2025 Richmond Spiders Football - Prologue - Lafayette
- Thread starter Mojo-Spider
- Start date
ur79&peanuts
Bench player
Sadly though not enough
Good position except Spiders lost 11 starters to the portal, 10 to FBS, plus normal graduations. We are playing with practically a whole new deck this year in many positions, hence the brain dead penalties at the worst possible moments and blown assignments for chunk yardage.. Didn't expect miracles. Did you?
Huesman can be legitimately criticized for many things, but recruiting ain't one of them. Ten guys transferring up to FBS last year proves that.
SpiderRick
Bench player
I just love it when the trolls come on our board and tell us how to think and act. Many Spiders are old enough to remember 17 years ago winning the national championship and an era of having numerous Spiders in the NFL and CFL. Our coach sucks the oxygen out of the room...
Eight Legger
Walk-on
I mean, this is modern reality. We are going to go through this every season if we are any good, and maybe even if we aren't. So no, I'm not giving him a bye for this season. He had time to go out and recruit new players to fill those spots and obviously he didn't do a good enough job. Lots of other coaches faced the exact same issue last year and ended up better than we did. He needs to get it right this year or it's time to move on.
Exactly 8Legger.
All schools playing the same game. New era of portal & NIL. Either adapt or be left behind. Lead or follow. Next season should give us an idea of where we stand and how successful.
But do others schools give NIL for football?
The Spiders are 35-16 over last four years with two conference championships and 3 playoff appearances. Not enough???
Perhaps ire should be directed at MBB not FB.
I was definitely not satisfied with the overall outcome of this season but do recognize the quality program that has be reestablished and maintained since Huesman took over. We lose kids because this staff knows how to recruit and develop talent on a consistent basis. Talent, a culture of hard work and an expectation of winning consistently makes our players attractive to FBS programs that dangle money and promises that sometimes make it hard for guys to turn down. My hope is that a core group of players each year will continue to value what UR has to offer and stay that extra year to chase championships in an environment they have thrived in as an undergraduate. The players may not get immediate money but by staying; improve their academic transcript with a graduate degree from UR and continue to develop relationships that will last a lifetime while creating career paths in the real world that could over time pay much greater dividends than a one year NIL payment. It has also been proven that if the talent is there the NFL will find you no matter if in FCS or FBS.
Very well said. More articulate than I.
Arachnid
Bench player
My concern is that with the offensive offensive scheme of run run run the QB we are not getting the running backs, receivers or qb needed to be successful and carry the team deep into the playoffs. Look at the position players who left. Look at who Cosh brought in with his O. I know it was an unusual circumstance for that one year. It was successful, why was it abandoned? Can we not find another young coach versed in a wide open air raid O?
So far, Richmond has been a destination for coaches, rather than a stepping stone. The same is true for Villanova and William and Mary. Maybe Coach Huesman has built a winning tradition at Richmond. The team has fought in every game.
However, I agree with 32counter- Coach Huesman is more like a defensive coordinator masquerading as a head coach. One may argue that Russ Huesman is not a field general.
Below is Coach Huesman's tenure at UR from 2017.
2017, 6-5, Lauletta's last year at Richmond
2018, 4-7
2019, 5-7
2020, 3-1, Covid, the year the world went nuts.
2021, 6-5, we closed November with 4 straight wins.
2022, 9-4, Billy Cosh and the VMI stars arrive.
2023, 9-4, Winston October takes over
2024, 10-3, Winston October leaves, 11 starters leave for various reasons.
2025, 7-5, Jacob Huesman takes over, the offense was a disaster.
After very good offensive coordinators from 22 to 24, Huesman finally hired his son. As a result, the offense returned to the norm this year.
It seems like our best coaching job was the second half of the William and Mary game.
We will not be able to win, unless we have a better offensive scheme.
However, I agree with 32counter- Coach Huesman is more like a defensive coordinator masquerading as a head coach. One may argue that Russ Huesman is not a field general.
Below is Coach Huesman's tenure at UR from 2017.
2017, 6-5, Lauletta's last year at Richmond
2018, 4-7
2019, 5-7
2020, 3-1, Covid, the year the world went nuts.
2021, 6-5, we closed November with 4 straight wins.
2022, 9-4, Billy Cosh and the VMI stars arrive.
2023, 9-4, Winston October takes over
2024, 10-3, Winston October leaves, 11 starters leave for various reasons.
2025, 7-5, Jacob Huesman takes over, the offense was a disaster.
After very good offensive coordinators from 22 to 24, Huesman finally hired his son. As a result, the offense returned to the norm this year.
It seems like our best coaching job was the second half of the William and Mary game.
We will not be able to win, unless we have a better offensive scheme.
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First excellent points by @Spiderjpo. I think what he describes is exactly what UR offers.
However, my opinion aligns with @Mojo-Spider about Huesman. He is a defensive minded coach in a world with many more innovations. His brand of football is boring and in this world of NIL a very important factor is butts in the seats and sponsorship. As an on the sidelines type of fan, I have zero interest in paying to see a UR game. That’s a problem.
Second, the Patriot League is a competitive league with balance from top to bottom. It doesn’t have the best players in FCS, but it does have good teams. The best teams will be the ones that can retain the most players. I heard all about how bad Georgetown was and all I saw was a football team that should have beaten Richmond. In addition, there is no “lucking out” with the unbalanced schedule nonsense in the Patriot like there is in the CAA. UR is going to have to play the best teams in the conference every year. I can guarantee those teams are going to be be just as committed to making the playoffs as Richmond has been.
So if anyone thinks UR is just going to win because thy have in the recent past, I think they are in for a large disappointment. We will see.
However, my opinion aligns with @Mojo-Spider about Huesman. He is a defensive minded coach in a world with many more innovations. His brand of football is boring and in this world of NIL a very important factor is butts in the seats and sponsorship. As an on the sidelines type of fan, I have zero interest in paying to see a UR game. That’s a problem.
Second, the Patriot League is a competitive league with balance from top to bottom. It doesn’t have the best players in FCS, but it does have good teams. The best teams will be the ones that can retain the most players. I heard all about how bad Georgetown was and all I saw was a football team that should have beaten Richmond. In addition, there is no “lucking out” with the unbalanced schedule nonsense in the Patriot like there is in the CAA. UR is going to have to play the best teams in the conference every year. I can guarantee those teams are going to be be just as committed to making the playoffs as Richmond has been.
So if anyone thinks UR is just going to win because thy have in the recent past, I think they are in for a large disappointment. We will see.
I appreciate the views and healthy debate that we are now seeing on this board. I have found myself coming back more regularly because of that. We all care about Spider Football which is the important thing. I will agree that I have been frustrated many times especially this year with QB play and play calling. I don't know if its scheme or execution but we definitely under achieved much of the year. I still appreciate the talent and depth that the staff has developed. The consistent rotation of defensive personnel was a key throughout the year. Many may not even realize we were without 2 offensive starters in the second half that got hurt during the WM game which became 3 when Kyle got hurt. Kids stepped up and made plays because they were prepared and ready. I also have to give a little grace as we played much of the year without Carbajal and Stocker who were pre-season All Conference and we were also without a healthy Jordan Fair most of the season. Kids stepped up and developed while making mistakes and learning. That being said, I do want to see a better product though as I am used to making playoff plans and the last couple of years have not involved much planning!
CityStadiumFan
Walk-on
The 3rd quarter of the William & Mary game was extremely fun to watch but also enlightening. Nobody is ever going to confuse 16 for Tom Brady but he sure looked to be up to the challenge of executing a more wide open offense when those plays were called...at least for that quarter. It tells me that our conservative play calling was a big problem this season and I hope and pray that we address it going into next year. I also agree with many posters thoughts on this team fighting all season long despite injuries and inexperience and the coaching staff gets major credit for that as well.
Mojo-Spider
Bench player
I'd really like to know who calls the plays. I believe Jacob Huesman is Co-Offensive Co-Ordinator and Quarterbacks Coach and Mike Cummings is Co-Offensive Co-Ordinator and Offensive Line Coach.
The difference in play calling between the first and second halves of the UR/WM game was 180 degrees. I very thankful something drove the dramatic change in approach, just sorry we didn't see more of it earlier in the year. Who had the offensive epiphany at the half?
I agree with City Stadium, I've questioned and criticized the use of KW more than once this season. It was great to see him do so well in the 2nd half of the game. He left everything he had on the field.
Go Spiders!
The difference in play calling between the first and second halves of the UR/WM game was 180 degrees. I very thankful something drove the dramatic change in approach, just sorry we didn't see more of it earlier in the year. Who had the offensive epiphany at the half?
I agree with City Stadium, I've questioned and criticized the use of KW more than once this season. It was great to see him do so well in the 2nd half of the game. He left everything he had on the field.
Go Spiders!
SpiderFanatic
Bench player
Agree. 16 looked amazing. Some of Those passes were incredible. Did he get hurt on a designed run? Why would we be running him like that knowing he has a bad knee and seeing how he was throwing the ball? We’ve just run him into piles of lineman until he gets hurt. Happy for KW. This Also shows just how bad our play calling and QB development was this year.
CityStadiumFan
Walk-on
I'm personally not a huge fan of the Qb power run centric offense (I completely understand the reasoning behind it as it allows for an extra blocker, etc) but it does increase the odds of your Qb taking extra hits and getting injured. I do love having a mobile QB who can take off when the first few reads are covered but our QB's are not quick twitch guys and even though they are both big they aren't particularly durable (as evidenced by the past few seasons of injuries). That being said it was fascinating watching it unfold on Saturday. We used pre-snap motion out of Trips to entice the Tribe to move a defender out of the box. It worked very very well in the 2nd half for both 16 and 18. Again, personally I'd prefer most of those running snaps to go to RB's instead of the QB...especially Foster-Powell as he runs very hard and is more durable. I'd love to see a better balance next year.
Eight Legger
Walk-on
This is where I am too. Huesman basically has had 3 quality seasons in 9 tries, and although yes, he gets credit for hiring Cosh, it was Cosh who brought key difference-makers with him and helped set us up for another good year even after he left. Last year we fell on our face in the first round.
I feel like Huesman avoided getting canned when he probably should have been, got fortunate with Cosh, but now is stumbling again. Maybe he'll prove me wrong next year or in one of the next 10. God knows at this school we'll give him as long as he wants.
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