VMI (0-0) at No. 16 William & Mary (0-0)
Williamsburg, VA/Walter Zable Stadium (11,646), 7 p.m. EST
Series History
The Keydets and Tribe will be meeting on the college football gridiron for the 89th time, with the Tribe holding a 53-33-2 all-time series edge. The Tribe has won 25-straight games in the series. This will mark the first meeting between the Tribe and Keydets since the Sept. 10, 2011, when the Tribe was able to post a 24-7 win over VMI at Foster Stadium in Lexington. This will mark VMI's first trip to Zable Stadium since the 2010 season, which saw the Tribe blank VMI, 45-0, in Williamsburg. The game will mark the first time the Tribe has hosted a Thursday night season opener since 2007, as the Tribe suffered a 49-31 setback to No. 19 Delaware.
Head Coaches: VMI—Danny Rocco (5-6, 2nd year); William & Mary—Mike London (29-21. 6th year)
Game Preview
VMI is set to open up a much-anticipated 2024 football season on the road Thursday night, facing off against a William & Mary team that is expected to once again be in contention for a Colonial Athletic Association title under the direction of head coach Mike London.
The Tribe made noise in the FCS Playoffs just two years ago, advancing all the way to the FCS Quarterfinals, where the Tribe were 55-7 losers in Bozeman to the Montana State Bobcats. Despite what was an abrupt and decisive end to that 2022 campaign, the 10-2 campaign was one that marked a defining move back towards a tradition-rich past of championship football enjoyed for the better past of three decades under former legendary Hall-of-Fame head coach Jimmye Laycock.
Laycock spent 38 years building a perennial FCS power in Williamsburg, coaching the Tribe to 249 total wins and seven conference or divisional titles, winning them in each a different distinctive defining phase for the league, including claiming titles in the Yankee Conference (1/1996; 2 Mid-Atlantic Division titles in 1993 and '94), A-10 (2001 and '04), and CAA (2010 and '15). When Laycock reached win No. 200 as a head coach in 2010, he became the third-fastest to do so in FCS history. His marker laid down for the program has now been inherited by another ultra successful FCS coach in his own right, in Mike London.
The Tribe had high expectations entering the 2023 season as well, however, plagued by inconsistencies on the offensive side of the football, while boasting a defense that ranked 10th nationally in total defense (303.8 YPG) and 12th in scoring defense (18.5 PPG) meant that the Tribe were in every game on their 2023 slate, and were likely a play here or a play there close to returning to the FCS postseason. So what can we expect from the Tribe in 2024.
Well, if you've followed the career track of London at all, you'll be well aware that, dating back to his days as the head coach of the Richmond Spiders, it's rare that you'll ever find a London-coached squad that is un-disciplined on the defensive side of the ball.
A former police officer and hard-nosed detective in seemingly another life in the late 1980s when Laycock was building the Tribe's reputation, London has taken those traits he learned from his prior career and has applied them at each of his head coaching stops at Howard, Richmond, Virginia and now at William & Mary, instilling an uncanny mental toughness in each of the teams he has presided over.
Despite returning just four starters returning to that unit that excelled just last season, it's a unit that you should expect to be very good again. has been among the best in the FCS each of the past two seasons.
William & Mary Breakdown
The biggest departures are within the front seven, as the Tribe must replace their top defensive (Nate Lynn) and linebacker (John Pius) from a year ago. Lynn was a dominant performer along the defensive front, finishing the season with 58 tackles, 11.0 TFL and eight sacks.
Pius, an outside linebacker that was a Buck Buchanan Award finalist from his OLB spot, led the Tribe with 16.0 TFL and 9.5 sacks last season.
The good news is that the Tribe have seemingly addressed the loss of Lynn along the defensive front by adding Jonathan Hammond from Davidson will at least somewhat soften the blow of the impact felt by the graduation of the caliber of Lynn. He will be a key potential impact performer in the pass rush for the Tribe and was a three-time All Pioneer Football League selection during his time as a Wildcat.
During his career at Davidson, Hammond produced 37 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, which included 22 sacks. Expected to serve along the defensive from along with Hammond this fall will be Gerald Williams (11 tackles) or Mike Malone (11 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sack, 1 PBU, 1 QBH), who will be in competition to start at the other defensive end position, while Davin Dzidzienyo (18 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 blkd kick) is the lone returning starter along the defensive front.
Christian Hamm (4 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack), who has extensive experience in the edge rusher spot/OLB over the past couple of seasons behind Pius and will now have his opportunity to shine.
Hamm registered his first-career sack against Albany last season. Headlining the Tribe secondary will be cornerback Jalen Jones (17 tackles, 5 PBUs), who has served as a starter in 22-straight games coming into the 2024 campaign, while Honorable Mention All-CAA honoree Marcus Barnes (54 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 1 FF) is back for a sixth season.
By contrast, the offensive side of the ball is set to be the much more experienced side of the football for the Tribe heading into the 2024 season. With a fresh offensive scheme designed to accentuate quarterback Darius Wilson's (131-of-217 passing, 1,568 yds, 9 TDs, 4 INTs/77 rush att, 408 yds, 4 TDs, 4.8 YPC) dual threat capabilities under new offensive coordinator Mario Acitelli, expect some more prolific results for the Tribe's offense this season.
Wilson is a veteran of 32 starts over the past three seasons, and he's poised to have his biggest season yet running the Tribe's offense.
Even more reason for optimism for Tribe fans about the 2024 offense stems from the fact that William & Mary returns some of his top weapons in the passing game, including one of the top young tight ends in the CAA.
JT Mayo (30 rec, 452 yds, 5 TDs, 15.1 YPR) and Hollis Mathis (27 rec, 373 yds, 2 TDs, 13.8 YPR) return as the top wideouts, while DreSean Kendrick (7 rec, 107 yds, 1 TD, 15.2 YPR.) is back after transitioning from quarterback to wideout last season and one is the best overall athletes on either side of the football.
VMI transfer Isaiah Lemmond is a young, speedy wideout that was one of the top rookie wideouts in the SoCon in 2022.
Bucknell transfer Damian Harris, who has one year of eligibility remaining after spending the past four with the Bison, hauling in 104 passes for 1,151 yards and five scores during his four seasons in Lewisburg, PA, is another weapon that figures to make the Tribe even more versatile in the passing game this fall.
The third-leading option in the passing game in 2023 also offers the most reliable option for Wilson in clutch situations, as redshirt sophomore Sean McElwain (22 rec, 312 yds, 14.2 YPR) is back at tight end.
Running back is talented and deep and will be the the bread-and-butter of this potentially up-tempo offensive scheme this fall. The Tribe had maybe the best running back in the Coastal Athletic Association entering the 2023 season, in Bronson Yoder (77 rush att, 408 yds, 4 TDs, 5.3 YPC), but unfortunately, the preseason All-American went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in just the fourth game of the season against Maine.
Yoder's performance was strong despite his injury, rushing for 163 yards to lead the Tribe to a 28-3 road win over the Black Bears in a driving rain. Yoder had garnered All-America honors following a season, which saw him rush for 1,255 yards and 13 scores.
His return to the Tribe offense for one final season will again make him the focal point of what figures to be a solid ground attack, as well as an improved offensive product as a whole. The byproduct of Yoder's season-ending injury last season is that it forced others to step up and produce in the Tribe's ground attack, allowing others to get experience and make a name for themselves in the offense.
It's an opportunity that perhaps Malachi Imoh (126 rush att, 855 yds, 3 TDs, 6.8 YPC) didn't anticipate happening so quickly coming into the season last fall as being the go-to-guy for the Tribe, however, he made the most of it, garnering Honorable Mention All-CAA honors last fall.
The rising senior has seen action in 31-career games for the Tribe, and over the past two campaigns, has rushed for a combined 1,577 yards and 12 TDs. Should Yoder be back to his old self, and given the experience and productivity that Imoh already sports in his position, it sets up for the Tribe to have one of the top rushing tandems in both the CAA and FCS in 2024.
Martin Lucas (69 rush att, 261 yds, 4 TDs, 3.8 YPC) offers yet another ground threat, showcasing the overall depth the Tribe have in the ground game.
Finally, the offensive line should be talented, with two all-league performers back in center Ryan McKenna (All-CAA Honorable Mention in 2023) and left tackle Charles Grant (1st Team All-CAA). Grant might be the most talented offensive lineman in the CAA this fall and will likely find himself on a number of preseason All-American teams.
With nine starters back on the offensive side of the ball, and a fresh, new outlook offensively in 2024, I anticipate the Tribe having one of the most improved offenses in the CAA this fall.
VMI Breakdown
VMI has some talent on both sides of the ball returning in its own right, and the reason for so much anticipation entering the 2024 season is the return of 14 regulars with the top returnee on the offense being running back Hunter Rice (170 rush att, 876 yds, 14 TDs, 5.1 YPC ).
He is the top running back in the Southern Conference heading into the 2024 campaign, and he is also extremely versatile. Coach Rocco made good use of Rice in the 'wildcat' offense last season, and even threw a touchdown pass in VMI's Southern Conference win over Wofford last season.
The Keydets have a veteran leading the passing attack this season, as Collin Shannon (53-of-94 passing, 579 yds, 1 TD, 3 INTs) returns as the starter for the Keydets.
Quarterback was somewhat surprisingly a struggle of a position for VMI last season, but with Shannon given the full reins of the offense, and with a better understanding of Rocco's offensive scheme, it should be an area of improvement for VMI this fall.
Shannon will have to find some new targets, as the top three pass-catchers have all moved on, via graduation or the transfer portal.
The top returning target in the passing attack for the Keydets this fall will be Ivan Thorpe (16 rec, 255 yds, 1 TD, 15.9 YPR) and Julio DaSilva (11 rec, 92 yds, 8.4 YPR).
The best news for the VMI offense is that three starters return along the offensive line, which will be anchored this fall by All-SoCon returnee Will Poindexter, who will anchor an offensive front that should be one of the most improved units in the SoCon this fall.
The bread and butter for the Keydets during Rocco's first season at the helm was on the defensive side of the football. In fact, the Keydets excelled most against the pass last season, as the Keydets ranked 27th nationally in total defense last season, while also leading the Southern Conference.
The Keydets allowed just 187.0 YPG through the air last season, and that should once again be a strength for the VMI defense this fall. In fact, the Keydets have all-conference caliber talent at all three levels of the defense heading into the 2024 campaign. Leading the returnees in the secondary for VMI will be redshirt senior Tahj Summey (48 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 INT, 5 PBUs) and he comes into the 2024 campaign as one of the Keydets' team captains.
He was a big part of the turnaround story last season for the Keydets at cornerback. Summey had his lone interception of the season in arguably the biggest game in the annual "Military Classic of the South" with The Citadel, as his INT helped contribute in a big way, leading to what proved to be the winning score in what was a 17-13 Keydet victory.
The middle of the VMI defense will be anchored by Eric Rankin, as the veteran linebacker was a preseason second-team all-league selection. The senior from Ashland, VA., is the leading returning tackler and his 93 total tackles last season were a career-high.
Along the defensive front, the Keydets welcome the return of Dorien Starnes (41 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 2 PBUs, 1 FR, 1 FF), and he was another of the preseason all-league picks, according to the league's head coaches. All three starters return in the defensive tranches for VMI this fall, as both nose tackle Geoffrey Speight (31 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 2 QBHs, 1 FF) and defensive tackle Terrell Jackson (18 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 FR) are set to compliment Starnes this fall.
Prediction
VMI 19, William & Mary 16 — What was an area of inconsistency last season will turn out to be a bright spot this season, as Caden Beck connects on the game-winning field goal as time expires for the Keydets, and VMI snaps the streak in Williamsburg!
