BY: Pietro Marino
Previewing Thursday’s season and home-opening contest against the Keydets
As students begin their annual trek to Williamsburg for the fall semester, Tribe football is looking to welcome them back with a season-opening win against VMI. After a disappointing 6-5 campaign in 2023, the Tribe’s first-game represents a great opportunity to turn the page anew.
Looking to spoil W&M’s season opener are the VMI Keydets, who are also looking to end a 25 game losing streak to the Tribe dating back to 1985. Coming off the heels of a 27-24 playoff spoiling victory against #14 Western Carolina, second-year head coach Danny Rocco is looking to add another signature win to his resume at VMI.
Below are three players to keep an eye on in this matchup, as well as two position battles that will dictate the outcome of Thursday’s game.
Three Players To Watch
Bronson Yoder – W&M RB
It was a season of “What-ifs” for the Tribe in 2023, and no player encapsulated that sentiment more than Bronson Yoder. After a breakout campaign in 2022 in which Yoder amassed 1,255 yards on the ground and 13 rushing touchdowns, the senior running back only saw 4 games of action in 2023 due to injury. Outside of some struggles against Charleston Southern, Yoder looked poised for another standout year in 2023, averaging 102 yards per game with four touchdowns on the ground in his limited action.
Look for Bronson to be eased back into action this week, especially with the emergence of All-CAA RB Malachi Imoh last season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Offensive Coordinator Mario Acitelli split the touches 50-50, or even 60-40 in Imoh’s favor for now (keep in mind Wilson, Lucas and Mathis should also see some action in the ground game). With W&M facing their only FBS opponent of the season in Coastal Carolina the following week, I can imagine Coach London and his crew wanting to keep their stud running back fresh.
Hunter Rice – VMI RB
As previously stated in our Opponent Preview of VMI, senior running back Hunter Rice is the engine of the Keydets offense, accounting for 15 out of the 22 touchdowns scored by the team in 2023. Described by Coach Rocco as “more than just a conventional running back,” the 6-foot, 225-pound Rice saw usage in wildcat formations during multiple points throughout the season. He completed all three of his passing attempts in 2023, including a 3-yard touchdown pass in a 17-14 win against Wofford. For a VMI team that struggled to score points (15.2 per game – 113th in FCS) all last season, expect Coach Rocco to get creative with Rice – and the VMI offense – once again.
One other thing to note about Rice: he fully plays up to the level of competition in front of him. VMI played 3 ranked FCS teams last season (#17 UTC, #2 FUR and #14 WCU), and in those 3 games, Rice logged a total of 393 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. I cannot stress enough how paramount it is for the Tribe defense to shut Rice down early in this matchup. I think we’d all much rather see Rice’s statline closer to his game against Furman (15 – 47 – 0) than Chattanooga (25 – 208 – 3).
Jonathan Hammond – W&M OLB
What? No consensus FCS All-American Charles Grant? The man who is shooting up the NFL draft board on a seemingly daily basis? Trust me folks, both NFL scouts and probably Grant himself have the Tribe’s Week 2 matchup circled and highlighted. Coastal Carolina will be the best competition the Tribe face all season, and the perfect opportunity for Grant to cement himself as a sure-fire draft day selection.
For now, let’s focus on the Davidson transfer Hammond, who will not only see action as an OLB, but is apparently competing for the starting long-snapper job. In terms of pass-rushing, Hammond had a bit of a down year in 2023, posting career lows in TFLs (4.5) and sacks (3) although he did have a career high 8 QB hurries. Perhaps a change of scenery for the four-time All-Pioneer League selection is the shot in the arm he needs to once again terrorize QBs. The Tribe defense could use it, given the team regressed from 2022 to 2023 both in total sacks (33 to 26) and quarter-back hurries (37 to 19). If #13’s flying around the field this Thursday, expect good things to follow for the Tribe defense as a unit.
Two Matchups
Tribe OL vs VMI Run Defense
Simply put, this is one team’s greatest strength versus another’s weakest link. Between conference standouts Charles Grant and Ryan McKenna, the Tribe really should not have any issues opening up massive running lanes against a VMI team that ranked 102 out of 122 in the FCS in rushing yards per game allowed (188.2). This could be one of those games where the Tribe have entire drives where they don’t even attempt to throw the ball…because they just won’t have too.
Look to see a whole cast of characters get multiple touches in the ground game, including QB Darius Wilson, Swiss-Army Knife Hollis Mathis, and running backs Marcus Imoh, Bronson Yoder and Marcus Lucas (to name a few).
Tribe DL vs Keydet Ground Game
Sure, the 2023 Keydets were last in the SoCon in rushing yards per game (118), but this is still the area of focus on offense for VMI. As Coach Rocco told reporters before this season’s opener, “[Hunter Rice] is probably as good as any back in FCS Football…It took me a year to figure that out and really appreciate it.” That last part is particularly telling, so expect Rice to be utilized in new and different ways in their offense.
The only way the Keydets hang around in this game is if W&M allows them to get Rice and the ground game going. Ranked 5th in the CAA with 148.5 rushing yards per game allowed, the front seven needs to limit Rice’s ability to get to the edge, where the bruiser can do some serious damage with his deceptive speed as shown below.
One Prediction
I stated above that Hunter Rice can and often will carry this team on his back against superior competition, but I just don’t see the rest of the VMI offense being able to keep pace with the Tribe. There may be a trick-play here and there to keep the W&M defense on their toes early in the game, but it won’t be sustainable for a full 60 minutes.
Bolstered by their two-headed monster in Yoder and Imoh, the Tribe are going to dominate the time of possession with their ground game. Sophomore QB Connor Shannon will be forced to throw the ball more than HC Rocco is probably comfortable with, and I can see the Tribe secondary taking advantage of an errant pass or two along the way.
Look for multiple W&M backs with 100+ yards rushing, and a dominant Week 1 win to kick off the 2024 season.
Prediction: W&M 34, VMI 10
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