Richmond Spiders 2010 Review

2010 Record: 6-5 (4-4), Tied 5th Colonial
2010 Postseason: None
2010 Schedule/Results: @ Virginia, L 34-13, Elon, W 27-21, Delaware, L 34-13, Coastal Carolina, W 41-19, @ New Hampshire, L 17-0, @ UMass, W 11-10, Towson, W 28-6, @ Villanova, L 28-7, James Madison, W 13-10, Rhode Island, W 15-6, @ William & Mary, L 41-3

REVIEW

     You knew from day one that something was missing from this year's Spiders football team. Expectations were very high with the arrival of USC QB transfer Aaron Korp, and the offense had promise. The offense never got close to living up to any kind of promise, and the wheels fell off of the wagon. The passing game stalled out with only 141.4 yards per game, and the run game never took over, only averaging 131.6 yards per game. The Spiders, it seemed, had hit a wall before the season ever got going. The offense scored 15 points or less 8 times, a number that the Spiders would love to forget in 2011.
     Aaron Corp was lost to a major injury, but even before the injury, he wasn't very good. Corp passed for 129 yards per game. He only passed for 3 TDs against 4 picks. He never got into a groove, and only passed for 645 yards. A combo of John Laub, Nick Hicks, and Montel White all tried their hands at the job, and all failed on an epic scale, with Laub tossing only 2 TDs to his 9 picks. The position, it would seem, is a mess. By the way, to rub some salt here, Hicks had 6 picks against zero TDs.
     As bad as the passing game was in 2010, the run game, like I said, never hit a stride. Tyler Kirchoff was the leading rusher with 47.8 yards per game, and finished the season with 526 yards and 6 TDs, and the totals just spiral from there. Kendell Gaskins did rush for 5 TDs on the season, but there was nothing special about his output on the whole.
     Only one Richmond receiver caught over 20 passes in 2010, and that was Tre Gray, who caught 38 passes for only 478 yards. Only two receivers caught 2 TDs on the year. Nobody else even reached the 200 yard mark for the season. As I said, the passing game is in shambles.
     The pass defense was very credible in 2010, alowing only 197.1 yards per game on the season. Any time you can allow fewer than 200 yards on the average, you are doing a solid job. The rush defense, on the other hand, seemed like an open door, as the Spider allowed 167 yards per game on the ground.
     The Spiders did have some very productive defenders, with 5 players picking up 80 or more tackles. Eric McBride led the team with 119 on the year. His average of 10.82 tackles per game was good for 2nd in the CAA. Darius McMillen (89), Martin Parker (96), Patrick Weldon (95), and Max Prokell (85) rounded out the top group of tacklers. Parker led the team with 19 TFLs, but no other defender ended the season with double figures in that category. Parker also led the team with 6 sacks.
     The secondary was not exactly making huge plays, even though they held opposing teams to under 200 yards per game. The Spiders secondary was more tied up stopping the run after opposing backs got through the first wave. Max Prokell led the team with 6 passes defended, which is not exactly killing it. Patrick Weldon led the team with 4 picks.
     Wil Kamin was solid on the year as a sophomore. He connected on 10 of his 11 FGs in 2010, ranking as the best PK in the CAA in accuracy. Nick Hicks was not very solid, and only averaged just over 38 yards per punt on the season.

FINAL NOTES

The 2010 season was a mess, even though the Spiders won 6 games. Richmond had all kinds of issues, and when your QBs toss 20 picks to only 7 TDs. Richmond is far too good a program to allow themselves to stay down for long, but when you think about it, as bad as this season was, they were still porbably only one win away from yet another playoff bid. Look for the Spiders to sort out their woes this spring, but until they do and they prove themselves on the field in September, the jury is still out.