Six practices in as we arrive at Spring Break for the 2025 Spiders. Not much to takeaway this early, but we’ve got an updated spring roster and some interesting position changes/battles ongoing.

Roster update

78 total is clearly on the smaller side. A few guys didn’t take their 5th year, which we knew would happen. That, along with the lack of portal additions over the winter, didn’t help. Hoping for 5+ additions post-spring to get into the mid-80s.

Only nine guys on the roster with one year of eligibility left makes sense after we lost good amount to the portal/NFL draft/not taking the extra year. Of those nine, only six are projected starters. As of now we should be a younger squad in 2025, but hopefully one that can build a core that sticks together.

Practice updates

Very lively practices early on. Coaches Jacob Huesman and Jerry Taylor have clearly brought the energy early on, and it’s easy to see this young offensive staff is really leaning into that. I’ve also seen a focus on competition, with “winning sides” after certain group periods not having extra running/conditioning. Not something we’ve done during most springs and it’s definitely increased the intensity.

Offense

Kyle Wickersham looks to be moving well. Probably not 100% in game shape given how much time he was out, but clearly no limitations during the spring. Glad he’s out there while we’re installing the offense and getting time with the receivers. I don’t see Ashten Snelsire moving off the QB2 spot either. He looked great in his few appearances last season, and although some were curious if McCauley would compete for the backup job this season, I think having an experienced QB at #2 is a big plus. Honestly it’s just nice to not be focused on a QB competition each practice…

All four running backs are getting looks, and I can’t imagine we’ll see much separation until the fall. Andrew King and Aziz Foster-Powell are running with the 1s/2s early, but I’m still looking forward to seeing a fully healthy Jamaal Brown.

Mason Imbt (St. Francis) has plugged in at right guard, with Carbajal–Hummel–Capristo–Imbt–Gray as a common O-line grouping. Luke Surrett is a name to keep in mind, working at both center and guard. He was the freshman offensive lineman I liked the most last year, and we might not have to wait long to see him. He’s taken some reps with the 1s at center, and will be battling for playing time all the way until August.

Defense

An expectedly thin defensive line this spring – TJ Baldwin, Zion Bryson, and Donovan Hoilette will be out for the spring as they continue to recover from injuries. Based on workouts they’re doing on the sidelines it seems all three are on track for fall camp. Despite the thin numbers, the play has been solid so far. We know how good Fitz and Byrd are, plus Braxton Lassiter looks great at defensive tackle. Fall will be were the fun is for this group – between getting three guys back and seeing how the true freshmen fit into the rotation, it looks like we’ll have a much deeper rotation in 2025.

Where will Jordan Allen play? We saw #27 play both linebacker and safety last season due to injuries, and so far he’s working exclusively at safety. I know we’re still targeting some secondary additions in the portal, so I’m curious if that would change our approach. For now, it’s Allen at strong safety with Lee Bruner IV and Amir Haskett at free safety. I like that both redshirt freshman will get a chance to earn a starting role, and we could see Kyree Richardson (also a R-Fr.) win a starting corner spot. Plenty of reps for the younger Spiders in the secondary.

I saw the nickel package multiple times in the first few practices, the earliest we’ve shown anything besides our base defense in quite some time. Interested to see if we’re using that more to find the best way to replace QMW, if we want even more reps for our young secondary this spring, or if the staff feels our defense is far enough along to work on other packages.

Special Teams

No surprises here. Sean O’Haire will kick, Snelsire will hold, with Catanzarite and Sharpe snapping.

Aaron Trusler made a celebrity appearance at punter one practice (no, sadly he’s still gone), as we won’t get to see our 2025 punter until true freshman Ned Gray arrives this fall. The two punt returners sharing reps were Quanye Veney and Jaiden Fair (Maryland transfer).

Next Post

This was a very brief update, as the first couple spring practices don’t offer much – the next one will be a bit longer as we start to see more of the offense installed and more looks on defense. Plenty of focus will be on the receivers/tight ends and linebackers/secondary.

Next update will be at the end of March after 5-6 more practices.