Spring Practice Dates Posted
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Junior Day is 4/7 - assuming one of the scrimmages will be on that day. Looking like the Spring Game will be 4/21. Looking forward to seeing what year 2 of the RH regime will bring!
Am looking forward to the spring game, and have 4/21 on my calendar. This is a great venue to see the freshmen, especially, and get a handle on which ones are likely to play right away. I hope we pulled in some talented recruits this year...
Football 03/15/2018 Matt Moretti III (@Moretts13)
Spider Football Spring Practice Dates, Times and Coverage Announced
Russ Huesman era next week as spring practice gets underway. The Spiders will once again be live from Robins Stadium for 14 practices leading up to the annual Spring Game on April 21.
The first spring practice date has been set for Tuesday (Mar. 20) at 4:30 p.m. live from Robins Stadium and the final practice date will be the annual Spring Game, which will be held on Saturday (Apr. 21) at 1 p.m. Admission to the Spring Game is free. Each practice is currently planned to take place at the Robins Stadium but be sure to stay tuned to RichmondSpiders.com and all other Spider Football social media platforms for confirmation dates on scrimmages and any venue or time changes. All practices will be open to the public and fans are encouraged to enjoy practices from the west concourse of the stadium.
In addition to the live action of the field, fans will have access to unmatched coverage of the program from behind the scenes throughout spring practice. Written and video features will be available on RichmondSpiders.com along with an all-new podcast that will feature exclusive interviews and content from practice. For the first time ever, the award-winning Spider TV crew will produce a live broadcast from the sidelines during a practice as well. Next week, coverage will commence with an in-depth preview of spring practice.
The 2018 edition of the football team will return All-American and 2017 CAA sack leader, rising-senior defensive lineman, Andrew Clyde (9.0 sacks) alongside Freshman All-American, rising-sophomore defensive lineman Colby Ritten (9.5 TFL) to a defense anchored by All-CAA linebacker, rising-senior Justin Rubin (92 tackles). The defensive unit will bring back six starters, four of which made of the top four tackles on the team in 2017 (Rubin, rising-junior Daniel Jones – 68 tackles, rising-senior Dale Matthews – 67 tackles, rising-senior Micah Keels – 65 tackles).
On offense, the Spiders bring back each of their top three wide receivers from a season ago, all of which received All-CAA recognition. Rising-junior Cortrelle Simpson led the way with 1,019 yards from scrimmage on just 60 catches, giving him an average of 16.98 yards per catch, which ranked second in the CAA. His 92.6 yards per game also ranked second in the CAA. Rising-Senior Dejon Brissett, who hauled in a team-leading 63 catches for 896 yards and seven touchdowns, returns for his senior season. He was fourth in the CAA with 5.73 receptions per game and third in receiving yards per game (81.5). Rising-senior Tyler Wilkins, also a returning senior, anchors that group. He was fifth in the CAA with 5.64 receptions per game and fourth in receiving yards per game (79.6) to go with seven touchdowns as well. Richmond is the only school in the FCS to finish the regular season with three receivers over 800 yards on the year. It was Wilkins' second straight All-CAA honor after being named to the third team in 2016.
Each of the top four Spider rushers also return, led by rising-junior Xavier Goodall who gained 452 yards on the ground to go with three touchdowns and followed by rising-senior Gordon Collins (242 yards, 4 TD), rising-junior Jay Palmer (222 yards, 1 TD) and rising-junior Deontez Thompson (197 yards, 2 TD).
Kevin Johnson, who quarterbacked the Spiders to a pair of playoff victories in 2016, returns along with 2017 backup, rising-sophomore Joe Mancuso. Johnson threw for 761 yards and three touchdowns during that 2016 FCS Quarterfinal run. That pair will throw behind the protection of returning All-CAA center, rising-senior John Yarbrough.
Not to be forgotten is First Team All-CAA kicker, rising-senior Griffin Trauwho converted 12 of 15 tries in 2017 with a long of 41 yards.
Looking ahead to the 2018 season, an outstanding home schedule is in place, featuring six home games, including tilts against CAA rivals JMU and Delaware. Also this season, we will recognize the anniversaries of the 2008 National Championship team and the 1968 team that won the Tangerine Bowl as well as the Spider Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremonies which will transition to a home football weekend.
Practice Schedule
March 20 – 4:30 p.m.
March 22 – 4:30 p.m.
March 24 – 8:45 a.m.
March 27 – 4:30 p.m.
March 29 – 4:15 p.m.
March 31 – 6:30 a.m.
April 3 – 4:30 p.m.
April 5 – 4:30 p.m.
April 7 – 8:45 a.m.
April 10 – 4:30 p.m.
April 12 – 4:30 p.m.
April 14 – 7:45 a.m.
April 17 – 4:30 p.m.
April 19 – 4:30 p.m.
April 21 – Spring Game – 1 p.m
Incoming recruits and their families will likely be attendance at Spring game.
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In spring ball, Spiders may look a bit different on offense, a bit more seasoned on defense
Quarterback Kevin Johnson led Richmond in the 2016 FCS playoffs, when Kyle Lauletta was out with a knee injury.
While at Chattanooga, coach Russ Huesman and offensive coordinator Jeff Durden operated a successful offense that featured the quarterback as a passer and runner. Last season, their first at Richmond, the running component was minimized with QB Kyle Lauletta as the Spiders’ passing centerpiece.
“There was no way we were going to do our offense from Chattanooga,” Huesman said. “We saw what (Lauletta) could do. We knew he could throw it. We knew we had some really, really good receivers.
“I probably look stupid, but I’m not that stupid. If we would have been running power reads, quarterback zone (runs), quarterback powers, we’d have probably been laughed off the field. We knew (Lauletta’s) skill set.”
Lauletta finished his senior season as the fifth-leading passer in the FCS (3,737 yards), completed his career as the leading passer in UR history, and is projected as a mid-round pick in late-April’s NFL Draft.
When the Spiders start spring football Tuesday, Richmond’s offense is expected to blend in more of the quarterback runs that were effective in the system Huesman and Durden used at Chattanooga.
Junior Kevin Johnson, a 6-foot 195-pound junior from Atlanta, will be UR’s top quarterback as spring ball begins. He started three 2016 FCS playoff games when Lauletta was out with a knee injury. Johnson led UR to a win over North Carolina A&T and a victory at North Dakota before the Spiders were eliminated in the quarterfinals at Eastern Washington.
In those three games, Johnson distinguished himself as a passer (50-76 for 761 yards), and also totaled 33 carries. At Chattanooga, Huesman’s QBs ran about 10 times a game.
"We really wanted to give (Johnson) an opportunity to redshirt (in 2017, which he did), so we'd have him for two years after Kyle left," said Durden. "The decision was to move toward what Richmond had been in the past, not change everything."
Now, things are expected to adjust a bit, though Johnson will work behind an offensive line that lost three starters, plus tight end Garrett Hudson.
“We’ve got to get some young offensive linemen better, for sure. Some of those kids have to get good quickly,” said Huesman, whose first UR team went 6-5 (4-4 CAA). “That’ll be important for us, the continuity there, finding the top seven or eight kids there. We think we can be good. We really do, but that’s a priority.”
Richmond's 2017 defense employed a 4-2-5 scheme, which Huesman's Chattanooga teams used. That was new for UR’s players, and it showed early in the season.
“We got better as the year went on. You could see a change in the defense as the year went on, and that was key,” said Huesman. “But we have to continue to get better, to grow with the (scheme), to kind of figure it out even more.”
- BY JOHN O'CONNOR Richmond Times-Dispatch
- 5 hrs ago
Quarterback Kevin Johnson led Richmond in the 2016 FCS playoffs, when Kyle Lauletta was out with a knee injury.
While at Chattanooga, coach Russ Huesman and offensive coordinator Jeff Durden operated a successful offense that featured the quarterback as a passer and runner. Last season, their first at Richmond, the running component was minimized with QB Kyle Lauletta as the Spiders’ passing centerpiece.
“There was no way we were going to do our offense from Chattanooga,” Huesman said. “We saw what (Lauletta) could do. We knew he could throw it. We knew we had some really, really good receivers.
“I probably look stupid, but I’m not that stupid. If we would have been running power reads, quarterback zone (runs), quarterback powers, we’d have probably been laughed off the field. We knew (Lauletta’s) skill set.”
Lauletta finished his senior season as the fifth-leading passer in the FCS (3,737 yards), completed his career as the leading passer in UR history, and is projected as a mid-round pick in late-April’s NFL Draft.
When the Spiders start spring football Tuesday, Richmond’s offense is expected to blend in more of the quarterback runs that were effective in the system Huesman and Durden used at Chattanooga.
Junior Kevin Johnson, a 6-foot 195-pound junior from Atlanta, will be UR’s top quarterback as spring ball begins. He started three 2016 FCS playoff games when Lauletta was out with a knee injury. Johnson led UR to a win over North Carolina A&T and a victory at North Dakota before the Spiders were eliminated in the quarterfinals at Eastern Washington.
In those three games, Johnson distinguished himself as a passer (50-76 for 761 yards), and also totaled 33 carries. At Chattanooga, Huesman’s QBs ran about 10 times a game.
"We really wanted to give (Johnson) an opportunity to redshirt (in 2017, which he did), so we'd have him for two years after Kyle left," said Durden. "The decision was to move toward what Richmond had been in the past, not change everything."
Now, things are expected to adjust a bit, though Johnson will work behind an offensive line that lost three starters, plus tight end Garrett Hudson.
“We’ve got to get some young offensive linemen better, for sure. Some of those kids have to get good quickly,” said Huesman, whose first UR team went 6-5 (4-4 CAA). “That’ll be important for us, the continuity there, finding the top seven or eight kids there. We think we can be good. We really do, but that’s a priority.”
Richmond's 2017 defense employed a 4-2-5 scheme, which Huesman's Chattanooga teams used. That was new for UR’s players, and it showed early in the season.
“We got better as the year went on. You could see a change in the defense as the year went on, and that was key,” said Huesman. “But we have to continue to get better, to grow with the (scheme), to kind of figure it out even more.”
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