Football Ranked No. 24 In Preseason Stats Perform Poll

RICHMOND, Va. The University of Richmond football team is ranked 24^th in the Nation in the preseason Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll Monday. The Spiders are one of four teams from the Colonial Athletic Association in the national rankings, joining the likes of Villanova (6^th), Delaware (19^th) and Rhode Island (22^n.d).

Richmond finished last year with a 6-5 overall record, winning its final four games of the season finishing fourth in the conference. The Spiders enter the 2022 season carrying the longest active winning streak in the conference. The Spiders return 14 starters from last season’s team, seven each on offense and defense, while adding some pivotal transfers and freshmen to the mix.

Defensively, the Spiders ranked third in the CAA last fall in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 20 points per game. Redshirt junior linebacker and team captain Tristan Wheeler (Bethlehem, Pa.) leads the defense as a preseason All-America selection and a member of the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List. They led the team and the CAA in total tackles in the regular season with 114. They ranked eighth in the Nation in total tackles and tackles per game (10.4).

Redshirt sophomore defensive back Aamir Hall (Baltimore, Md.) Headlines the deep defensive backfield after earning Freshman All-America honors last fall. They ranked fourth in the CAA with 13 pass breakups, the most for any freshman in the league.

Offensively, the Spiders have an entirely new look with a new Offensive Coordinator Billy Cosh coming over from VMI. Graduate transfer quarterback Reece Udinski (North Wales, Pa.) joins the program after an illustrious career with VMI and Maryland. He finished his Keydet career first in program history and sixth all-time in Southern Conference history with 7,877 career passing yards. He was 783-of-1,268 passing in his career while throwing for 48 touchdowns and rushing for four scores.

Graduate wide receiver Jakob Herres (Easton, Pa.) joins a deep receiving corps after finishing the spring 2021 season as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. During his VMI career, he has caught 226 passes for 3,006 yards and 26 touchdowns, all of which are tops among active NCAA FCS wide receivers heading into the 2022 season.

Wide receiver Jasiah Williams (Petersburg, Va.) caught a team-high 48 passes in nine games, for 448 yards and two scores. Leroy Henley (Pompano Beach, Fla.) led the team with 459 yards receiving, recording 35 receptions and three scores. Redshirt senior running back Aaron Dykes (Knoxville, Tenn.) is back after leading the team with 11 total touchdowns, 10 of which came on offense.

A national media panel selects the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.

STATS PERFORM FCS PRESEASON TOP 25
1. North Dakota State (14-1, 7-1 Missouri Valley), 1,348 points (52 first-place votes)

Season Opener: Sept. 3 vs. Drake
2. South Dakota State (11-4, 5-3 Missouri Valley), 1,285 (2)

Season Opener: Sept. 3 at Iowa
3. Montana (10-3, 6-2 Big Sky), 1,218

Season Opener: Sept. 3 vs. Northwestern State
4. Montana State (12-3, 7-1 Big Sky), 1,203

Season Opener: Sept. 3 vs. McNeese
5. Missouri State (8-4, 6-2 Missouri Valley), 1,066

Season Opener: Sept. 1 at Central Arkansas
6. Villanova (10-3, 7-1 CAA), 997

Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Lehigh
7. Sacramento State (9-3, 8-0 Big Sky), 991

Season Opener: Sept. 3 vs. Utah Tech
8. Kennesaw State (11-2, 6-0 Big South), 959

Season Opener: Sept. 1 at Samford
9. Southern Illinois (8-5, 5-3 Missouri Valley), 915

Season Opener: Sept. 3 at UIW
10. Stephen F. Austin (8-4, 4-2 ASUN-WAC), 813

Season Opener: Aug. 27 vs. Jacksonville State (in Montgomery, Alabama)
11. ETSU (11-2, 7-1 Southern), 750

Season Opener: Sept. 1 vs. Mars Hill
12. Chattanooga (6-5, 5-3 Southern), 562

Season Opener: Sept. 3 vs. Wofford
13. Eastern Washington (10-3, 6-2 Big Sky), 538

Season Opener: Sept. 3 vs. Tennessee State
14. UIW (10-3, 7-1 Southland), 533

Season Opener: Sept. 3 vs. Southern Illinois
15. Jackson State (11-2, 8-0 SWAC), 515

Season Opener: Sept. 4 vs. Florida A&M (in Miami Gardens, Florida)
16. Holy Cross (10-3, 6-0 Patriot), 503

Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Merrimack
17. Southeastern Louisiana (9-4, 6-2 Southland), 440

Season Opener: Sept. 3 at Louisiana
18. UT Martin (10-3, 5-1 Ohio Valley), 404

Season Opener: Sept. 1 vs. Western Illinois
19. Delaware (5-6, 3-5 CAA), 401

Season Opener: Sept. 3 at Navy
20. Weber State (6-5, 5-3 Big Sky), 391

Season Opener: Sept. 1 vs. Western Oregon
21. Northern Iowa (6-6, 4-4 Missouri Valley), 289

Season Opener: Sept. 3 at Air Force
22. Rhode Island (7-4, 4-4 CAA), 242

Season Opener: Sept. 1 at Stony Brook
23. Mercer (7-3, 6-2 Southern), 215

Season Opener: Aug. 27 vs. Morehead State
24. Richmond (6-5, 4-4 CAA), 166

Season Opener: Sept. 3 at Virginia
25. UC Davis (8-4, 5-3 Big Sky), 153

Season Opener: Sept. 3 at California

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): South Dakota (7-5, 5-3 Missouri Valley)151,Eastern Kentucky (7-4, 4-2 ASUN-WAC)129,Florida A&M (9-3, 7-1 SWAC)78,William & Mary (6-5, 4-4 CAA)66,Dartmouth (9-1, 6-1 Ivy)59,Monmouth (7-4, 6-1 Big South)23,Harvard (8-2, 5-2 Ivy)19,Princeton(9-1, 6-1 Ivy)18,Central Arkansas (5-6, 3-3 ASUN-WAC)14,Furman (6-5, 4-4 Southern)14,South Carolina State (7-5, 5-0 MEAC)13,Sacred Heart (8-4, 6-1 Northeast)12,Elon (6-5, 5-3 CAA)8,North Carolina A&T (5-6, 3-4 Big South)4

–UR