Camp officially opens for the 2025 Richmond Spiders in one week. No better way to get the preseason started than with the quarterbacks preview, led by senior captain Kyle Wickersham.

2025 Position Group Previews

I wanted to get started before camp began to help space the previews out, so there will be a couple posted before the opening practice. I’ll have nine position group previews over the next few weeks, mixing in three fall camp updates along the way. With 12 posts coming in the next month, I won’t make these too long. Ideally each position group preview is a 5-6 minute read, meaning I won’t touch on every player – some of these guys we already know pretty well, and some of my questions/thoughts are best saved for practice updates/early season game previews. Hopefully this allows everyone to stay engaged with the team throughout camp while not forcing you to read a weekly novel. Freshmen are easily overlooked during this time so I will be discussing every new Spider in some capacity.

Roster

Additions

Jack Callaghan – When Callaghan committed to UR last April, it was big news. The local product from Collegiate had multiple D-I offers, including FBS offers like Virginia Tech. We won’t see Callaghan in 2025, as he’s set to redshirt given the experienced QBs in front of him. He’ll use the year to learn Jacob Huesman’s system and have his eyes set on the post-Wickersham QB battle.

Jack Levin – Levin received a preferred walk-on (PWO) offer from Richmond in February and committed a few months later. I’m always extra excited about walk-ons, as schools like Richmond tend to struggle in that area. Levin will provide value as an extra arm on the roster and I look forward to see two new QBs this camp.

Ashten Snelsire

Snelsire made appearances in multiple games the past two years. #18 first stepped in when both Wickersham and Hardy were out against Stony Brook in 2023, and showed marked improvement in his four appearances in 2024. He wasn’t part of last year’s QB battle but he caught the eyes of many fans with his play against Charleston Southern and Bryant. An accurate passer that gets the ball out on time, Snelsire made difficult throws while also showing a command of the offense by making adjustments at the line of scrimmage. He’ll be QB2 in 2025, and while we hope it’s a clean injury season for Wickersham there’s plenty of confidence in Snelsire to step in no matter the circumstance.

Kyle Wickersham

Wickersham enters as the starting QB for the third consecutive season. He led the nation in completion percentage in 2023 (72.6%) while only throwing four INTs, and complemented that with 14 total TDs and over 400 rushing yards. His 2024 was cut short after three games, which unfortunately has defined the last two years for #16. Of the 26 games Richmond played in 2023/2024, Wickersham was out for 50% of them. If he can stay on the field in 2025, I’m excited to see what he brings to this fresh Jacob Huesman/Mike Cummings offense.

No one should be more excited for a new offense than Kyle. It seemed clear to me that Coach October was never comfortable calling plays for Wickersham, and it showed early in seasons. Our crippling losses to Morgan State (2023) and Wofford (2024) were defined by overly conservative play calling. Too many screens, too many QB draws, too much early down running, and not enough of letting Wickersham operate the full playbook.

The entire offense improved once our passing attempts within 10-yards of the LOS dropped. We ran the ball more effectively, tallied more yardage, and more than doubled our scoring.

It’s hard to ignore how handcuffed Wickersham was in some of these matchups, and I think these “memorable” games have skewed the perception of how good we can be with #16. Don’t forget that he led a highly efficient offense during the second half of 2023. 44 points against Campbell, 38 against Elon, 27 against W&M, 49 against NC Central – that’s our best four-game stretch the past couple of seasons and Wickersham was front & center for all of it. Alongside new OC Jacob Huesman, who played a very similar style of QB during his time at Chattanooga, I’m expecting a much more aligned offensive scheme that plays to Kyle’s strengths and puts him in a position to succeed.

What I want to see in 2025

1. I want to see Kyle Wickersham have the chance to succeed in August/September

After two straight years of flopping right out of the gate, surely Jacob Huesman won’t make the same mistakes, right? The best version of Wickersham is what we saw in the second half of 2023, so let’s call the game like it in August for once. Leave behind the timid offense, call the game fearlessly, and let Kyle put this team in the driver’s seat.

2. I want to see Wickersham’s mobility establish an identity for this offense

Wickersham has shown he can sit in the pocket and make throws, however his legs will add levels to this offense. This isn’t exclusive to running the ball – sure, his ability to run inside the tackles and utilize the read option forces defenses to remain disciplined, but we’ll also see him get outside the pocket in passing concepts. Rather than be a run-first, pocket passing team, we’re going to see this offense get more horizontal and let Kyle beat defenses on the perimeter. Capitalizing on Wickersham’s versatility will keep defenses guessing and establish our identity early on, something we lost down the stretch last season.

3. I want to see our 260 lb. QB fix our red zone woes

I laugh every time I refresh the roster and Kyle Wickersham is still listed at 225 lbs.

Our 260 lb. QB will be a huge part of our red zone offense, especially in goal-to-go situations. Having an extra blocker and pounding a defensive-lineman-sized QB should take redzone scoring from a weakness to a strength immediately. Now, we need to overhaul our redzone approach entirely, and running Wickersham won’t fix everything, but our short-yardage success should see a big boost thanks to #16.

Next Post

2025 Position Group Preview – Tight Ends – Wednesday, July 30th