Spiders looked for depth in open tryout

The Richmond Spider football team held an open tryout the week before spring break in an effort to fill out its roster with non-scholarship players.

"The NCAA mandates our number of scholarship athletes," head coach Danny Rocco said. "So that number is pretty consistent across the board, but where the numbers change a little bit is in your ability to bring on non-scholarship, or walk-on, players into your program.

"I look at our current roster here as we start spring practice and there are some areas that you feel really good about because of talent, depth and experience. Then there are some other areas where you just don't really know. Two areas in particular are offensive line and wide receiver."

Rocco said he was hoping that the tryout would be an opportunity for him to get a look at other athletes on the Richmond campus that are not currently on a team of any sort.

"At the previous institution I was at, we had a walk-on tryout, and we'd get 60 or 70 guys come to try out," he said. "We would add anywhere from eight to twelve guys to our roster every year."

The tryout only attracted two students though, far below what Coach Rocco was hoping for.

"Usually when you offer a tryout opportunity, there aren't a lot of linemen on campus, but there are a lot of guys who could play skill positions who played high school lacrosse, high school football, tennis, basketball or maybe baseball," he said.

The idea of an open tryout seemed far-fetched to many students, as associate head coach Wayne Lineburg said the team had not been prone to having many students walk onto the team in the past.

"It depends on if the kid's played football before and whether he shows the kind of ability that can help us win," Lineburg said. "Anyone who can play should come out so we can find the most talented group of players to put on the field."

Lineburg said that the lack of walk-ons in the past had not been because of any serious inclination toward scholarship players.

"They're all on a case-by-case basis," he said. "If the kid has good talent and can help us, we'll take them."

Lineburg also said that one of the biggest deterrents was the intense commitment it took to be a part of the football team.

"These kids also need to show the willingness to accept almost a full-time job with the work on the team plus all their schoolwork," he said. "It's very demanding."

Coach Rocco said that won't stop him from trying to get the best athletes on campus to come tryout for the football team next year.

"What I'm going to do in the fall is make a more concerted effort to get out and communicate with the intramural programs," he said, "and I hope to communicate with the fraternities."

The Spiders opened spring practice March 15, and held a pro day March 16 for players looking to be selected in the coming NFL Draft.

Contact reporter Matt Dunn at matt.dunn@richmond.edu