The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Spider football looks to improve under another new head coach

The 2012 Richmond Spiders football team is faced with yet another change.

With the team's fourth head coach in four years, the Spiders look to rebound from their disappointing 2011 campaign with eight consecutive losses.

Following last year's season, Danny Rocco was hired to replace interim head coach Wayne Lineburg, who remains on staff this season as associate head coach. Rocco was immediately faced with the task of earning his team's trust as some seniors have had as many as three other head coaches (Lineburg, Latrell Scott and Mike London) during their time here.

"It's a challenge," Rocco said. "You go about it one day at a time. The best way to build trust is to make a promise and keep it.

"Sometimes it's the most insignificant, smallest piece of communication, but I'm very honest, very direct. I speak from my heart. I think my guys know that about me, and I see us making a lot of progress."

Fifth-year senior John Laub, whom Rocco named the team's starting quarterback entering Saturday's season opener at University of Virginia, has played under three other coaches throughout his football career at the university. Laub said he had already bought into the direction Rocco was taking the team.

"Coach Rocco is a very goal-oriented person, which is great," Laub said. "He had a clear direction that he wanted to take this team, and that was something we were looking for, something that we needed."

Laub earned the starting position over sophomore Michael Strauss, who transferred to Richmond from UVA last spring.

"I think both John and Mike had good [training] camps," Rocco said. "I think the median, or the overall body of work, has just favored John starting back in the spring."

Rocco also said that the competition between the two would continue throughout the season.

Rocco made a few other personal decisions during the season opener that might be less recognizable, he said.

Those decisions include naming sophomore Remington Hinshaw as the team's field goal and extra point kicker over the incumbent, Wil Kamin. He also decided which freshmen would play this year and which would be redshirted --meaning they would sit the year out without losing a year of eligibility.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

The freshmen who will definitely play this year are Reggie Diggs (WR), David Herlocker (DB), Jacobi Green (RB) and Ayo Ogunniyi (DB), Rocco said.

Rocco led a team back from a disappointing season before. At Liberty University, Rocco was hired following a year in which the Flames went 1-10. He led the team to finish in the top 25 of both major Football Championship Subdivision polls his final four years. Rocco coached at Liberty University for six years before being named head coach at Richmond.

"I see the talent as being extremely similar," Rocco said of the comparison between his old team and the Spiders. "I've defined where we want to go and how we're going to get there, but you can't ever skip or jump over any of the processes along the way."

"Ultimately, we want to regain national prominence [at Richmond], and we've kind of been out of that spotlight for a few years."

Sophomore defensive lineman Evan Kelly has already seen a big difference in his team's approach.

"We had, I think, 90 percent attendance through the summer [workouts]," he said. "I think last year was under 50 [percent], so we're more connected. [Rocco] gets the best out of us."

The team and its new head coach hope that offseason work will translate to wins on the field, they said. Only time will tell.

Contact staff writer David Weissman at david.weissman@richmond.edu

Support independent student media

You can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking the button below, which takes you to our secure PayPal account. The page is set up to receive contributions in whatever amount you designate. We look forward to using the money we raise to further our mission of providing honest and accurate information to students, faculty, staff, alumni and others in the general public.

Donate Now