Camp Notebook #5: Quarterbacks

Last season, Richmond used four quarterbacks through its first four games and four quarterbacks made their first career starts through the team's first six games.

Even with the early instability of arguably the most important position on the field, the Spiders still found a way. After a bumpy 2-3 start to the season, Richmond's quarterbacks room found its groove and helped carry the team to its first CAA title since 2015 and its second trip to the Second Round of the FCS playoffs in as many years.

Coming into the 2024 campaign, Richmond's quarterbacking situation is a lot more stable, with both redshirt junior Kyle Wickersham and sophomore Camden Coleman battling all throughout camp for the starter role. Redshirt sophomore Ashten Snelsire is the clear third in the depth chart while true freshmen Matthew Layman and Joe McCauley follow, and have shown they'll be valuable assets for the Spiders in years to come.

Wickersham made his first career start last season in the home opener against Morgan State. In Richmond's opening drive, Wickersham ran the ball seven times and connected on two passes before punching in a one-yard touchdown run to give Richmond the early lead. The Spiders would go on to lose that game, but the impressive opening drive by Wickersham gave Spiders fans a look into what they could expect going forward from the first-time starter.

But as is college football, the unexpected can be expected. In a game of injuries filled with ups and downs, the following weeks did not necessarily go the way anyone intended them to.

Wickersham got the nod once again heading into week two at Michigan State. Clear underdogs against an FBS team out of the Big Ten, Richmond fell 45-14 in East Lansing and would return to Richmond 0-2 to start the season. The following week at home against Delaware State, Wickersham went 20-of-25 for 245 yards and his first two passing touchdowns of the season to help Richmond end its early-season skid and enter the win column with a 38-6 win over the Hornets.

What looked to be a light at the end of the tunnel was anything but the following week on the road at Stony Brook. As the team took the field to begin the game, Wickersham came out of the locker room in sweatpants. Dealing with a lower body injury, Wickersham took to the sidelines as Jackson Hardy made his first career start. Hardy would exit the game with an injury of his own and Snelsire finished the game, helping Richmond win its CAA opener by just one one point.

Snelsire got the start week five at home against Hampton before Coleman took over in the first quarter. While the Spiders did not beat the Pirates, Coleman went 24-of-34 for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns, ultimately earning him the starter role for the following week against Maine.

In the Maine game, the then-true freshman Coleman made his first career start and came alive, throwing six touchdown passes, tying for the most in a single game in program history and the most in the CAA in 2023. For his performance, he was named the FedEx Ground FCS National Freshman of the Week as well as the CAA Offensive Player of the Week and earned the starter job for the following week at Rhode Island where he led the team to an upset victory over the No. 22 Rams.

From there, Wickersham returned as Richmond's primary quarterback, although the games against North Carolina A&T and Campbell would see both used somewhat evenly.

Wickersham finished the season as the starter and would go on to lead the nation in completion percentage at .726. While Wickersham (188) threw 38 more passes than Coleman (150), both completed 100 of them. Wickersham ran the ball much more than Coleman (112 attempts to 20), picking up 401 yards and four rushing touchdowns on the season.

A true battle throughout camp, both quarterbacks have thrown and ran the ball for an equal amount of reps with both first and second stringers to build chemistry among the entire offense. With each attempt being charted, Richmond's coaching staff will determine the week one starter once camp has concluded.

Now in his second year with the Spiders as quarterbacks coach, the unit is under the direction of Jacob Huesman. Huesman's quarterbacks room helped the Spiders reach ninth nationally in completion percentage and fourth down conversion, 11^th in passing touchdowns, 23^rd in first downs and 24^th in pass efficiency. New this year, Huesman adds the title of Pass Game Coordinator, a testament to the way he's elevated, and developed, Richmond's quarterbacks and offense as a whole.

2024 Richmond Quarterbacks:

#12 Joe McCauley (Fr., 6-3, 205)
#14 Camden Coleman (So., 6-3, 220)
#16 Kyle Wickersham (R-Jr., 6-3, 225)
#17 Matthew Layman (Fr., 6-3, 195)
#18 Ashten Snelsire (R-So., 6-3, 210)

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Players Mentioned

Camden Coleman

Jackson Hardy

Matthew Layman

Joe McCauley

Ashten Snelsire

Kyle Wickersham

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