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RH's "Body of Work"

Mo 2.0

Mo 2.0

Assistant Coach
Jul 6, 2021
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As Head Man of the Spiders, Coach is sitting at 20-21 with a 13-16 League Record. This really isn't great.

Feels like a couple meaningful wins have to come here soon, right? Would we say that the biggest of this regime was the win at a mediocre Delaware team a couple years ago when we returned a couple kicks for scores?
 
We can try to spin it all we want but it’s not very impressive. He’s a great defensive coordinator and maybe with a better staff could have success…but we don’t have the right mix here. Head guy gets paid to be the one responsible (at least at 99% of college athletic programs).
 
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DTSpider said:
but we don’t have the right mix here.
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What I see. We have the talent and depth this year. Staff is more an issue than personnel.

QB play is sometimes shaky for a playoff hopeful, but we were spoiled by Strass and Lauletta who could almost always hit the open man.

More surprised by the defense than offense. Thought they would be totally dominant most Saturdays while the Durden offense would do just enough to get us over the hump.
 
The biggest problem is recruiting, followed by coaching.

We have had to rely on the transfer portal for starting wide receivers every year. In '19 it was Keyston and Charlie, this year it's Leroy and Jonathan (that's not even mentioning TE John Fitzgerald who's yet to see the field this season). So every year we are putting Band-Aids on gashing deficiencies (next year, I'm sure we will see two or three more). On this year's team we recruited two freshman receivers, one of which has been converted to running back the other is suspended for who knows how long. Where's the continuity every program in America pines for? I guess it's in next years Transfer Portal.

We run that screwy Durden "Hybrid RPO Offense", when our biggest running back is 203 pound Aaron Dykes (this is not knock on Dykes at all). We had to shut down Deontez in '17 and '18; Xavier in '19; and Howard in '21. When was the last time we recruited a 'wrecking ball'? Tim Hightower? There is no small wonder that our 220 pound quarterback has led the team in rushing in each year since he has taken over (not counting last spring).

There is real value in a UR scholarship, we have to more selective and not just settle (no disrespect intended to any member of this team's roster).
 
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KE Spider said:
Transfers are the name of the game in FCS now. See JMU. If you ain't getting them, you ain't serious about being a playoff contender.
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I agree with you. Players that feel unappreciated when they thought they were recruited to be ”the” starter at their position can be a very positive addition.
 
Speyederman said:
The biggest problem is recruiting, followed by coaching.

We have had to rely on the transfer portal for starting wide receivers every year.

There is real value in a UR scholarship, we have to more selective and not just settle (no disrespect intended to any member of this team's roster).
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This. The fact that he was on a staff with Dave Clawson that prioritized academics as a recruiting pitch as well as London and Rocco but I never hear anything from Coach RH when publicly selling our program. Did he not learn anything from that staff? I remember those 2005-2007 classes RH helped recruit with and he hasn't put together any class close to that great on paper despite having far better facilities and a championship pedigree as a head coach. Not to mention if I am a freshman and have a transfer brought in to replace me not exactly going to help with your HS recruiting don't you think?

UR is what 65k a year? That's a quarter million dollar scholarship has a lot more value than playing at most FCS low level school where you are unlikely to wind up in the NFL. You are literally offering 3x the value of another scholarship of any other program in the conference (Except Villanova) and I have yet to see this as any talking points when I hear coaches sell our program publicly. Just look at recruits visits with social media at other schools vs ours. Its pathetic quite frankly. Every recruiting letter sent from this staff should start with the average starting salary of graduates from the Top 25 in FCS and show how much more they stand to make with a degree from here.

The pinheads in our administration should be embarrassed at what they have allowed the football program to turn into. It was like watching a slow moving car crash and were still picking up pieces. Rocco is chugging along, Keith Gill failed up into making the Sun Belt relevant, and Crutcher is cashing some fat retirement checks while we deal with the fallout of this spectacular incompetency. Hardt is even more useless, had a chance to assess what was going on and thinks everything is fine. This is nothing more than a retirement gig for him. I can live with suffer through basketball a little bit more easily because there is a different level to the competition there (not excusing it) but we are in a power conference for FCS football. ACT AND RECRUIT LIKE IT. Every time I hear coach RH face adversity he pouts and is uninspiring. Hate to say it but with that rhetoric if I had a kid, I would hope he would choose a more competent/inspiring coaching staff to play for. I don't think its all his fault but he's the guy in charge so the buck stops there especially if he hasn't realized that his OC and his system is obsolete.

There is a school across town that has never had a football team and currently has more F*****ng NFL players than us in the league and I am sure that is just fine to all of Paul Queally's drinking buddies he's hired to run the show.
 
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Ferrum Spider said:
This. The fact that he was on a staff with Dave Clawson that prioritized academics as a recruiting pitch as well as London and Rocco but I never hear anything from Coach RH when publicly selling our program. Did he not learn anything from that staff? I remember those 2005-2007 classes RH helped recruit with and he hasn't put together any class close to that great on paper despite having far better facilities and a championship pedigree as a head coach. Not to mention if I am a freshman and have a transfer brought in to replace me not exactly going to help with your HS recruiting don't you think?

UR is what 65k a year? That's a quarter million dollar scholarship has a lot more value than playing at most FCS low level school where you are unlikely to wind up in the NFL. You are literally offering 3x the value of another scholarship of any other program in the conference (Except Villanova) and I have yet to see this as any talking points when I hear coaches sell our program publicly. Just look at recruits visits with social media at other schools vs ours. Its pathetic quite frankly. Every recruiting letter sent from this staff should start with the average starting salary of graduates from the Top 25 in FCS and show how much more they stand to make with a degree from here.

The pinheads in our administration should be embarrassed at what they have allowed the football program to turn into. It was like watching a slow moving car crash and were left to pick up the pieces. Rocco is chugging along, Keith Gill failed up into making the Sun Belt relevant, and Crutcher is cashing some fat retirement checks while we deal with the fallout of this spectacular incompetency. Hardt is even more useless, had a chance to assess what was going on and thinks everything is fine. I can live with suffer through basketball a little bit more easily because there is a different level to the competition there (not excusing it) but we are in a power conference for FCS football. ACT AND RECRUIT LIKE IT. Every time I hear coach RH face adversity he pouts and is uninspiring. I don't think its all his fault but he's the guy in charge so the buck stops there especially if he hasn't realized that his OC and his system is obsolete.

There is a school across town that has never had a football team and currently has more F*****ng NFL players than us in the league and I am sure that is just fine to all of Paul Queally's drinking buddies he's hired to run the show.
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Calm down Ferrum, you’re going to burst an artery, or something. But, I agree with most of what you say.
 
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AnnapSpider said:
Calm down Ferrum, you’re going to burst an artery, or something. But, I agree with most of what you say.
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LOL someone has to say it while they all pat themselves on the back while they have their intern read this board. I am pretty measured in my responses over the years handling this athletic department but I am over them and their mismanagement and apathy. Maybe I am speaking too soon and well upset tech and beat JMU on the way to the playoffs but I just cant even see "the future is bright" with this program. The past 5 years have beat me down and prefer not to be negative but am just tired of this predictable mediocrity and putting lipstick on a pig.
 
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Ferrum, I have heard the academic pitch many times,. Cannot say I have heard the income pitch though. Not trying to defend, but I do want to be accurate.
 
urfan1 said:
Ferrum, I have heard the academic pitch many times,. Cannot say I have heard the income pitch though. Not trying to defend, but I do want to be accurate.
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When you have heard this pitch do they follow anything up with it or just say "we have great academics" other than just pointing them into the direction of some degrees the school offers? I've heard him say that, should of mentioned that in my earlier argument, but I've also heard the previous coaches articulate their academic recruiting pitch and when comparing it to his it leaves a lot to be desired and you can see it in our recruiting results.

Anyone can regurgitate a canned talking point about academics without specifying what it can do for you which is what I am complaining about. Perhaps they are doing it behind the scenes but IMO they need to do a lot better.

If they were successful with regards to recruiting I wouldn't be questioning it so much.
 
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Speyederman said:
The biggest problem is recruiting, followed by coaching.

We have had to rely on the transfer portal for starting wide receivers every year. In '19 it was Keyston and Charlie, this year it's Leroy and Jonathan (that's not even mentioning TE John Fitzgerald who's yet to see the field this season). So every year we are putting Band-Aids on gashing deficiencies (next year, I'm sure we will see two or three more). On this year's team we recruited two freshman receivers, one of which has been converted to running back the other is suspended for who knows how long. Where's the continuity every program in America pines for? I guess it's in next years Transfer Portal.

We run that screwy Durden "Hybrid RPO Offense", when our biggest running back is 203 pound Aaron Dykes (this is not knock on Dykes at all). We had to shut down Deontez in '17 and '18; Xavier in '19; and Howard in '21. When was the last time we recruited a 'wrecking ball'? Tim Hightower? There is no small wonder that our 220 pound quarterback has led the team in rushing in each year since he has taken over (not counting last spring).

There is real value in a UR scholarship, we have to more selective and not just settle (no disrespect intended to any member of this team's roster).
Click to expand...
Just to be accurate, we have had two large, strong, NFL tailback sine Hightower....Vaughn and Gaskin. And those 3 were back to back to back
 
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We need more NFL-caliber talent, no matter the position. Lauletta was our last guy to get drafted and i don't think we've had anyone close to the NFL radar since. Maybe Kobie Turner this year?

From the Mid 2000's until Lauletta, we had guys on the NFL map most every year.
 
is the the last year on coach russ contract? i have to admit when they hired him , was excited , seemed like a great fit, now just seems what can go wrong will go wrong
 
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I have to walk on eggshells when saying this for fear of insulting somebody, but nonetheless at this point someone has to say it; go back and look at RH's Five Recruiting Classes. For every Tristan Wheeler or Aaron Dykes, there are five or six 'no shows'.

Make no mistake, whatever success this team enjoys this year is dependent on the performance of what's left of Danny Rocco's last recruiting class at Richmond. Otherwise, the roster, like the coaching, is sore lacking.
 
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I'm not as down on the recruiting - I think there is some potential NFL talent on this squad, but injuries have muddied the waters there.

What's most alarming to me are the collapses. The Yale game was less than 2 years ago, and now we've lost two "must-win" games where we were at a > 95% probability to win late in the 4th. Our guys just don't execute in the clutch, and I do believe that stems from coaching "not to lose."
 
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No problem with the transfer thing – if anything, I'm actually glad to see us going that route more than we used to. Kinda sucks with guys we only get to see for a year, but it's better than not having them for that year.

But yeah, this is it for Russ unless we make a playoff run.
 
DTSpider said:
Hard to recruit when you’re losing…
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To an extent, I agree, but, recruiting is a process.

First, you have to plant the seeds as early as Junior High in order to be successful. In a state with as many colleges vying for talent as Virginia has, you have to broaden the scope considerably and not settle on competing for what's left after UVA and VT has cherry picked the state. We HAVE to recruit nationally...a three hour radius after the BCS has raided the area isn't cutting it.

Second, you have to turn a Saturday Afternoon (Saturday Night which I would prefer) at Robbins into an event...a happening...and not just a football game, Every college in the South, BCS or FCS has a band, a drill team, a color guard, dance team, pyrotechnics, and (most importantly) a filled stadium. Right now, game day is not unlike going to a glorified high school game that gets a little more media attention. Despite the improved infrastructure, it's a very sterile environment.

Third, within the constraints of the NCAA, of course, you have to make official visits to our campus memorable....not only for the athlete, but for the parents/guardians, It's simple...win momma, and you have a huge ally in your corner.

Fourth, I'd love to see us emphasize a walk-on program (especially with high performing academic high schools) and dedicate a scholarship every year to a high performer.

Fifth (and most important) you have to sell the REAL VALUE of a Richmond Athletic Scholarship (and I'm not just talking about it's immediate monetary value). You have to emphasize the off the field accomplishments and successes of former UR athletes in their later life. Stress how a UR Diploma opens up opportunities that others' might not provide. Our scholarships can be transformative. Don't be afraid to say so.

We have something special to offer....we just have to package it correctly.
 
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Like your #4 idea, could make the individual(s) fan favorites also. I would add we need to do a much better job with the tuition free for Virginia students of need.
 
I suspect we have more walk-ons than people realize, including those that ultimately become scholarship players. Have heard from past players that were walkons that there’s a stigma and they wouldn’t want fans to know. That being said, there’s an art to it and I’m sure that we could do it a heck of a lot better than we are. Simple premise…when you recruit a player, encourage a HS teammate to walk-on. Know that has worked before.
 
I told y’all this program would be damaged to an unbelievable extent after the Danny Rocco fiasco. A lot of people on here said it would be a quick recovery and we would be fine with RH. Hate to say it but looks like I was right. We may not ever recover from the damage that was done by Rocco leaving.
 
“We may not ever recover from the damage that was done by Rocco leaving.”

Nothing that a new AD or two (reorg specialist followed by a solid administrator) couldn’t cure. The real issue is the tone from the top. We haven‘t had a UR President who really supports athletics in a while. I really hope President Hallock will supply that change. So far, he is saying the right things.
 
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Spiderwiz said:
“We may not ever recover from the damage that was done by Rocco leaving.”

Nothing that a new AD or two (reorg specialist followed by a solid administrator) couldn’t cure. The real issue is the tone from the top. We haven‘t had a UR President who really supports athletics in a while. I really hope President Hallock will supply that change. So far, he is saying the right things.
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Saying the right things means nothing. We have heard the “right things” before. Fill my in if I’m wrong because I’m probably too young to remember but wasn’t Ayers a supporter of athletics?
 
712_VT said:
Saying the right things means nothing. We have heard the “right things” before. Fill my in if I’m wrong because I’m probably too young to remember but wasn’t Ayers a supporter of athletics?
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Ayers was a supporter of athletics when it was politically convenient for him. Like a great photo opp with a NC Trophy in Chattanooga type of supporter.
 
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Mo 2.0 said:
Ayers was a supporter of athletics when it was politically convenient for him. Like a great photo opp with a NC Trophy in Chattanooga type of supporter.
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I was at Chattanooga and at end of game saw Ayers in stands smiling at fans on field and looked to me
as though he had shed a few tears of happiness.
 
712_VT said:
Saying the right things means nothing. We have heard the “right things” before. Fill my in if I’m wrong because I’m probably too young to remember but wasn’t Ayers a supporter of athletics?
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Vt...pls provide some guidance on parking options near Lane for people without passes....
 
CarolinaSpider said:
I was at Chattanooga and at end of game saw Ayers in stands smiling at fans on field and looked to me
as though he had shed a few tears of happiness.
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Hopefully he also shed some tears over the demise of Track and Soccer and the rejection of a cadre of useful recruits for our money sports.
 
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bullfrog91 said:
Vt...pls provide some guidance on parking options near Lane for people without passes....
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Well it’s not gonna be easy to find parking I can tell you that. You can park at the food lion shopping center closest to the stadium but a lot of people already do that so will be tough to pull that off. I could also always hook you up with parking at my old fraternity house which has a very large parking lot/driveway. The only thing is our house is sort of far from the stadium so you would almost certainly have to get an Uber to pick you up from parking at the fraternity house.
 
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