Welcome Back
It's August. Kickoff is three weeks from today and last night, Spider fans were treated to their first scrimmage under new coach Russ Huesman. In addition to welcoming back Coach Huesman, Richmond was able to welcome back several players that spent some or most of 2016 on the sideline due to injury. Quarterback Kyle Lauletta and running backs Xavier Goodall and Gordon Collins all were eager to get back on the field after seeing their 2016 on-field action end prematurely.
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
The Good
There were a lot of positives to take away from the day. Namely, Lauletta looked comfortable taking his place under center. He was able to move deftly when needed, had a few tosses where he threaded the needle and others where more touch was required. He was hitting well. Things will be different when the Spiders take on the Bearkats of Sam Houston State, but it was great seeing him back under center. At this point in time, it doesn't appear as though there are definitive plans to attempt to redshirt Kevin Johnson. Johnson was running the second team and when asked after the scrimmage about the possibility of redshirting Johnson, Huesman replied, "We're just all out here competing, he's trying to earn a job, he wants a job, we'll see what happens as we move forward."
Collins and Goodall were both having great seasons until injuries made them watch the remainder of the season from the sidelines. That paved the way for Deontez Thompson to rush for over 1,000 yards on the season, despite only 74 yards in the first five games. Both players looked to pick up where they left off.
Look for the running backs to become more involved in the passing game to increase their number of touches and take some of the pressure off the offensive line. The staff appears to be looking to really utilize the width of the field and make the defense run from side to side. Given the stable of backs Richmond is bringing into the season, this will all them to keep fresher legs as games move into the 4th quarter. You'll also see sets with multiple backs in the backfield, forcing teams to deal with two of Cerberus' heads at once.
Interestingly enough, the play of the scrimmage was provided by 4th string running back, Jay Palmer. Palmer may have sent the defender to the emergency room after breaking his ankles. Palmer did get 30 touches last season and as Coach Huesman stated, “You guys found out last year how important it is to have more than one back.” Palmer was also mentioned as having a great camp this Summer.
The defensive backs probably stole the day for me. The guys were very physical with the receivers and came up and supported the run well. While Huesman has stated he's looking to redshirt as many guys as possible, he's currently anticipating CB’s Markus Vinson and/or Samari Springs playing well enough to see the field as true freshmen. A lot is being asked of the corners and it appears as though based on this early view, that they will be able to successfully answer the call.
The Bad
The team appears to be a bit shallow along both lines. The first teams both looked really solid, but with current injuries and the unexpected loss of DeAnthony Muse, opportunities exist for younger guys to step up and earn some playing time. It does appear as though they are still looking to solidify the interior of the offensive line. Looked to be four guys competing for three spots.
With as familiar as Richmond is with Coach Huesman, I forgot the players had never played for him and his staff. The team has had winter conditioning and spring ball, as well as 10 practices. This was the first scrimmage for the team with the new staff. Opportunities for improvement existed everywhere. There was no one there that escaped a firm direction from Coach. The managers, players, staff, timekeeper were all subject to his encouragement for that improvement. There’s a lot to do over the next 21 days to get ready for SHSU but we have the right guy at the helm to get us there.
The Ugly
This is only one view of the team, so take the following with a grain of salt. There is a lot of work to do on special teams at this point. Huesman has brought with him a preference for rugby-style punting. This punting style seeks to minimize return yardage by allowing the coverage team more time to get down field, minimize the ball’s flight time and increase the ball’s roll upon landing. This is not how DJ Helkowski traditionally has punted, so he is still learning. This will take some getting used to, but with the offense we could have, I don’t expect us to have to put too much.
On kickoffs, the ball was routinely getting down inside the five and one muffed kick. Kick coverage needs to maintain continuity between the lanes. Too much space resulted in a couple of long returns. It is important to note that preseason All-American Griffin Trau was not handling the kicking duties. He was on the sidelines taking some, “dry kicks” without a helmet on. I would anticipate his return to full action in the near future.
Other Observations
· I loved the intensity of everything. Coach wanted perfection from everyone and had no problem calling people on it when he didn’t get it.
· The team opened with a lot of situational drills, forcing the team to know down, distance and time. I think he may have learned how important time can be from his days under London…
· The staff moved the pocket around a lot, seemingly with a lot of run/pass options. Coach has stated that he’d be looking to get the QB’s around 6 or so runs a game. I think we could see more than that based on playcalling.
· There were a lot of horizontal passes thrown. I hope we find a deep threat to take advantage of Lauletta’s strength and touch.
· Playcalling wasn’t as crisp as I was expecting. This is probably attributable to a number of things and is not reflective of what we’ll see in three weeks.
· On the recruiting front, Coach mentioned to Spiderfans.com that he’s looking to bring in either 15 or 16 guys in the class of 2018. Currently, we have five verbals.
· The defense didn’t play with any color. Completely vanilla, which allowed the offense to look a bit better than where it probably is at this point.
· Keep an eye out for DE Colby Ritten this fall. Have heard great things about him all camp.
· Great to see former players back out supporting the team, even in just a practice environment.
· Kolby Williams has moved to the offensive line from the defensive line and is running with the second team.
