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2018 Richmond Spiders Football - Countdown - Villanova

mojo-spider

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Dec 31, 2010
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Spiders have won four of the last five versus the Wildcats...the last two have been shutouts!...

both head coaches entering their 2nd seasons with much left to prove after succeeding extremely successful coaches...

Richmond will be rested after an off week...the Wildcats come in off of JMU and New Hampshire with an off week in between...

this is Homecoming...

enjoy the Countdown...

Go Spiders!
 



Richmond's Kevin Johnson started the Spiders' first five games, then suffered a concussion.

  • JOE MAHONEY/TIMES-DISPATCH



Richmond's Joe Mancuso started the last three Spiders' games at quarterback.

  • JOE MAHONEY/TIMES-DISPATCH

Junior Kevin Johnson started as the University of Richmond’s quarterback through the Spiders’ first five games. After Johnson suffered a concussion, sophomore Joe Mancuso started the last three games.

The identity of Saturday’s starter against Villanova in Richmond’s homecoming game will be determined by this week’s practices, Spiders coach Russ Huesman said Monday. Johnson returned to practice last week, ahead of UR’s bye weekend.


“They both have to practice well. We’ll make a decision later on in the week, the direction we’re going to go,” Huesman said. “It’s nice to have two guys there, to have that situation. Once we make a decision who’s going, he’s going to go, and it’s not going to be any rotation, any every-two-series [situation], or whatever. We’re going to make a decision and go with it. We just don’t know what the decision is yet.”

The Spiders (3-5, 1-4 CAA) went 2-3 with Johnson as their starter, and 1-2 with Mancuso. Richmond leads the CAA in passing offense (291 ypg) and ranks second in total offense (408 ypg).

“Both quarterbacks have moved it effectively. ... The problem offensively is we’re turning the ball over too many times, and we’re turning it over in critical situations,” said Huesman, whose team has a minus-5 turnover margin and has converted 28.6 percent of third-down opportunities.

Villanova (3-5, 0-5 CAA) began the season by beating Temple, a 5-3 FBS team that’s tied for American Athletic Conference lead with a 4-0 league record. The Wildcats were shut out in each of their last two games, 37-0 by James Madison and 34-0 by New Hampshire. Both of those games were played at Villanova.

“Very similar to us. I would say if you look at their season and look at our season, they probably look very, very familiar. They’ve got a great program, and I feel like we’ve got a great place here, too,” Huesman said. “Tough times don’t last forever. As long as you’ve got good kids who are willing to work, you’ve got a chance.”
 
I am going to be back at UR this weekend and am looking forward to the game. Glad to see the weather forecast for Saturday has improved considerably!
 
The forecast for the whole weekend looks much better! Big Pika reunion party Friday night, and Saturday pregame tailgate. Whoop whoop!
 
After starting at OT against Michigan State at 18, Spider Tim Coleman can handle challenges
JOHN O'CONNOR·2 hours ago
There probably will be nothing Tim Coleman deals with in a college football game that's more challenging than what he dealt with in his first college football game.

Coleman started at left offensive tackle for Furman on Sept. 2, 2016. He was 18, playing in front of 74,516 at Michigan State, which was ranked No. 12 and coming off a 12-2 season. On Furman's second offensive play, Coleman was flagged for a false start. Otherwise, things didn't go too badly for Coleman and the Paladins, who lost 28-13.

"I held my own," said Coleman, who was the first Furman true freshman offensive lineman to start a season-opener since the 1970s.

Coleman transferred to the University of Richmond, sat out last season, and this year is once again an offensive-line starter. All of that position shifting that's gone on among the Spiders' blockers because of injuries? That doesn't assist in the development of chemistry, Coleman acknowledged, but it presents opportunities to learn new pages in the playbook.

"You've got to see the glass as half-full," said Coleman, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound redshirt sophomore.

Coleman, a resident of Stone Mountain, Ga., has played guard and tackle. John Yarbrough has played those positions, and center. Versatility has also been required of UR's other offensive linemen.

They aren't alone in this extended adjustment period. Only three offensive players have started every game for Richmond (3-5, 1-4 CAA), which will be visited by Villanova (3-5, 0-5 CAA) Saturday on homecoming.

"Even with the shuffling, I think they're performing very well," UR second-year coach Russ Huesman said of his offensive linemen.

After his one and only season at Furman, Coleman was named to the 2016 HERO Sports FCS Freshman All-America Team. His decision to transfer followed the resignation of Furman coach Bruce Fowler, who stepped down after six years with a 27-43 record.

Coleman's association with Huesman came later than either would have guessed. Chattanooga, with Huesman as its coach, offered Coleman a scholarship when he was a senior at Atlanta's Pace Academy. FBS members Georgia State and Arkansas State also wanted Coleman.

"In choosing Furman over Chattanooga, Chattanooga was a late offer. It happened like two days before the signing day," said Coleman, a high-school center. "I had already committed to Furman by then."

When Coleman determined he would switch schools, Richmond became an attractive option because of the presence of Kevin Johnson, a junior quarterback at UR, and Spiders' redshirt freshman linebacker Jordan Payne. The three played at Pace Academy for coach Chris Slade, the former Virginia All-American from Newport News and NFL linebacker from 1993-2001.
 

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Receiver Jarmal Bevels and quarterback Joe Mancuso exchanged congratulations after a touchdown vs. Delaware this season.

JOE MAHONEY/TIMES-DISPATCH

The University of Richmond welcomes Villanova for homecoming Saturday and there's mystery at QB for both teams. As the week began, the Spiders and Wildcats were unsure, at least publicly, about who would take their first snaps.

At UR, coach Russ Huesman said he would use practices leading into the game to determine whether sophomore Joe Mancuso, who started the last three games, or Kevin Johnson, who started the first five games and has been unavailable since suffering a concussion on Sept. 29, would open for the Spiders.

Johnson returned to practice last week, heading into UR's open Saturday.


“We’ve probably got a good idea what we’re going to do,” Huesman said at his Wednesday meeting with the media. “But not going to tell you guys. Sorry.”

There will be no time-sharing at the position, according to Huesman,

Villanova senior QB Zach Bednarczyk, a captain with 32 career starts, has been in and out of the lineup with a shoulder injury. According to second-year VU coach Mark Ferrante, Bedmarczyk is “questionable” for the Wildcats’ visit to Robins Stadium.

The Spiders (3-5, 1-4 CAA) and Wildcats (3-5, 0-5 CAA) were projected as middle-of-the-pack finishers in the CAA preseason poll. Both teams have been held back by injuries and other issues. Richmond’s deep and talented wide-receiver group recently thinned. Huesman said senior Tyler Wilkins and junior Cortrelle Simpson, UR’s top two receivers, are “banged up” and may not play Saturday.


Additionally, Richmond’s staff has decided to shut down freshman Aaron Dykes, who brought speed and quickness to the backfield. Dykes played four games, the max permitted by an NCAA rule new this season for players redshirting.


Bednarczyk, a 6-foot-1 200-pounder, has been one of the CAA’s top dual-threat QBs for years. When he left Villanova’s most recent game with a re-injured shoulder, VU brought in 6-7 freshman Qadir Ismail, who completed 3 of 12.

“Regardless of who’s at quarterback, know their tendencies, know where they like to scramble, what they like to do, and be prepared for all of them,” said defensive tackle Andrew Clyde, who is second among Spiders with four-and-a-half sacks. “It’s just kind of a wait-and-see game.”

Villanova lost its last two games, at home, 37-0 to James Madison and 34-0 to New Hampshire.

"We didn't feel like the guys were quitting, or anything like that. ... We didn't give up,” said Ferrante. “We just didn't perform at the level that I'm hoping we're capable of performing."

NOTE: At halftime, the Spiders will honor their 2018 Hall of Fame class, comprised of Greg Lilly (football), Kevin Anderson (basketball), Tom Bondurant (baseball) Becca Wann Taylor (basketball and soccer), Ken Hart (equipment manager) and the 1999 men’s golf team.
 
Any inside information on which qb will start? I'm guessing Johnson...............but would prefer Mancuso
 
Bob Black was in Brosephs show this morning and said he would be surprised if it wasn’t JM.
 
Who is Howard and who is Canady? Is this the second string?

and two of those empty seats are mine, I'm at home sick
 
Well, they were outscored 71-0 in the last two games, so of course they march straight down the field and score an easy touchdown.
 
Wow, great touchbacks all game! No, wait, that's the Nova kicker, never mind...
 
Wonder if we see Johnson to start the second half. JM goes 4-9 for 90yds with 2 picks. He’s put up running numbers but that isn’t great throwing it.
 
DT his receivers are pathetic and are not running or finishing their routes. Jacobs is just lazy.
 
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