Right place, right time: Coleman steps up for Spider football

When the University of Richmond football team appeared to lose control of its regular season, first-year quarterback Camden Coleman arrived.

The Spiders started their season with two straight losses against Morgan State University and Michigan State University. Two games later, UR had evened its record at 2-2 with victories over Delaware State University and Stony Brook University, but a 31-14 Family Weekend loss to Hampton University Sept. 30 brought the Spiders back to under .500 on the year. 

With hopes for a strong regular season after last year’s efforts produced the program’s first FCS playoff appearance since 2016, a 2-3 output through five games this year looked like it could turn into another mediocre UR football season.

That was until the Spiders faced the University of Maine Oct. 7, where Coleman got his first career start against the Black Bears.

In UR’s previous game against Hampton, redshirt first-year quarterback Ashten Snelsire ultimately got the start, as redshirt sophomore starting quarterback Kyle Wickersham and backup redshirt junior quarterback Jackson Hardy dealt with injuries. However, after the Spiders’ first two drives resulted in punts, Coleman entered the game and finished gameplay with two touchdowns, one interception and 24 out of 34 passes completed for 224 yards. 

Flash forward to the Spiders’ matchup against Maine. By the 8:55 mark of the first quarter, UR was down 14-0 to the Black Bears. Just over six minutes into the game, it looked as if the Spiders were on the verge of letting another game this season slip away.

Coleman had different plans, however. 

The drive started with a 10-yard rush from graduate running back Milan Howard. On the following down, Coleman threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior tight end Brooks Heagarty on a flea-flicker play to get the Spiders on the board, closing the deficit to a touchdown, 14-7, and thus signifying the start to Coleman’s memorable performance. 

“Coming in, I was ready to play Richmond-caliber football,” Coleman said in the postgame press conference Oct. 8. “We all can do it, we all knew we could and that was the mindset this week — come out here and do what we knew we could do.”

Coleman went on to throw five more touchdowns in the game against Maine en route to a 42-31 win for the Spiders. Coleman hit redshirt junior wide receiver Nick DeGennaro for a 56-yard touchdown, a 13-yard touchdown and a 2-yard touchdown, redshirt first-year wide receiver Quanye Veney for a 13-yard touchdown and first-year wide receiver Landon Ellis for an 11-yard touchdown. 

“In his first career start, freshman Camden Coleman has tied a UR record with 6 Pass TDs!” Spider Football posted on its Instagram account during the game against Maine.

Along with those six touchdown passes, Coleman finished the game with 365 passing yards and two interceptions. He finished with a 69.4% completion rate, connecting on 25 of 36 pass attempts. 

“Awful proud of him,” UR Head Coach Russ Huesman said following the game against Maine. “[Coleman] looked composed out there, he wasn’t rattled at all and he had a good feel. And he missed some things, but for the most part, he threw some great balls in there.”

Coleman only found out he was starting the afternoon of Oct. 3, just four days before UR’s contest against the Black Bears, he said in the postgame press conference. 

Coleman added that his coaches and teammates helped get him prepared for the game. 

“On top of [the coaches], the older guys on the team, the other quarterbacks, [Wickersham], [Hardy], [Snelsire], the [offensive line] and especially the receivers, they all kind of stepped in and made it easier for me and just did their best to kind of prep me in the way they felt was needed,” Coleman said in the postgame press conference. 

Coleman was named both the Colonial Athletic Association’s Offensive Player of the Week and the Stats Perform FedEx Ground FCS National Freshman Player of the Week for his efforts. In just two games played so far in his young collegiate career, Coleman has already passed for eight touchdowns and 589 yards. 

Coleman will start in the Spiders’ upcoming game against the University of Rhode Island, Huesman said in the team’s weekly press conference.  

“[Coleman’s] gonna start this week and he’s gotta play well,” Huesman said. “[Wickersham’s] back to being healthy and [Wickersham] will be the backup right now. I’m sure [Wickersham’s] not satisfied with that, but it is what it is, and [Coleman] plays like that, I mean, you’re gonna keep riding him.”

The Spiders will travel to Kingston, Rhode Island to take on the Rams — ranked No. 22 in the FCS Coaches Poll — at 1 p.m. Oct. 14, where UR will look to improve to 4-3 on the season. 

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.