Robert Morris has something to prove in Year 2 in Big South Conference

After the annual Big South media day in July, where the league’s coaches and beat reporters projected Robert Morris to finish last, Colonials coach Bernard Clark Jr. avoided the “chip on our shoulder” cliche.

After all, in 2021, their first year as members of the Big South, the Colonials also were picked to finish last but wound up third (4-6).

“I played at the University of Miami,” Clark said. “I was there for five years. I think our record was 55-5. We won two national championships, and when I was there, we’d win a national championship and we still wouldn’t be in the top five the next year. So, in those situations, it doesn’t really matter where you start. It’s all about where you finish.”

As Clark prepares for his fifth season leading Robert Morris, he will lean on the presence of veteran players while trying to revive an offense that was largely lackluster in 2021.

Robert Morris returns several players with starting experience, highlighted by the defensive backs.

Redshirt senior Sydney Audiger, a preseason first-team All-Big South selection, leads that group after compiling 55 tackles and five pass breakups, along with fellow redshirt senior Matthew Larks.

Graduate student Jacob White returns at safety, as does Lorenzo Euline. The Colonials also bolstered their defensive backfield with the addition of Stony Brook grad transfer Gregory Young II.

“We’ve got a secondary that’s been there and has done a real good job,” Clark said. “We feel real good about our back end.”

Up front, Robert Morris returns two capable veterans at defensive end in redshirt junior Ricardo Watson, whose 11 1/2 TFLs and 7 1/2 sacks led the team last year, plus redshirt senior Garret Fairman (Thomas Jefferson).

“The leadership that they bring is big,” Clark said. “But the piece of the puzzle we’re really going to miss is Supi(lani Mailei). ‘Supi’ was a huge piece of the puzzle last year, so trying to replace him is going to be a little more difficult, but we have some guys at d-end that we feel good about in Rico and Fairman.”

On offense, the Colonials start from scratch in a number of key areas. For starters, they no longer have the steady services of quarterback George Martin, who graduated after starting the past three seasons.

The front-runner to replace him is junior Bethel Park product Anthony Chiccitt, who appeared in one game, throwing a touchdown pass against North Alabama last fall. Heading into Saturday’s opener vs. Dayton, Chiccitt was listed atop the two-deep depth chart.

Sophomore Corbin LaFrance attempted two passes in total last year, while newcomers Jake Simmons, a Santa Rosa Junior College transfer, and freshman Zach Tanner, are also competing.

“The toughest thing right now is just trying to find a quarterback,” Clark said. “… Not so much a guy who throws the ball well or anything like that. It’s the guy who makes the best decisions in key moments of the game.”

The man calling the offensive shots for the Colonials is also new, Eric Gallon.

He’ll be tasked with improving a unit that was last in the Big South in total offense (295.4 yards per game), scoring (20.1 points per game) and rushing (87.4 yards per game).

In the backfield, graduate student Alijah Jackson returns after leading the Colonials with 660 yards on the ground and earning preseason first-team All-Big South honors.

At wide receiver, D’Andre Hicks (38 catches, 362 yards) is back, as is Demonte Martin and Jack Oedekoven, with Clark adding that at this point in camp, he’s rotating in as many as 10 players for first-team reps.

Graduate tight end Dylan Smith, who led his position group last fall with 10 catches for 97 yards, leads one of the more veteran units for the Colonials, with seven combined juniors and seniors on roster.

Junior offensive lineman Hayden Baron (Belle Vernon), a first-team All-Big South selection at guard, highlights a position group with something to prove, given the Colonials’ struggles to run the ball last season.

The Colonials lost five senior offensive linemen, three of whom were starters, from 2021’s roster. Flanking Baron is another experienced hand, redshirt senior Trevor Renfro at center.

True freshman Tim Stinson (6-foot-4, 300 pounds) has impressed at fall camp, while sophomores Luke Beltavski and Ryan Liams, along with junior Diego Turcios, are all in the mix to secure starting roles at tackle.

Along with Stinson, the Colonials also welcomed several other offensive linemen via their 2022 recruiting class, including twins Jake and Ross Bobbin and Malcolm Bennett.

While question marks remain up front, Clark is confident in his mixture of new faces and returning players that make up associate head coach/offensive line Rod Holder’s room.

“The thing we’ve done well is, we’ve brought in guys that really fit what we’re trying to do with our program,” Clark said. “Those returning starters we have, those are guys that we believe in, and we believe they’re going to help us win some football games.”