VIRGINIA STATE TROJANS
9.8.18 // Noon
MoonTownship, Pa. // Joe Walton Stadium
 
Capsule
Robert Morris kicks off the home portion of its 2018 schedule this Saturday, Sept. 8, when it hosts Virginia State in a Noon kickoff at Joe Walton Stadium. The Colonials opened the season on the road for the first time since 2013, falling 49-28 at Dayton last weekend. Virginia State, an NCAA Playoff team in 2017, lost in its season opener to Norfolk State, 34-13. RMU is 15-9 in home openers, including a 13-10 victory against Dayton last season.
 
All-Time vs. Virginia State
> This is the inaugural meeting between the Colonials and Trojans
> RMU has three first time opponents on its slate in 2018
> The Colonials have never played Virginia State, James Madison or Central State
 
Musket Shots
> Bernard Clark Jr. makes his head coaching debut in 2018
> RMU is 15-9 all-time in home openers
> RMU had 416 yards of offense at Dayton, the team's first 400-yard game since 2013
> The team's 26 first downs vs. Dayton were their most since 10/22/11 (27; Bryant)
> RMU leads the nation in third down conversion percentage (.722, 13-of-18)
> DL Amir Fenwick and LB Adam Wollet were named to the Preseason All-NEC Team
> Fenwick was the Colonials only All-NEC First Team pick last season
> Wollet led the NEC with 108 tackles
> Finished 18th in nation averaging 9.8 tackles per game
> Was named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America team
> Junior WR Tim Vecchio has been the team's offensive MVP each of the last two seasons
> Sophomore C Eric McAllister was a Hero Sports Freshmen All-America pick in 2017
> Of active FCS players, Warren Robinson is eighth with a 12.2 yard punt return average
> 2018 marks the 25th season of football at Robert Morris
> RMU has won six NEC Championships — 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 & 2010
> The 2018 roster features 30 former WPIAL players representing 23 schools
 
About the Trojans
> Virginia State went undefeated through the regular season in 2017, falling in the NCAA Division II First Round
> The Trojans were picked second in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA)
> VSU lost at Norfolk State, 34-13, to open the year
> QB Cordelral Cook was 14-26 for 170 yards, a TD and 2 INT
> RB Demetrius Strickland rushed for 40 yards on 14 carries
> WR Tre'Quan Reed led the team with 61 yards on three receptions and a TD
> RB Dazmine Palmer corralled four passes for 44 yards out of the backfield
> Alexander Williams and Patrick Prosser led the squad with eight tackles
> Prosser added 3.5 tackles for loss
 
{ TEAM NOTES }
 
25th Season of RMU Football
> 2018 marks the 25th season of football at Robert Morris
> The program debuted in 1994, going 7-1-1
> RMU has won six NEC Championships — 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 & 2010
 
Clark Makes Coaching Debut
> Bernard Clark Jr. makes his head coaching debut in 2018
> He served as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at UAlbany for four years
> Won two national championships with Miami, including the 1988 Orange Bowl MVP
> Made 10 previous coaching stops before arriving in Moon Township
 
Dr. Howard In College Football
> RMU President Dr. Chris Howard is serving a three-year term on the College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee
> He is also on the planning committee to commemorate the 150th birthday of college football
> Howard was a running back at Air Force
> He won the NFF Campbell Trophy, the highest academic award for a football player
 
RMU Football Leadership Committee
> Coach Clark has named a six-player leadership committee in 2018
> Offensive Leadership Committe Members:
   > Junior WR DeLano Madison
   > R-Sophomore OL Eric McAllister
   > Senior QB Jimmy Walker
> Defensive Leadership Committe Members:
   > R-Junior DB Tevaul Brown
   > Senior DL Amir Fenwick
   > Senior LB Adam Wollet
 
Delray Beach Connection
> A pair of Colonials hail from the Florida town of Delray Beach on the Atlantic Coast
> Warren Robinson and Thomas Neal list Delray Beach as their hometown
> They all attended different high schools
> Dylan Young lists Coral Springs as his hometown, just a short drive from Delray Beach
 
Score 30 or More
> Since the inception of RMU football in 1994, RMU is 72-5 (.935) when scoring 30 or more points
> The Colonials are 29-0 when tallying 40 or more points

Gridiron Graduates
> RMU has five players players currently taking graduate level classes
> DE Cameron Darley, QB Caleb Lewis and RB Kendall Rodgers Jr. are all graduate transfers
> QB Jimmy Walker finished his undergraduate work last year and is in grad school now
> LB Adam Wollet is in the integrated five-year finance and data analytics program at RMU
 
WPIAL Representation
> The 2018 roster features 30 former WPIAL players
> They represent 23 different schools
> Gateway, Montour, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Thomas Jefferson, Woodland Hills and West Allegheny each have two alums on the RMU roster
 
State of the Colonials
> Thirteen states and two countries are represented on the RMU roster
> Three dozen players from the Keystone State, Pennsylvania, lead the list
> Ohio (11) and Florida (10) also have double-digit representatives
> Two players came to RMU from Ontario
 
The Founding Father
> RMU had only one coach in its first 20 seasons of existence, Joe Walton
> Walton was a former NFL tight end and head coach (see sidebar)
> He was a four-time NEC Coach of the Year
> Under his guidance, RMU won two NCAA I-AA mid-major national titles
> Walton was inducted into the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013
 
{ DEFENSIVE NOTES }
 
National Rankings - Team
> RMU ranks in the top-30 in these categories:
   > Fourth Down Pct. (1st, .000)
 
Preseason All-NEC Picks
> DL Amir Fenwick and LB Adam Wollet were named to the Preseason All-NEC Team
> Fenwick was an All-NEC selection following the 2017 season
> Wollet also garnered all-league plaudits as a junior as well
 
Positive Negatives
> RMU had 77 tackles for loss in 2017
> The Colonials took their opponents down for a loss on one of every 9.2 plays
> They had 25 sacks, or one in every 10.0 opponent pass calls
> 20 different players had a tackle for loss
> 11 different players had been credited with at least a partial sack
 
Brains and Braun
> ILB Adam Wollet led the NEC with 108 tackles
> Finished 18th in nation averaging 9.8 tackles per game
> Was named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America team
> Was the NEC Fall Scholar-Athlete for football
> Had 16 tackles, a career-best, against Sacred Heart
> Tallied 10+ tackles in seven games
> He led RMU with 89 tackles in 2016
> Is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District II Team selection (2016, 2017)
 
Amir, Amir on the Line
> Senior DL Amir Fenwick was the Colonials only All-NEC First Team pick last season
> Garnered Preseason All-NEC plaudits
> He finished with 35 tackles, 23 in league games
> Had 4.5 TFL in NEC games, six overall
> Totaled 14 tackles in the final three games of 2017
> Had a career-best seven solo stops at Wagner
 
Price is Right
> CB Heavon Price had a hand in all four RMU takeaways against Bryant last season
> He recorded two interceptions, the fourth and fifth of the season for RMU
> Price also caused a fumble and recovered a fumble
> He made a career-high nine tackles in the game
 
Keydets Locked Up
> RMU shutout VMI, 23-0, the team's first shutout since 10/16/10 vs. Albany
> They held the Keydets to just 182 yards
> Its the fewest yards since holding Wagner to 170 on 10/3/15
> RMU has held 11 opponents under 260 yards since 2010
> That includes Dayton gaining just 257 yards in the season-opener
 
Neal Now Tackling Thomas
> Thomas Neal, who used to go by TJ Neal, is now at linebacker
> The athletic Neal started his career at RMU as a defensive back
> He was moved to running back late in his freshman campaign due to injuries
 
{ OFFENSIVE NOTES }
 
National Rankings - Team
> RMU ranks in the top-30 in these categories:
   > 3rd Down Conv. Pct. (1st, .722)
   > First Downs (11th, 26)
   > Fumbles Lost (1st, 0)
   > Passing Offense (25th, 257.0)
   > Red Zone Offense (1st, 1.000)
   > Sacks Allowed (1st, 0)
   > Time of Possession (29th, 32:32)
   > Turnovers Lost (20th, 1)
 
National Rankings - Team
> RMU ranks in the top-40 in these categories:
   > Passing Yards (Jimmy Walker, 37th, 219)
   > Passing Yds/Gm. (Walker, 36th, 219.0)
   > Passing Yds/Gm. (Walker, 27th, 13.69)
   > Pts. Responsible For (Walker, 16th, 18)
   > Pts. Responsible For/Gm. (Walker, 14th, 18.0)
   > Receptions/Gm. (Chase Bodeman, 30th, 6.0; Tim Vecchio, 30th, 6.0)
   > Total Offense (Walker, 28th, 252.0)
 
First Time In a Long Time
> The offense put up numbers at Dayton that it hasn't seen in a long time:
   > 416 yards; 448 @ VMI, 9/28/13
   > 26 1st Downs; 27 vs. Bryant, 10/22/11
   > 28 points; 35 vs. Notre Dame (Ohio), 9/19/15
 
Walker On Air
> QB Jimmy Walker went 16-of-32 for 219 yards and 2 TD at Dayton
> He started the game 6-of-9 for 89 yards
> His 188.8 yards passing per game rank second all-time at RMU
> Threw 272 times in 2017, tied for third most in team history
> His 151 career completions are sixth all-time at RMU, the most by a non four-year player in team history
 
Transfer-vania
> An entourage of transfers will likely spend plenty of time toting the pigskin on offense
> QB Jimmy Walker is a transfer from San Diego State
> RB Terence Stephens previously played at Bowling Green
> TE Steve Petrick was at Temple University
> RB Kendall Rodgers Jr. is a graduate transfer from the University of Albany
> QB Caleb Lewis comes to RMU from LSU
> WR Tavin Allison spent one season at Eastern Michigan
 
Valuable Vecchio
> Junior WR Tim Vecchio has been the team's offensive MVP each of the last two seasons
> He has 73 career receptions for 709 yards
> Another 30 catch season will put him into the RMU career top-five for receptions
> In 2017, he led the team with 32 catches, 321 receiving yards and two receiving TDs
> He led the team with 35 receptions and 308 yards as a freshman in 2016
 
Mentioning McAllister
> Sophomore C Eric McAllister was a Hero Sports Freshmen All-America pick in 2017
> Named to the RMU Football Leadership Committee
> Preseason All-NEC Pick according to Phil Steele
 
Matching With Wanat
> Junior RB Jonathan Wanat donated bone marrow to a anonymous recipient last spring
> Wanat was put on the donor list through The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation
> In two seasons working the Andy Talley Foundation, RMU has added 260 donor names to the list
 
Returning Experience
> RMU returns nine starters on offense in 2018
> The only voids left from 2017 were at running back and tight end
> Those spots will be filled by transfers and upperclassmen:
   > RB - Terence Stephens and Kendall Rodgers Jr.
   > TE - Steve Petrick and Matthew Gonzalez
> Nine different offensive linemen return with at least one start to their credit
 
Two-Point Conversion
> Jimmy Walker hit Tim Vecchio for a two-point conversion against Sacred Heart last season
> It was the team's first two-point conversion since 2014 against CCSU
> Derik Abbott hit Duane Mitchell with a pass for that conversion
 
{ SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES }
 
National Rankings - Individual
> Colonials rank in the top-30 in these categories:
   > Combined Kick Returns (Alijah Jackson, 30th, 67)
 
Check Marks
> Sr. P Adam Check in RMU career records:
   > Punts (3rd, 211)
   > Yards (3rd, 7,811)
   > Punt Average (5th, 37.02)
> Check in the RMU single season records
   > Punts (1st, 85, 2016; 3rd, 67, 2017)
   > Punt Yards (1st, 3,150, 2016; 5th, 2,489, 2017)
> Check in the RMU game records:
   > Punts - 12 vs. Youngstown State
   > Punt Yards - 455 vs. Youngstown State
> Averaged 37.4 yards per punt last season
 
Robinson Returns
> Senior WR Warren Robinson is the only player in team history with two punt return TDs
> Of active FCS players, he is eighth with a 12.2 yard punt return average
> He had an 81-yard return for a TD vs. Malone in 2016
> Has 645 career punt return yards, 2nd at RMU (699, Brian Dunn '94-'97)
> His 12.17 career punt return avg. is second in team history
> In 2015, Warren Robinson set the single-season school record for punt return average (18.2 yds.)
> Robinson ranked second nationally in punt return average in 2015
> His 53 punt returns rank third in team history
> He has three of the four longest punt returns in team history - 81(T), 66(T) and 58
 
Diablo
> Sophomore K Nick Bisceglia connected on 7-of-17 field goals last season
> His gamewinning FG against Dayton came with :04 left
> Was an all-conference punter and kicker in high school
> Also played soccer for Kiski Area