Virginia Defense Preparing to Face Multiple Richmond Quarterbacks in Opener

Matt Newton | Aug 30, 2024

Richmond has yet to name a starting quarterback, so the UVA defense must prepare to face multiple quarterbacks in Saturday's season-opener. / Virginia Athletics

The dominating storyline of fall camp for Virginia was the quarterback competition, which was ultimately won by Anthony Colandrea. Meanwhile, UVA's week 1 opponent was holding its own quarterback battle a short drive down I-64 in Richmond, a competition which is apparently still unresolved.

When Richmond released its depth chart for Saturday's season opener at Virginia (6pm on ACCNX), it had an "OR" listed between redshirt sophomore Kyle Wickersham and sophomore Camden Coleman at the quarterback position. Head coach Russ Huesman has maintained all through the preseason that both quarterbacks will play extensively this season and now it seems that both Wickersham and Coleman, who combined to start 11 of Richmond's 13 games in 2023, will likely see the field against the Cavaliers on Saturday.

When asked about the challenge of preparing to face two quarterbacks, UVA defensive coordinator John Rudzinski noted that Wickersham and Coleman share similar traits in terms of physical attributes and play style. Both quarterbacks are 6'3" and about 220-225 pounds and both are ready and willing to run the ball.

"I think there's a lot of similarities. I think that they both can run the ball as a quarterback, you know, with the quarterback run game. They both do a nice job of throwing it and you can tell that they command leadership," Rudzinski said of Wickersham and Coleman. "Particularly when you play against two quarterbacks who are big and physical and rugged that also can extend plays, it makes you nervous. I know we've spent a good amount of time trying to find good ways for us to stop that quarterback run game."

Wickersham seems the more likely starter, as he started the first three games and the last four games of Richmond's 2023 campaign, while Coleman started four games in a row from week 6 to week 9. Wickersham led all FCS quarterbacks with a 72.6% completion percentage and threw for 1,405 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 402 yards and four more scores on the ground. Coleman, meanwhile, burst onto the scene as a true freshman and tossed six touchdowns in his first career start and led the Spiders to a ranked victory in his second career start. Wickersham ultimately reclaimed the starting job in week 11 and led Richmond back to the FCS playoffs.

It seems Russ Huesman is content to see this quarterback competition play out into the start of the season and it's unlikely to be resolved in one road game against a Power conference opponent. That shouldn't impact Virginia's game plan, though, as the Cavaliers still need to use this season opener as an opportunity to show vast improvements in stopping the run and rushing the passer, whoever he is.

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