Wahoos Know Who They Need To Stop To Avoid 2016 Repeat

The Virginia secondary will have its hands full Saturday when Richmond’s three-headed monster of receiving talent arrives at Scott Stadium.

Spider wideouts Dejon Brissett, Tyler Wilkins and Cortrelle Simpson combined for nearly 2,800 yards (over 250 per game) and 20 touchdowns a season ago, each finishing in the top four of the receiving list in the CAA.

Coach Bronco Mendenhall knows his defense must concentrate on all three threats this weekend.

“I think the simple key is the more you focus on one of the receivers, the other two then become capable and more dynamic,” Mendenhall said. “The workload has been spread evenly and I don’t think that’s by accident — you have to defend them all.”

Brissett was an All-CAA first-team choice as a junior in 2017 with 896 yards and seven touchdowns. He was recently named an FCS preseason All-American.

Wilkins, another senior who scored twice in Richmond’s 2016 upset in Charlottesville, finished last season with 876 yards and seven scores. Simpson, a redshirt junior, led the Spiders with 1,019 yards and found paydirt six times himself. Wilkins and Simpson were both second-team selections in the Colonial.

UVa defensive coordinator and secondary coach Nick Howell has the luxury of strong depth and experience at both the corner and safety positions, led by senior Juan Thornhill and junior Bryce Hall. Joey Blount, Tim Harris, Chris Moore and ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year Brenton Nelson will also play key roles in defending against the pass when the season gets underway Saturday.

Hall said each Richmond receiver brings his own unique skill set and knows that containing the air attack won’t be an easy task, but feels the ‘Hoos are up for the challenge.

“I notice they’ve got a bunch of playmakers on the outside, and so we really have to be on our toes every down,” Hall said, “and we know they like to stretch the ball down the field so they’ve got some really capable guys to be able to do that. And so just being on our toes, being locked in every play, and we’re going to have our work cut out for us with the receivers they’ve got.”

There will be a different arm on the other end this year for Richmond, as reigning CAA Offensive Player of the Year Kyle Lauletta, who threw for over 10,000 career yards, was taken in the fourth round of the NFL Draft in April.

U of R redshirt junior Kevin Johnson takes over at quarterback, but it won’t be his first time leading the Spiders’ offense. Lauletta was banged up during the team’s FCS playoff run in 2016 and Johnson delivered two victories under center, throwing for over 300 yards in his first collegiate start. He then led a memorable late rally, out-dueling North Dakota in the second round on the road the following week.

Johnson — like Bryce Perkins — will be much more of a running threat than his predecessor, but has a strong arm as well. Richmond second-year head coach Russ Huesman raved about his new signal-caller last month.

“His leadership is off the charts,” said Huesman. “The players love him, they respond to him, he’s gotten a lot of snaps.”

Huesman pointed out that in addition to the 2016 playoff appearances, Johnson took all of the first-team reps when Lauletta was injured last spring prior to redshirting, and still led the second-team offense during the season to keep himself fresh.

Johnson will obviously have weapons to choose from, and Mendenhall is impressed by what he’s seen on film.

“Productive, consistent, confident, and they make a lot of plays,” Mendenhall said of the Richmond receivers. “There are three of them that have 60 catches or more with a quarterback that, while he redshirted a year ago, proved capability in the playoffs before then. I really like their offensive system.”

It will be up to the much-talked about back end of the UVa defense to limit the trio’s production, or the Cavaliers could be in for another unpleasant FCS surprise in Week 1.