A Look at the Richmond Spiders

TOWSON, Md. - The Towson Tigers (3-1, 1-0 Colonial Athletic Association) have little time to feel sorry for themselves after losing to Maryland, 28-3 in College Park last week. The Tigers can take some solace in the fact that they were only down 7-3 after the first half and 14-3 after three quarters.

On Saturday night, the #25 Tigers take on the #14 Richmond Spiders (3-2, 0-2 CAA) in a CAA clash at Unitas Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

Richmond has been a difficult opponent for not only Towson, but the entire CAA over the years. The Spiders, who won the FCS National Championship in 2008, came into this season with several questions. The first question mark came in August when Coach Latrell Scott abruptly resigned and offensive coordinator Wayne Lineburg took over.

Instead of going in the tank, the Spiders won their first three games. The most impressive win came at Duke, 23-21, as the Spiders became the only CAA team to defeat an FBS team this season.

Richmond has outscored the Tigers, 115-34, in their last three meetings. Towson's last win came in 2007 when the Tigers pulled off a dramatic 23-21 win at home. Tim Hightower, now a member of the Washington Redskins, gave the Spiders a 21-17 lead with a 14-yard TD run with 29 seconds left. Sean Schaefer directed a game-winning drive in the last 22 seconds by going 67 yards on just four plays and throwing a 14-yard TD pass to Demetrius Harrison on the final play of the game.

The Spiders have struggled in CAA play, losing at home to New Hampshire, 45-43, and on the road last week to James Madison, 31-7. Both are nationally-ranked teams.

Statistically speaking, the Spiders average 99 yards per game (2.8 yards per carry) on the ground and 326.6 yards per game overall. Defensively, they allow 153.2 yards per game (4.5 yards per carry) and just 165.2 yards per game in the air. The Spiders have turned the ball over 12 times (6 interceptions, 6 fumbles) and forced nine turnovers.

Offensively, the Spiders are led by senior QB Aaron Corp (6-3, 205), a transfer from USC. Corp has completed 60 per cent of his passes while throwing for 1,130 yards with 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Last year, Corps played five games before tearing his ACL.

Even though the Spiders have struggled running the ball, they face a Towson team that has had issues stopping the run (164.8 yards per game). Junior FB Kendall Gaskins (6-1, 228) is an all-conference player who has 335 yards (94 yards per game) rushing and leads the team with seven touchdowns.

At running back, senior Garrett Turner (5-10, 185) is second in rushing with 191 yards (3.6 yards per carry). He's also a dangerous receiver with 10 catches out of the backfield.

Speaking of receivers, the Spiders have one of the best in the CAA in senior Tre Gray (5-10, 175), who is sixth in the FCS with 542 yards receivng on 38 receptions. He needs 13 catches and 214 yards to break respective UR records.

The key to the Spiders' success on offense will be their offensive line. They are big and talented but inexperienced on the right side. Last week against JMU, Corp was sacked seven times.

The strength is on the left side with former Rutgers tackle Richard Muldrow (6-6, 298) and senior left guard Ryan Goss (6-5, 296). The rest of the line offers two true freshmen and one redshirt freshman.

On defense, the Spiders have some concerns with inexperience up front due to injuries, but the back seven is very good. Freshman NG Adam Farley (6-2, 315) os a huge presence up front while redshirt fershman Joey Landess (6-3, 255) had his first start against JMU and made two tackles.

At defensive end, sophomore Jacob Pierce (6-3, 255) has started the last two games and has 10 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery on the season. Sophomore B.J. Scott (6-4, 251) tallied a career-high eight tackles last week against the Dukes. He has 28 tackles, one force fumble, one fumble recovery and three tackles for loss on the season.

The linebacker, though small, are very athletic. Last year's leading tackler, Darius McMillan (5-11, 215), is back to once again lead the team. The junior has 59 tackles, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery. Another junior, Derek Mayo (5-10, 218), is fourth on the team with 37 tackles while adding a 1/2 sack, 2.5 TFLs and one pass breakup.

Freshman Aaron Roane (6-2, 200) is the second true rookie to be listed as a starter on the depth chart. Roane has 24 tackles and one sack this season.

In the secondary, Richmond has one of the biggest safeties in the nation in junior Cooper Taylor (6-5, 220), who had 14 tackles against Duke. He is second on the team with 46 tackles and also has two pass breakups. The other safety is senior Colin Pehanick (6-2, 196), who is the third-leading tackler with 40 stops and leads the team with two interceptions.

Senior cornerback Tremayne Graham (5-10, 185) is the team's top corner and held New Hampshire's top receiver, Joey Orlando, to just two catches for 10 yards two weeks ago. Graham is also a star on Richmond's outdoor track and field team and returns kickoffs.

The other corner, junior Darryl Hamilton (5-9, 188), is a converted safety who has 14 tackles and a pick this season.

Richmond has one of the best special teams in the league and offers Graham (23.8 yards per return) and Wayne Pettus (31.2 yards per return) on kick returns along with Gray (6 yards per return) and Pettus on (3.5 yards per return) on punt returns.

Notes: Towson is a little over 8,300 away from breaking the single-season attendance record of 35,693 that was set in 2007. The Tigers have drawn 27,374 fans this seaosn in three dates ... The Spiders/Tigers game will be broadcast on WNST-AM 1570 and streamed on TowsonTigers.com ... There will also be a live blog during the game that is free for anybody to join.

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A Look at the Richmond Spiders