An experienced group for the Spiders in 2026, the linebackers are once again led by defensive coordinator Justin Wood and look to be one of our strongest position groups this upcoming season.

Position Group Previews

These are meant to be a 5-minute read and fast refresher before we take the field in August. Each preview will list the rostered players, give a quick blurb on the newcomers, and then either highlight starters or position battles.

Roster

#3 | Tayshaun Burney | Junior

#7 | Quintin McCray | Freshman

#10 | Carter Glassmyer | Graduate

#11 | Blake Houser | Junior

#21 | Jackson Thorne | Sophomore

#24 | Anton Carter | Freshman

#25 | Matthew Martin | Sophomore

#27 | Christian Soltis | Sophomore

#40 | Jordan Wilkes | Senior

#49 | Ryan Hammoud | Senior

Additions

Quintin McCray – McCray held offers from FBS Miami (OH) and Charlotte before selecting the Spiders. He totaled more than 100 tackles in both his junior and senior high school seasons, including 20 TFLs and a handful of sacks. Having also played running back, McCray has good quickness from sideline to sideline so I’m interested to see which LB spot he works at during his first fall camp.

Anton Carter Jr. – At 6′ 1″, 235 lbs., Carter Jr. already has the size to make an impact at inside linebacker. He was the James River Offensive Player of the Year (Nottoway High School – Crewe, VA) as a running back but will suit up for Richmond as a linebacker. If his size and numbers weren’t enough to excite you, he was previously a William & Mary commit that flipped in early 2026. Never a bad thing to steal a local prospect from your rival.

Starters

Between two returning starters and the coaches already discussing Blake Houser’s new role, your three linebackers* are set. This isn’t a position we traditionally sub too often at so with good health you’ll see the below three names most of the year. I put an asterisk next to linebacker since I am grouping Tayshaun Burney with these guys.

He’s clearly a nickel however we listed him as an LB on the depth chart all last season (above), plus the guys behind him (Soltis & Martin) are listed as linebackers on the roster. For simplicity, it’s easier to include him here along with everyone else.

Carter Glassmyer

Likely the most familiar Spider on the 2026 roster, Glassmyer returns for a final season in search of a 4th straight All-Conference honor. He was 1st team All-NEC at St. Francis in 2023, 2nd team All-CAA in 2024, and 2nd team All-Patriot League in 2025. He was also recently named to the 2026 preseason All-Patriot 1st team. Let’s be honest – in a transfer heavy era there’s no doubt Glassmyer had plenty of suitors for his final collegiate season. Seeing him, along with others, return for their graduate seasons should only be appreciated more given the current landscape and he’ll undoubtedly be a leader the entire defense turns to.

Consistency is the name of the game when it comes to Glassmyer. As you can see above, despite battling numerous injuries in his two seasons at UR he continues to put up excellent on field results. All three of Glassmyer’s collegiate seasons are nearly identical and his ability to perform week in and week out at an extremely important position is just one of many factors in him being a multi-year captain. He didn’t need to do “as much” last season with the rise of Peyton Seelmann but his veteran presence will be crucial with another new starting MIKE linebacker in 2026.

Carter will look to keep an impressive streak alive for SAM linebackers under Justin Wood’s leadership:

Richmond has had an All-Conference performer at SAM linebacker in every season since 2019 and I’m sure #10 wants nothing more than to keep that streak alive through 2026.

Blake Houser

After having experienced players dominating the middle linebacker spot, Richmond will have a new starting MIKE for the second straight season. With Peyton Seelmann’s departure to UNC, Blake Houser is ready to take over and the hype is real. The Athletic Department put out a video highlighting him this spring and he was highly touted by the staff for his contributions in various roles last year. He only made two starts in 2025 but played 235 snaps, with excellent performances against UNC and Holy Cross. The majority of his contributions were as an edge/QB spy on 3rd downs, which helped him tally 36 tackles, nine QB pressures, four TFLs, and three sacks. What stood out to me was his speed and instincts to the ball, which is why I truly think the drop-off from losing Seelmann won’t be noticeable. Both displayed great football IQ at a premium position so I’m excited to see how #11 (new number) makes the role his own.

Like SAM linebacker, the recent string of honors is hard to ignore. Aside from 2023, when we switched from Donovan Hoilette to Wayne Galloway midseason, UR MIKE linebackers have racked up honors in every season since 2019.

There’s so many stats to show how good we’ve been under Justin Wood but the All-Conference honors speak for themselves (Tristan Wheeler rightly got all of the press but this is a great reminder of how good Tyler Dressler was). Blake Houser will look to join this excellent list of Spiders and ensure that linebacker remains one of our highest performing position groups.

Tayshaun Burney

Burney was a huge pickup for the Spiders last offseason, immediately being plugged in to a starting role and helping to transform the style of our defense. He earned a 2nd team All-Patriot honor and was included on the 2026 preseason team. He’s obviously more of a corner by size (5′ 9″ – 180 lbs.) yet he had no issues playing in the box and closer to the line of scrimmage. His 49 tackles were 5th on the team but his biggest contributions came in coverage. Defending opponent’s slot receivers, he held a handful of great Patriot League receivers below their season averages (Geoffrey Jamiel, TJ Cadden, etc.). His 10 pass breakups led the team and it was the first time we had a player with double-digit breakups since 2022 (Tyrek Funderburk).

Regarding fall camp, I’m most interested in seeing the two guys behind Burney. Christian Soltis a very athletic linebacker with great size (6′ 3″ – 216 lbs.). He reminds me more of Quantraill Morris-Walker, which would put the defense closer to a more traditional 4-3 set. Again, I don’t see Burney leaving the field often but it’s worth seeing how different style players behind him develop, and how we use them. Matthew Martin, a converted wide receiver, looks to be somewhere in between the two in terms of size and skillset, so despite all working at the some spot there’s a lot of variety at the Will linebacker/Nickel position in 2026.

Next Post

2026 Position Group preview – Quarterbacks – Monday, August 3rd