Robert Morris (0-0) @ VMI (0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 at 1:30 p.m.
Foster Stadium (10,000) - Lexington, Va.
Top Story - The Robert Morris University football team opens its 2009 campaign and 16th season of intercollegiate football Saturday, Sept. 5, when it visits Foster Stadium in Lexington, Va., for a 1:30 p.m. matchup with VMI. Dating back to the program's first season in 1994, the Colonials own a record of 9-6 (.600) in season openers and for the second straight year will look to start a season with a victory after earning a 27-13 win over Morehead State (9/6/08) in their 2008 season lidlifter. Under the direction of Joe Walton, the only head coach in the history of the program, RMU returns a total of 18 starters from last season. A total of 15 of those returning starters will take their place in the starting lineup Saturday against the Keydets. Robert Morris opens its 2009 campaign with a pair of road games, as after squaring off with VMI Saturday the Colonials will visit Bucknell Saturday, Sept. 12, for a 6:00 p.m. tilt at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
Quick Stat of the Afternoon - Robert Morris closed out the 2008 campaign by winning four of its final six games after starting the season 1-4, and a key reason for the success the program had in the second half of the year was due to the emergence of the defensive unit. A total of nine starters return from that group in 2009, including senior outside linebacker Adam Lawrence. Named the 2008 Northeast Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year for football thanks to a cumulative grade point average of 3.98 as an environmental science major, Lawrence is also RMU's active leader in career tackles. He enters his final season of eligibity with 170, which ranks 19th all-time at Robert Morris. Providing he stays healthy this season, Lawrence has a shot at becoming the 15th player in school history with at least 200 career stops and could push his career total into the top 10 all-time.
Saturday's Opponent - VMI and Robert Morris will meet for just the second time on the gridiron Saturday afternoon at Foster Stadium in Lexington, Va. The Keydets earned a 40-13 victory over the Colonials in the inaugural meeting between the two programs at Joe Walton Stadium (9/29/07) two seasons ago.
All-Time Series vs. VMI
VMI Leads, 1-0
2007 (L, 13-40), Home
@ Moon Township: 0-1
@ Lexington: 0-0
VMI Series Quick Outs - In the inaugural meeting between the Colonials and Keydets at Joe Walton Stadium (9/29/07), VMI compiled 551 yards of total offense compared to 360 yards for Robert Morris ... Halfback Myles Russ missed his first career 100-yard rushing game against the Keydets two seasons ago by just three yards, compiling 97 yards on 14 attempts, an average of 6.9 yards per carry ... Three Keydets rushed for at least 100 yards in the first meeting between RMU and VMI, as Howard Abegesah finished with 157 yards on the ground, followed by Kyle Hughes (136) and Joey Robinson (100) ... VMI led the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in rushing in 2008, averaging 357.5 yards on the ground and scoring 48 rushing touchdowns.
Head Coach Joe Walton (16th Season; Pittsburgh '57) - If there has been one constant associated with Robert Morris University football through the program's first 15 years, it has been Joe Walton. He was named head coach on July 27, 1993. He started the program from scratch, including everything from hiring assistant coaches to purchasing equipment to recruiting student-athletes. His fingerprints are all over the program, and to prove that, the University named its on-campus football stadium in his honor. Joe Walton Stadium hosted its first football game in 2005 to rousing success, as the Colonials defeated Butler, 49-13, on Sept. 17, 2005.
“I've said this many times before, and I mean it when I say that this situation is one of the best things that has happened to me in my life,” Walton said. “It happened at the right time. Before this position became available, I felt I was too young to quit coaching, but I wasn't anxious to get back into pro football. This situation was the perfect opportunity for me to continue to do what I like to do, and I've loved every minute of it.”
Under Walton's tutelage, the Colonials have claimed five Northeast Conference titles and a pair of mid-major national crowns in the program's first 15 years of existence. Robert Morris is one of just two programs to claim a pair of victories in the ECAC Bowl, having won it in back-to-back seasons in 1996 and 1997. The success has done nothing to dampen Walton's enthusiasm for coaching football at Robert Morris, and with him on the sideline RMU wins almost 60 percent of the time.
Walton is RMU's only head coach ever, and he is 90-61-1 (all at Robert Morris) at the collegiate level (.595). Walton was the head coach of the New York Jets from 1983-89, when he went 53-57-1 (.482). Also included among Walton's 35 NFL seasons is two (1990-91) as offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A two-time All-America tight end at Pittsburgh, Walton played seven years in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants.
Training Camp Notes - Entering training camp in 2009, a total of 18 starters returned for the Colonials, with 15 of those earning starting assignments in Saturday's season opener @ VMI ... Sophomore Logan Miles earns the start at right guard in place of incumbent starter Brad Rodgers ... Junior Elias Navarro will make his first collegiate start at inside linebacker Saturday against the Keydets, pushing senior Robert Williams to a backup role at outside linebacker ... Senior defensive back Marvin McCalla earns his first collegiate start at cornerback @ VMI Saturday with junior Rolf Bathold getting the start at strong safety ... A total of eight Colonials will earn their first collegiate start Saturday @ VMI, as joining Navarro and McCalla are sophomores Brian Bevilacqua (LG), Shadrae King (TE), Anthony Coleman (WR) and Farren Mason (NG), junior Mike Lovely (DE) and senior Desmond Brentley (QB).
Preseason Honors - A trio of Colonials were named to the preseason 2009 All-NEC Team, as senior defensive lineman Mark Szymanski, senior safety Michael Landers and junior punter Nick Schirtzinger were each named to the squad. Szymanski is RMU's active leader in career sacks with 10.5, while Landers is RMU's active leader in career interceptions with six. In two seasons as the starting punter for Robert Morris, Schirtzinger owns a career punting average of 40.8 yards on 114 punts.
Whose On First? Despite a total of 18 starters returning for Robert Morris in 2009, one of the biggest question marks entering training camp was the battle for the starting position at quarterback. Seniors Camdin Crouse and Desmond Brentley, junior Aaron Smetanka and freshmen Jeff Sinclair and Kyle McNeil all jockeyed for the starting position during training camp, and head coach Joe Walton has decided to start Brentley Saturday @ VMI in the 2009 season opener. A transfer from Grambling, Brentley has spent the past two seasons on junior varsity and will earn his first collegiate start Saturday against the Keydets.
Skill Set - Regardless of who won the battle to be RMU's starter at quarterback in the 2009 season opener Saturday @ VMI, the individual has a talented set of student-athletes at the skill positions in the lineup to help ease the transition. At wide receiver, redshirt senior Sherrod Evers returns in 2009 after being tabbed an All-Northeast Conference Second Team selection last season. Despite missing four games with an ankle injury, Evers led the Colonials in receptions (34) while finishing second in receiving yards (506) and third in touchdown catches (4).
I Can See For Myles - Halfback Myles Russ enters his junior campaign in 2009 as the feature running back in a backfield that is one of RMU's deepest in recent seasons. As a sophomore in 2008, Russ finished fourth in the Northeast Conference with 1,255 rushing yards, an average of 114.1 yards per game. That total is the third highest in RMU single-season history, and Russ enters the 2009 campaign fourth all-time in career rushing yards with 1,849. An All-NEC Second Team selection in 2008, Russ owns six career 100-yard rushing games, including five last season.
Deep Six - While junior Myles Russ serves as the feature back of the Robert Morris backfield, a number of Colonials will see time carrying the ball in 2009. Senior Raphael Johnson returns as the primary backup for Russ, while junior Jeff Link will make his 12th straight start at fullback Saturday @ VMI. Junior Jamar Cromwell, a transfer from Kent State, could see time at both halfback and fullback in 2009 but will start the season as Link's backup at fullback.
Fleet Foxes - During the 2009 spring semester, a pair of Colonial wide receivers kept fit by participating as members of the RMU track and field team. Redshirt senior Sherrod Evers, the returning starter at split end, and junior T.J. Green were each part of a 4x100-meter relay team for Robert Morris that finished second in the event at the 2009 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships in West Long Branch, N.J. The team, which also featured Charles Gladman and Ian Melhorn of the track and field squad, posted a time of 41.84 to finish second.
Start Me Up - A pair of Colonials enter the 2009 campaign having started 21 consecutive games for Robert Morris and will keep their streaks intact Saturday in the season opener @ VMI. Senior linebacker Adam Lawrence has started 21 straight games for the Colonials dating back to the start of the 2007 campaign, while junior Nick Schirtzinger has also started 21 consecutive games for RMU at punter.
Line Dance - While senior Adam Lawrence is the veteran presence for Robert Morris among its corps of linebackers, the 2009 group is both deep and talented. Returning as starters for the Colonials this season are junior Alex DiMichele and senior Ian Milanak, with DiMichele manning one of RMU's two inside linebacker spots and Milanak starting at outside linebacker opposite Lawrence. Junior Elias Navarro will start his first collegiate game at inside linebacker Saturday @ VMI, while the incumbent starter at outside linebacker, Robert Williams, will move to a backup role behind Milanak.
Surging - Senior Ian Milanak was one of the most productive Colonials down the stretch of the 2008 campaign, as the linebacker averaged 9.8 tackles per game over RMU's final four contests of the season. He recorded his first two double-digit tackle games in the process, posting 11 tackles in a 24-17 win over Central Connecticut State (11/1/08) before improving that by one takedown with a career-high 12 stops against Albany (11/8/08). The surge allowed Milanak to tie for third on the club in tackles last season with 74, and he enters his final season of eligibility in 2009 with 85 career stops.
Alex The Great - While linebacker Ian Milanak became an important part to the Colonial defense in the second half of the 2008 campaign, junior Alex DiMichele put together a consistent campaign and emerged as a vocal leader for the defensive unit. A transfer from Temple, DiMichele established a new RMU single-season record with 116 tackles in 2008, finishing with at least 10 tackles in eight of the 10 games he played in last year.
The Colonel of Colonials - The top returner for Robert Morris in the secondary in 2009 is senior Michael Landers, the lone Colonial to earn a spot on the 2008 All-Northeast Conference First Team. Landers tied for third on the club in tackles last season with 74 and also led the squad in interceptions with five. His season total of 15 passes defended led the NEC, and he was also a two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week honoree last season, earning the distinction in back-to-back weeks Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, 2008.
Musical Numbers - Various Colonials have changed uniform numbers from the 2008 season and even since the printing of the 2009 Robert Morris Football Media Guide. The changes are as follows: Senior quarterback Desmond Brentley will suit up in jersey No. 5 after wearing No. 4 last season ... Junior cornerback James Snider will move from No. 16 to No. 9 ... Sophomore running back Erik Frund switched his jersey number from 40 to 26 ... Sophomore tight end Shadrae King, who wore No. 29 as a freshman, will wear No. 7 as a sophomore in 2009 ... After wearing No. 53 as a freshman last season, sophomore offensive lineman Brian Bevilacqua will sport No. 57 this season.
