2019 NCAA Division I College Football Team Previews: VMI Keydets
VMI Keydets
Location: Lexington, VA
Coach: Scott Wachenheim (6-38), 4th season
Stadium: Foster Stadium (Capacity: 10,000)
CSJ Projections:
9th: SoCon
10th: Virginia
120th: FCS
250th: Division I
2018 In A Sentence: On November 3rd, the Keydets downed D-II Tusculum 20-11, snapping a 25 game losing streak that dated from 2016. The 1-10 record obscures the fact that VMI gave some major scares to its SoCon opponents, including East Tennessee State, Western Carolina, and VMI’s historic rival The Citadel.
Biggest Shoes to Fill: DB Uzoma Kpaduwa had 77 tackles, 4 1/2 TFL and 2 sacks in his final year as a Keydet. He was one of the better defenders VMI had last season.
Key Player: He was very inconsistent last season, but QB Reese Udinski showed some flashes of brilliance last season that kept the Keydets competitive in more games. Udinski’s 49/64, 5 passing touchdown performance vs. The Citadel was a glimpse of what he can do with VMI’s pass-happy offense, but can he deliver such results consistently?
Fearless Prediction: With D-II Mars Hill and Robert Morris on the schedule, the Keydets look like they will have a very good chance to improve on their 1-10 record from last year. But unless the defense improves and the offense gets more consistent, it’s hard to picture them getting above .500.
Chuck has been writing about Lehigh football since the dawn of the internet, or perhaps it only seems like it. He’s executive editor of the College Sports Journal and has also written a book, The Rivalry: How Two Schools Started the Most Played College Football Series.
Reach him at: this email or click below:
