Despite losing our top two receivers from 2025, there are plenty of names to sort through in the WR room. A handful of established returning players, plus a great blend of freshmen/transfers, means the Spiders should see plenty of contributors this fall.

Roster

#1 | Quanye Veney | Senior

#2 | Jaiden Fair | Senior

#4 | Donovan Higgins | Sophomore

#5 | Andreas Hill | Junior

#8 | Bryce Allen | Freshman

#11 | Carter Coleman | Freshman

#14 | Justin Rice | Sophomore

#15 | Krystian Williams | Junior

#81 | Joey Duggan | Senior

#85 | Warren Hernandez | Freshman

#89 | Cameron Dawood | Freshman

Additions

Bryce Allen – We’ve seen more recruiting done in Texas and Allen was a big win for Richmond. His other offers included Penn, Dartmouth, Furman, and Columbia. The 6’3″ freshman contributed in all three phases in high school and will play WR for the Spiders.

Carter Coleman – Playing his high school ball in South Carolina, Coleman opted for Richmond over West Georgia, Gardner-Webb, and The Citadel. Coleman is another receiver that could make an impact on special teams, as I got to see multiple big punt returns in his highlights.

Krystian Williams – The transfer from Virginia Tech will have two seasons remaining. He was a standout at local Collegiate High School, earning 1st team All-State honors at WR and 2nd team as a DB. He’ll play wide receiver for us and gives us our third 6’+ receiver added to the roster this offseason.

Warren Hernandez – A spring addition to the class, Hernandez played at The Hun School (NJ), a prominent high school that we continue to develop ties with (LB Christian Soltis also attended there).

Cameron Dawood – Dawood was added to the roster this spring after receiving a PWO (preferred walk-on) offer in January. He’s the only player on the roster from Michigan this year. With five receivers gone from last year’s class plus Matthew Martin moving to LB, both Hernandez and Dawood will help level set this room with added depth.

Returning contributors

With top targets Ja’Vion Griffin (graduation) and Isaiah Dawson (transfer) gone, that’s over 1,100 yards and nine TDs that we need to replace.

Quanye Veney returns for a fifth season after totaling 20 receptions, 260 yards, and one TD. The Spiders needed help out wide and Veney stepped up – 2025 was the first season he worked mostly outside of the slot and had good numbers in just nine games played.

Andreas Hill broke onto the scene with 314 yards and three TDs, as he helped fill the void left by Nick DeGennaro and Landon Ellis. His 17.4 yards/reception led the team and it gave us a bigger frame [6’4″ 200 lbs.] to throw towards.

You can also throw in Jaiden Fair, who had 87 all-purpose yards against Lehigh before an injury in week 2 that never had him back to 100%. I don’t want to dismiss Isaiah Dawson as easily replaceable, but what Fair showed early on has me optimistic that level of explosiveness is on our roster again in 2026.

With Fair out this past spring, Veney returned to the slot and has stayed there throughout camp. That’s two excellent options at a position we’ve seen bring significant value when properly utilized.

Thanks mostly to Isaiah Dawson, slot production in 2025 jumped across the board – more receptions, more yards/game, more TDs. Now with even more experience and depth, there’s no reason #1 and #2 shouldn’t be weapons we capitalize on further in 2026.

New faces

The lone portal addition this offseason, Krystian Williams will try and make his mark in a fairly crowded WR room. I don’t have much on him given his time at VT was spent at corner, plus he was out the entire spring. So far he’s been working outside behind Andreas Hill.

Two guys I got to see a lot during the spring were Justin Rice and Donovan Higgins. The smoothness of Higgins isn’t something you see from a lot of younger FCS receivers, while the physicality of Rice does not go unnoticed by fans. I’m now up to three people who have told me #14 is their bet for offensive breakout player of the year and it’s hard to disagree with them. He’s spent a lot of time with the 1s and has no issues winning in 1-on-1 situations. Just a sophomore, Rice looks to be any QB’s best friend.

I also want to bring Bryce Allen back up. I normally reserve thoughts for true freshmen until the end of camp but #8 will get a real opportunity this year. Right now the Spiders have only two receivers listed over 6′ tall – Andreas Hill (6′ 4″) and Bryce Allen (6′ 3″). Given his offer list and the new 5-for-5 rule, I expect Allen to contribute throughout the year.

Balanced 2026

There wasn’t one guy to truly focus on in this preview, and I think that’s a good indicator of how 2026 will go. I could honestly see 6+ guys playing a meaningful role in our passing game. I still expect two or three guys to separate themselves, it’s just not as clear who that will be.

Since Huesman took over in 2017, there have only been two seasons in which our top three receivers all eclipsed 500 yards.

2017 – led by QB Kyle Lauletta

and 2022 – led by QB Reece Udinski

If the Spiders want to get out of this run-heavy + close to the line-of-scrimmage passing attack, it will take a group effort from our skill players and we have the receivers to do it. Especially in a 12-game schedule, having three guys eclipse 500 yards (just over 40 YPG) is not a tall task.

You probably noted that a key component of those seasons was being led by outstanding QB play, and while I’m not here to say Snelsire will suddenly make the jump to a 4th round NFL draft pick like Lauletta was, it’s worth noting how having a 5th-year QB can bring new life to an offense. We got a glimpse last season of how well Snelsire can distribute it across the entire field. With a handful of options at WR, there’s no reason the offense shouldn’t break out of that shell and see multiple outside threats make big strides in 2026.

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2026 Position Group preview: Tight Ends – Monday, August 17th