University of Richmond Athletics
White Tops Blue in "Crisp" Spring Game
04/06/2024 | Football
RICHMOND, Va. — The 2024 Richmond Spiders looked sharp in their first public performance Saturday at Robins Stadium as the White team topped the Blue team 23-16 in the annual Spider Football Spring Game.
"I thought it was good. Crisp," said Spider head coach Russ Huesman. "It was actually a pretty clean, good-looking game."
With Kyle Wickersham under center, the Blue team drove 75 yards on the first possession of the game for an opening touchdown, as Jamaal Brown scampered for a 37-yard score. Wickersham was 3-3 for 40 yards on the drive.
With Cam Coleman playing the entire first half at QB, the White team answered. First, Coleman found Jerry Garcia Jr. for a 45-yard score to even the score at 7-7. Then, following a Blue team field goal, Coleman threw an overhead lateral to wideout Nick DeGennaro, who hit Aiden Mack in the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.
Just before half, Coleman and DeGennaro connected on a more traditional score, as the QB found the receiver on a 10-yard slant to give White a 21-10 lead at halftime.
Unofficially, Coleman threw for more than 200 of his nearly 250 yards passing in the first two quarters, much of it coming on receptions by DeGennaro and Garcia Jr.
"Our wideouts are pretty solid," said Huesman. "Most of the guys that went through spring played a lot last year for us."
A running clock limited the possessions for both teams after halftime. One scoring threat for White was ended by an interception by Blue DB CJ Fraser, the third interception and fourth takeaway by the Blue defense Saturday. (LB Edward McDonough and DB Jabril Hayes also had interceptions.)
Blue found the end zone late in the 4th quarter, as Wickersham capped a long drive by finding Ja'Vion Griffin for a 16-yard touchdown to make the score 21-16, White. On the ensuing two-point attempt, DE Camden Byrd intercepted a pass from RB Aziz Foster-Powell, returning it the length of the field for the conversion on the game's final play.
"We knew coming out of high school he was a tremendous athlete," said Huesman of Byrd. "He could run. He could do those things [like the interception return]. He's in the mix."
Byrd's big play was the punctuation to a strong defense effort from the White team in the 2nd half, which included consistent QB pressure and several sacks.
"TJ Baldwin had a really good spring," said Huesman of Baldwin, who led the White defense Saturday. "He's going to be good for us."
Wickersham, who split reps with Ashten Snelsire in the first half, threw for more than 170 yards and the touchdown to Griffin.
Following the game, Tom Elia and Wayne Galloway were named co-winners of the Gus Lee Winter Warrior Award, given to the Spider who has performed the best in the weight room during the offseason. Richmond has three weeks remaining in its offseason program, and Huesman indicated that strength training will be the team's focus.
"We are going to push some iron," said Huesman. "We've got three weeks to really make some gains there. We're going to try to get stronger."
The game concluded with the announcement of the team's captains for the 2024 season: Elia, Galloway, and Jabril Hayes.
"I saw such great leadership from them throughout the spring," said Huseman. "But we've got to have more than those three leading this football team, and I think everybody knows that."
"I thought it was good. Crisp," said Spider head coach Russ Huesman. "It was actually a pretty clean, good-looking game."
With Kyle Wickersham under center, the Blue team drove 75 yards on the first possession of the game for an opening touchdown, as Jamaal Brown scampered for a 37-yard score. Wickersham was 3-3 for 40 yards on the drive.
With Cam Coleman playing the entire first half at QB, the White team answered. First, Coleman found Jerry Garcia Jr. for a 45-yard score to even the score at 7-7. Then, following a Blue team field goal, Coleman threw an overhead lateral to wideout Nick DeGennaro, who hit Aiden Mack in the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.
Just before half, Coleman and DeGennaro connected on a more traditional score, as the QB found the receiver on a 10-yard slant to give White a 21-10 lead at halftime.
Unofficially, Coleman threw for more than 200 of his nearly 250 yards passing in the first two quarters, much of it coming on receptions by DeGennaro and Garcia Jr.
"Our wideouts are pretty solid," said Huesman. "Most of the guys that went through spring played a lot last year for us."
A running clock limited the possessions for both teams after halftime. One scoring threat for White was ended by an interception by Blue DB CJ Fraser, the third interception and fourth takeaway by the Blue defense Saturday. (LB Edward McDonough and DB Jabril Hayes also had interceptions.)
Blue found the end zone late in the 4th quarter, as Wickersham capped a long drive by finding Ja'Vion Griffin for a 16-yard touchdown to make the score 21-16, White. On the ensuing two-point attempt, DE Camden Byrd intercepted a pass from RB Aziz Foster-Powell, returning it the length of the field for the conversion on the game's final play.
"We knew coming out of high school he was a tremendous athlete," said Huesman of Byrd. "He could run. He could do those things [like the interception return]. He's in the mix."
Byrd's big play was the punctuation to a strong defense effort from the White team in the 2nd half, which included consistent QB pressure and several sacks.
"TJ Baldwin had a really good spring," said Huesman of Baldwin, who led the White defense Saturday. "He's going to be good for us."
Wickersham, who split reps with Ashten Snelsire in the first half, threw for more than 170 yards and the touchdown to Griffin.
Following the game, Tom Elia and Wayne Galloway were named co-winners of the Gus Lee Winter Warrior Award, given to the Spider who has performed the best in the weight room during the offseason. Richmond has three weeks remaining in its offseason program, and Huesman indicated that strength training will be the team's focus.
"We are going to push some iron," said Huesman. "We've got three weeks to really make some gains there. We're going to try to get stronger."
The game concluded with the announcement of the team's captains for the 2024 season: Elia, Galloway, and Jabril Hayes.
"I saw such great leadership from them throughout the spring," said Huseman. "But we've got to have more than those three leading this football team, and I think everybody knows that."
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