University of Richmond Athletics
Nine Spiders Receive Preseason Honors by Phil Steele
07/28/2023 | Football
Richmond, Va. – Nine members of the University of Richmond Football team have been named Phil Steele/Draft Scout Preseason All-CAA selections prior to the 2023 season while three were also named Preseason All-American selections, announced Friday. The Phil Steele honors are one of the top publication honors in FCS Football each year.
2023 Spider captains and 2023 Preseason All-CAA selections Ryan Coll, Marlem Louis and Tristan Wheeler have been named to the Phil Steele/Draft Scout All-Coastal Athletic Association First Team, Jeremiah Grant and Aaron Banks were named Second Teamers, Cade Salyers, Bryson Parker and Andrew Lopez were named to the Third Team and Tom Elia was tabbed to the Fourth Team. Coll, Louis and Wheeler were also named Preseason All-Americans by Phil Steele/Draft Scout, with Wheeler on the First Team, Coll on the Third and Louis on the Fourth.
Coll was named a Second team AP All-American as well as a Fourth Team FCS All-American by Phil Steele last fall. The First Team All-CAA offensive lineman was part of a unit that led the Spiders to the third-highest producing offense in the CAA in 2022. Coll helped the Spiders rank fourth in the CAA in average scoring with 31.3 points per game and started all 13 games at left tackle, helping the Spiders pick up 5,513 total yards of offense.
Louis ranked third in the CAA with 8.5 sacks and fifth in average tackles for loss per game with 1.27. He totaled 35 tackling including 14.0 for loss (-80) forced two fumbles, recorded five quarterback hurries and a pass breakup en route to being named a First Team All-CAA defensive end. Louis helped lead Richmond to the second-fewest opponent points per game in the CAA with 20.1 and yards per game with 333.4.
Richmond's defensive leader, Tristan Wheeler, was named a First Team All-CAA linebacker as well as a Phil Steele and Stats Perform All-American in 2022. Wheeler started all 13 games and was the team's leading tackler with 110 (54 solo, 56 assisted) including 11 for loss (-29 yards). Wheeler opened the season with a bang, totaling a career-high 19 tackles against Virginia. He recorded two sacks (-9), two interceptions, three pass breakups and seven quarterback hurries on the year. His 110 tackles were the second-most in the CAA this season as he eclipsed the 100 tackles mark for the third-straight full season. Currently, Wheeler ranks sixth among active leaders in career tackles per game with 9.15 and has started 37-straight games— the most of any Spider.
Cade Salyers started all 13 games at right guard and was part of the offensive line that protected quarterback Reece Udinski and allowed him to put together one of the greatest single seasons by a Richmond quarterback. With Salyers help, Udinski finished the year second in NCAA FCS in completion percentage (.734) and became third in program history in single season passing yards with 3,614, becoming just the third quarterback to ever throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season.
Jeremiah Grant played in 13 games at defensive end in 2022, making 12 starts. He recorded 52 tackles including 12 for loss (-35 yards) and sacked the quarterback on three occasions (at Elon Oct. 1, vs Villanova Oct. 15 and at Hampton Oct. 22). Louis had a season-high eight tackles against Maine Oct. 29 and recorded fumble recoveries against Stony Brook (Sept. 24) and Delaware (Nov. 12). Grant teamed up with Wheeler for a critical fourth-and-one stop at Delaware, helping set up Richmond for the win to secure a playoff position for the first time since 2016. He recorded five quarterback hurries and one pass breakup and was named a Third Team All-CAA selection.
Aaron Banks was named a Second Team All-CAA honoree after finishing the season with 53 tackles including 32 solo and 1.5 for loss. He recorded four interceptions on the season including two during the Saint Francis game (Sept. 10). He recorded his first career pick-six against Saint Francis and totaled a season-high 10 tackles during the NCAA FCS Second Round playoff game at No. 2 Sacramento State on Dec. 3. He recorded six pass breakups and finished the season 10th in the CAA in passes defended and second in defensive touchdowns.
Bryson Parker led the 2022 Spiders secondary in tackles with 63 including 42 solo and one tackle for loss (-3). He also grabbed two interceptions, recorded six pass breakups and one quarterback hurry in 2022. He was named an All-CAA honorable mention ahead of the 2023 season.
Andrew Lopez played in nine games in 2022 where he kicked off 41 times with three touchbacks. He recorded 2,240 yards on kickoffs, averaging 54.6 yards per kick as well as being 13-for-14 on field goals and 26-of-27 on PATs, recording 65 points for the Spiders. He connected on the first two field goal attempts of his collegiate career in the fourth quarter to secure the win over Villanova.
The anchor of Richmond's offensive line, Tom Elia, started all 13 games at center and barely missed a single snap in 990 offensive plays, the third-most among FCS programs. Elia's leadership and steadfastness led Richmond to its first NCAA FCS Playoff appearance since 2016 and helped Udinski set the FCS playoffs single-game record for completion percentage, going 28-of-31 (90.3) for his highest completion percentage of the season. With Elia in front of him, Udinski's 29.08 completions per game led the nation in 2022.
The Spiders kick off the season Saturday, Sept. 2 when Morgan State visits Robins Stadium. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
2023 Spider captains and 2023 Preseason All-CAA selections Ryan Coll, Marlem Louis and Tristan Wheeler have been named to the Phil Steele/Draft Scout All-Coastal Athletic Association First Team, Jeremiah Grant and Aaron Banks were named Second Teamers, Cade Salyers, Bryson Parker and Andrew Lopez were named to the Third Team and Tom Elia was tabbed to the Fourth Team. Coll, Louis and Wheeler were also named Preseason All-Americans by Phil Steele/Draft Scout, with Wheeler on the First Team, Coll on the Third and Louis on the Fourth.
Coll was named a Second team AP All-American as well as a Fourth Team FCS All-American by Phil Steele last fall. The First Team All-CAA offensive lineman was part of a unit that led the Spiders to the third-highest producing offense in the CAA in 2022. Coll helped the Spiders rank fourth in the CAA in average scoring with 31.3 points per game and started all 13 games at left tackle, helping the Spiders pick up 5,513 total yards of offense.
Louis ranked third in the CAA with 8.5 sacks and fifth in average tackles for loss per game with 1.27. He totaled 35 tackling including 14.0 for loss (-80) forced two fumbles, recorded five quarterback hurries and a pass breakup en route to being named a First Team All-CAA defensive end. Louis helped lead Richmond to the second-fewest opponent points per game in the CAA with 20.1 and yards per game with 333.4.
Richmond's defensive leader, Tristan Wheeler, was named a First Team All-CAA linebacker as well as a Phil Steele and Stats Perform All-American in 2022. Wheeler started all 13 games and was the team's leading tackler with 110 (54 solo, 56 assisted) including 11 for loss (-29 yards). Wheeler opened the season with a bang, totaling a career-high 19 tackles against Virginia. He recorded two sacks (-9), two interceptions, three pass breakups and seven quarterback hurries on the year. His 110 tackles were the second-most in the CAA this season as he eclipsed the 100 tackles mark for the third-straight full season. Currently, Wheeler ranks sixth among active leaders in career tackles per game with 9.15 and has started 37-straight games— the most of any Spider.
Cade Salyers started all 13 games at right guard and was part of the offensive line that protected quarterback Reece Udinski and allowed him to put together one of the greatest single seasons by a Richmond quarterback. With Salyers help, Udinski finished the year second in NCAA FCS in completion percentage (.734) and became third in program history in single season passing yards with 3,614, becoming just the third quarterback to ever throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season.
Jeremiah Grant played in 13 games at defensive end in 2022, making 12 starts. He recorded 52 tackles including 12 for loss (-35 yards) and sacked the quarterback on three occasions (at Elon Oct. 1, vs Villanova Oct. 15 and at Hampton Oct. 22). Louis had a season-high eight tackles against Maine Oct. 29 and recorded fumble recoveries against Stony Brook (Sept. 24) and Delaware (Nov. 12). Grant teamed up with Wheeler for a critical fourth-and-one stop at Delaware, helping set up Richmond for the win to secure a playoff position for the first time since 2016. He recorded five quarterback hurries and one pass breakup and was named a Third Team All-CAA selection.
Aaron Banks was named a Second Team All-CAA honoree after finishing the season with 53 tackles including 32 solo and 1.5 for loss. He recorded four interceptions on the season including two during the Saint Francis game (Sept. 10). He recorded his first career pick-six against Saint Francis and totaled a season-high 10 tackles during the NCAA FCS Second Round playoff game at No. 2 Sacramento State on Dec. 3. He recorded six pass breakups and finished the season 10th in the CAA in passes defended and second in defensive touchdowns.
Bryson Parker led the 2022 Spiders secondary in tackles with 63 including 42 solo and one tackle for loss (-3). He also grabbed two interceptions, recorded six pass breakups and one quarterback hurry in 2022. He was named an All-CAA honorable mention ahead of the 2023 season.
Andrew Lopez played in nine games in 2022 where he kicked off 41 times with three touchbacks. He recorded 2,240 yards on kickoffs, averaging 54.6 yards per kick as well as being 13-for-14 on field goals and 26-of-27 on PATs, recording 65 points for the Spiders. He connected on the first two field goal attempts of his collegiate career in the fourth quarter to secure the win over Villanova.
The anchor of Richmond's offensive line, Tom Elia, started all 13 games at center and barely missed a single snap in 990 offensive plays, the third-most among FCS programs. Elia's leadership and steadfastness led Richmond to its first NCAA FCS Playoff appearance since 2016 and helped Udinski set the FCS playoffs single-game record for completion percentage, going 28-of-31 (90.3) for his highest completion percentage of the season. With Elia in front of him, Udinski's 29.08 completions per game led the nation in 2022.
The Spiders kick off the season Saturday, Sept. 2 when Morgan State visits Robins Stadium. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
P/K
/ Football
DL
/ Football
DB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
QB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballFootball vs Holy Cross Postgame
Saturday, October 18
Inner Rampage: Peyton Seelmann
Thursday, October 16
Football Weekly Press Conference - October 15th
Wednesday, October 15
Football Weekly Press Conference - October 8th
Wednesday, October 08