A more experienced Richmond team gets Spring Practice going this week however there are still plenty of position battles to be had. Without an official roster or any offseason interviews I’m definitely having to speculate a bit about a few groups, but here’s a quick rundown of what I’m watching for.

Offense

Quarterbacks – per John O’Connor’s article in late January, the spring competition will give Ashten Snelsire, Jack Callaghan, and Joe McCauley a chance to win the job. Even if we don’t officially frame it this way, Snelsire is the de facto incumbent given his experience the past few seasons. For Ashten personally I imagine this is a very important spring. It’s his first chance to get a ton of QB1 reps leading into a season, rather than working as a backup with the 2s and 3s. Using these 15 practices to further develop his comfort level and decision making will have him primed for fall camp. At the same time, from a fan’s perspective there isn’t much to learn. We saw he can make the throws and can use his legs to move the pocket while also picking up yardage on the ground. We got a great picture of what #18 offers so while these practices will serve him well, I’m looking forward to learning more about two Spiders who have yet to see the field.

Joe McCauley is a R-So. and Jack Callaghan is a R-Fr. Both have great size and boast big arms. Most know more about Callaghan being the local kid from Collegiate but I’m not sure how much we’ll see of him given a hip issue. Either way, both are going to get plenty of chances to showcase their abilities. We’re going to learn a lot about the depth of the QB room over the next two months.

Wide receivers – Which younger (or newer) Spider makes a statement this spring is what I’m most curious about. We’ll get our first look at Krystian Williams (transfer from Virginia Tech), and I’m excited to see more from last year’s freshman class. While returning impact players like Quanye Veney, Jaiden Fair, and Andreas Hill lead the charge into 2026, the departures of Ja’Vion Griffin and Isaiah Dawson leave room for someone to make a charge up the depth chart.

Offensive line – Gone are starters Trey Gray (Memphis), Scott Hummel (graduation), and Gabe Carbajal (graduation). That means multiple spots up for grabs and plenty of younger Spiders in the mix. With likely position battles at center, one guard spot, and one tackle spot, there’s no shortage of players to watch. I count zero players on their final year of eligibility yet a handful of guys played 4+ games in 2025. That’s more experience than you’d normally have after losing three seniors.

Defense

Personnel – The Spiders stuck with five DBs throughout 2025 – of our 793 defensive snaps across 12 games, nickelback Tayshaun Burney missed just 23 of those. Who else works at nickel alongside him and do we see any of the traditional 4-3 defense this spring? Harrison Wood and Christian Soltis are two guys that I want to see more of this spring, as they worked in this role last year and could play a part in the 2026 defense. The position group breakouts and overall rotation of guys should give an early indication of Coach Wood’s approach.

Defensive tackles – Our first real chance to see the talented freshmen battle their way into the lineup. I thought we may dip into the portal here but it’s clear that the staff thinks this crop of younger Spiders is ready to compete, which is a great sign. Jack Reece, Tanner Wheeler, and Bryce Lee should all be competing to get into the rotation, as the departure of Matei Fitz leaves a big hole. TJ Baldwin and Braxton Lassiter are your starters but who takes steps towards winning the DT3 spot will be fun to watch, especially against an O-line going through their own position battles.

Secondary – With Jordan Allen and Lee Bruner IV back at safety, I imagine Devin Geronomi (started seven games in ’25) stays at corner. If that’s the case we have just one starting corner spot to fill. With CJ Fraser and Amir Haskett transferring out, this feels up for grabs. Kyree Richardson (R-So.) has the most experience, with Tramayne Bullock, Jeremiah Washington, and Elijah Lee (all played games as true freshmen last year) also in contention. This feels like the singular position battle with the most names involved.

While the starting safeties should be set, the breakout between safeties and corners is something I’ll note. Plenty of flipping around last year so worth seeing what group everyone starts off spring with. Brendan Laughlin should backup one of the safety spots and I’m interested to see who else is in the mix.

Special Teams

Kickers – True freshman Kyle Bitsko won’t arrive until the fall so it’s Jackson Bonser and Gavin Winterhalter kicking this spring. Bonser was part of the competition last fall with Jayden Alsheskie. With kickoff specialist Will McManus not returning in 2026, we could see both pulling double duty.

Returners – I’m assuming Jaiden Fair and Quanye Veney will continue to return punts. With Fair much healthier than he was towards the end of 2025, I expect him to return to his usual form.

We do need to replace Isaiah Dawson at kick returner. There usually isn’t a ton of KOR/KOC work during the spring but I’ll be sure to note who our potential kick returners are.

Next Post

The first update will allow me to finalize the 2026 roster and give more detail on position group breakouts. That plus some practice thoughts will be posted once the team pauses for spring break.

2026 Spring practice – Update #1 – Monday, March 9th