entering the Patriot League.

I felt no group answered the call to raise our standard better than the O-line. The 2023 season ended with a wakeup call in Albany. The Spiders weren’t at the level of the Great Danes and a big question heading into this season was if we could take that next step. The answer was a resounding yes. Only 16 sacks allowed, along with paving the way for a 1,400-yard rusher in ZPS. In a year where plenty of younger Spiders made their mark, this group was led by the veterans. It’s not often that you have two 6th-year players return and surpass the high bar they previously set, but that’s exactly what Tom Elia and Cade Salyers did. In their time at Richmond #56 and #74 combined to start 79 games, a level of experience that won’t easily be replaced in 2025.

Defensive excellence – I won’t go too deep in the numbers in this post, however what Coach Wood’s defense did for a fourth straight year has to be mentioned.

PPG allowed was the lowest it’s been in Coach Huesman’s time at Richmond, sacks remained high, and the run defense was ultimately solid despite a plethora of injuries. It was easy to get caught up in the offensive struggles (I’m guilty of that) but we can’t let that overshadow a fantastic 2024 from the UR defense. They got plenty of stops late in games to help secure close victories, pitched multiple shutouts, and found their identity of forcing turnovers throughout CAA play.

Offensive identity – 13 games later and I’m still not sure what we were trying to be on offense. I know others feel the same way, as the thing discussed most by the fans was the offensive gameplan and production. I think you can trace this back all the way to the QB battle that lingered way too long. Choosing a starter that late didn’t help in establishing who we are, and when the plan got flipped on its head with Wickersham’s injury, we were never able to adjust. I thought we knew who we were exiting the bye week, as Delaware and Bryant we our two cleanest games of the year, but that identity quickly faded throughout November.

There isn’t a single offensive position group that looks bad on its own. O-line play was great. Running back had a 1,400-yard rusher. The receivers played well despite a drop-off once DeGennaro went down. Coleman had a solid stat line and improved at not turning the ball over. Yet we scored 20 points or less more often (four times) than we scored 30+ points (three times). It was a reverse of the old adage, as our team’s sum was less than the total of our parts. For me this needs to be where our focus lies this off season.

Winning the big game – The elusive December win continues to avoid us. With the standard raised back to the level we came to know in the late 2000s and mid 2010s, the next step is finding our way back into the quarterfinals. You only get so many opportunities and it’s hard to not feel like we missed a big one this season. We don’t have a December win since 2016. Not getting that win this year doesn’t invalidate the fantastic regular season but it does leave us wanting so much more. It’s the harsh reality of sports and we got a taste of it this Thanksgiving. We obviously have to continue building on what the program has accomplished the last five seasons, while at the same time understanding that just making the playoffs falls short of this team’s ceiling.

Transfer portal

Richmond players that entered the portal so far are below. Don’t think I missed any but let me know. Not everyone posts all offers but I listed a couple that I could find for each guy. DeGennaro hasn’t posted anything and still may turn pro.

The first few weeks of the portal aren’t fun. All subtractions, no additions. Keep in mind that the portal is awful when someone leaves your team and amazing when someone joins it. Blame the portal all you want, but I bet you enjoyed the one year of Reece Udinski, every TD from ZPS this season, and the impacts made from our multiple transfer starters on defense. There are definitely things to be frustrated about, however it isn’t all bad. So, what should be the takeaway from 10 starters entering the portal?

First, Richmond isn’t the only FCS program losing numbers. Playoff teams like Villanova and Idaho (even before their coach left) are in similar positions. Second, I will continue to echo my stance on this every single year – I do not fault anyone for taking a chance at a bigger opportunity. While I want everyone to stay for all four seasons, I loved rooting for guys like Kobie Turner at Wake Forest, Marlem Louis at San Diego State, and Tyrek Funderburk at App State. It’s also not a bad thing that our players are getting bigger offers. It shows we’ve got guys that can compete at the FBS level and that the staff continues to identify and develop high caliber players each and every year. A lot of the group above have their degrees already, so taking that extra year or two somewhere else isn’t surprising either.

At the same time, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and I’ve heard too many things from too many people for there to not be something bigger at play. Obviously we’re going to lose guys every year, however it’s clear that the dysfunction we could see as fans bled into the locker room to some degree. I’d imagine that played a part in a few decisions, and while you’ll never keep everyone happy it wasn’t too surprising to see the constant push/pull across all aspects of the team lead to some guys looking for fresh starts in 2025.

I think we’ll see an adjusted approach from this staff moving forward – from what I’ve seen and heard the message was received loud and clear that a lack of direction doesn’t benefit anyone. Coach Huesman gave a very candid interview about how he views the portal, while also expressing his appreciation for the impacts this group made. He chose his words very carefully on a few topics, which leads me to believe we’ll see a renewed approach to keep this group all moving in the same direction.

Moving forward

There are two sides to guys transferring – I wish those leaving the best of luck while turning my attention to the exciting opportunities that will open up for new players. We can’t sit here and talk about how great the recruiting has been in recent years and then not want these guys to play early on. Look at this season – Coleman, Ellis, King, Hodges, Baldwin, Seelmann, Fraser, Traynor, and O’Haire all made substantial contributions on a 10-2 team despite being on campus for two years or less. That alone shows the strong foundation we have and why we should remain optimistic heading into 2025.

I absolutely wish Carsen Stocklinski was staying, but I’m excited to see TJ Baldwin become a full-time starter. Replacing all four secondary starters is no easy task, but that shouldn’t come 100% from the portal. Kyree Richardson and Amir Haskett were highly touted recruits, let’s give them a chance to earn a spot, or CJ Fraser, who was National Defensive Player of the Week when he played most of the game at Elon. This applies to the incoming freshmen as well – if they’re ready, let them play. I’d love to see Tanner Wheeler and/or Jack Reece in the D-line rotation, or another young Spider receiver earn targets.

If we’ve learned anything the past few seasons, it’s that you let your best guys play. Good programs will reload with transfers, while the great programs will blend transfers and young talent to maintain success. I’m excited to see who we add from the portal in the coming weeks but just as excited to see which younger Spiders step up this spring.

Next Post

Coach Huesman said he wants to add seven players from the portal this offseason. I’ll update our offers, commits, and any more guys we lose before the end of the year. I’ll also overview the current roster and highlight what positions we’ll target in the portal.

Sometime in late January will be the CAA vs Patriot vs SoCon schedule comparison. Our focus now shifts to our new conference with plenty of questions of what that means for our scheduling and playoff hopes. I think many will be surprised what the average strength of an 11-game schedule looks like when you put those three side by side.