William & Mary has won 25 straight in its football series with VMI. Keydets coach Danny Rocco is looking forward to the challenge for his team in Thursday night’s season opener.
“Over 65 percent of our roster are Virginia high school student-athletes, and a lot of our guys here were either recruited by William & Mary, went to William & Mary’s camp, have friends on the team, so, I think, on a number of different levels, it’s really meaningful,” Rocco told reporters on a virtual conference call on Tuesday.
Rocco comes into Year 2 off a surprise 5-6 finish in 2023.
William & Mary, led by former UVA Football coach Mike London, struggled to a 6-5 finish last season, after making a deep FCS playoff run in 2022.
Rocco expects London to have the Tribe back on track in 2024, and he knows his team will be in for a fight in the opener.
“There’s an extended losing streak that’s attached to this game, and we’re on the wrong end of that,” Rocco said. “We’re certainly excited about the opportunity and the competition playing against a really good, talented, well-coached William & Mary Tribe football team.”
How to follow
Kickoff is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at Walter J. Zable Stadium in Williamsburg.
VMI Game Notes
VMI returns 13 starters and four of the eight All-SoCon honorees from 2023, led by Hunter Rice on the offense and Eric Rankin on the defense.
Rice had a breakout year in his junior season, ranking fourth in the country in rushing touchdowns, with 14 scores on the ground, and was named to the All-SoCon Second Team. Rankin, meanwhile, quickly became the leading tackler for VMI, totaling 93.0 stops last year which ranked fifth among Southern Conference performers. Serving as a captain alongside Rice and Rankin, Dorien Starnes (second team) anchored the defensive line,
leading all SoCon lineman with 41.0 tackles. Ivan Thorpe (All-Freshman) looks to be a top threat in the passing game, totaling 251 yards and a touchdown in nine games.
William & Mary Game Notes
William & Mary was ranked 16th in the AFCA Coaches Preseason Poll and 15th in the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Poll.
The Tribe averaged nearly 200 yards per game (196.9) on the ground in 2023, ranking 13th in the nation. The Tribe run game is powered by left tackle Charles Grant, a two-time All-CAA selection who is on the NFL Draft radar while getting preseason All-American recognition, allowing just one sack in the last two seasons.
Bronson Yoder (RB) and Trey McDonald (FB) joined Grant on the CAA first team, with Malachi Imoh (RB), Ryan McKenna (OL) and Marcus Barnes (S) earning preseason honorable mention.
Yoder, who was limited to just four games last year, was named to the Gary Payton Award Watch List and is a Phil Steele Preseason All-American.
Share
Chris Graham
