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ELON, N.C. – With the 2017 Elon football season approaching, get to know the Phoenix's upcoming opponents with our preview series. Elon's CAA Football opener comes in week four as the maroon and gold visits Richmond.
 
RICHMOND SPIDERS
 
Location: Richmond, Va.
Home stadium: Robins Stadium
Conference: CAA Football
2016 record: 10-4
2016 conference record/finish: 5-3 (T-4th)
2016 Postseason: FCS Quarterfinals
All-Time series: Elon trails 7-0
Head coach: Russ Huesman (1st season)
Letterwinners returning/lost: N/A
Offensive/Defensive starters returning: N/A
Top returning offensive players: 
• RB Deontez Thompson (188 carries, 1,001 yards, 5.3 ypc, 9 TD, 77.0 ypg)
• QB Kyle Lauletta (220-349 passing, 3,022 yards, 24 TD, 8 INT, 63.0 completion pct.)
• WR Tyler Wilkins (40 rec., 561 yards, 4 TD, 14.0 ypc, 40.1 ypg)
Top returning defensive players: 
• DB Brendan Coniker (52 ua, 42 at, 94 total tackles, 3.0 TFL, 2 INT, 1 FF, 1 FR)
• LB Justin Rubin (34 ua, 28 at, 62 total tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 INT, 2 FF, 1 FR)
• DL Brandon Waller (15 ua, 36 at, 51 total tackles, 9.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 5 QBH, 2 FF)

2017 Schedule
Aug. 27 at Sam Houston State
Sept. 9 at Colgate
Sept. 16 vs. Howard
Sept. 23 vs. Elon
Oct. 7 vs. Albany
Oct. 14 at Towson
Oct. 21 at Delaware
Oct. 28 vs. Stony Brook
Nov. 4 at Villanova
Nov. 11 at James Madison
Nov. 18 vs. William & Mary
 
A Glance at the Spiders
Richmond will be led by Russ Huesman who joined the Spider staff in December after eight seasons as the head coach at Chattanooga in the Southern Conference. In his time with the Mocs, Huesman posted a 59-37 record and the squad won three SoCon titles. Huesman is no stranger to Richmond, however, as the veteran coach was on the Spiders' staff for five seasons, including the program's 2008 FCS National Champion squad. He also spent 14 seasons at William & Mary.

In 2016, Richmond put up 28.6 points per game and gained 409.9 yards per outing, ranking 45th and 33rd nationally, respectively. The Spiders threw for an average of 271.5 yards per game to rate 16th in the country a year ago. The Richmond offense is led by 2016 second-team All-CAA Football quarterback Kyle Lauletta who threw for over 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns in his junior season. The offense also welcomes back third-team all-conference wide receiver Tyler Wilkins and third-team tight end Garrett Hudson.

Richmond's 2016 defense may have been even better than its offense. The Spiders held opponents to just 317.0 yards per game, the 11th-fewest yards allowed per game in FCS football. The unit came up with 28 turnovers to rank eighth nationally. Tafon Mainsah's three interceptions led a group that tallied 17 picks in 2016, the 12th-most in the country. Richmond's defense returns second-team All-CAA Football defensive lineman Brandon Waller and third-team defensive back Brendan Coniker in 2017.

Led by All-American kicker Griffn Trau, Richmond's special teams unit is also solid. Trau, who was also a first-team all-league pick, made 23 of his 26 field goals as a sophomore and was a perfect 42-for-42 on PATs to lead the Spiders with 111 points. Punter D.J. Helkowski returns after averaging 39.5 yards per punt in 2016. The special teams blocked four kicks last season.

Richmond opened its 2016 season with a 17-point victory at Virginia before suffering its first loss, a 42-14 defeat at Stony Brook, in week three. From there, the Spiders reeled off five consecutive victories, including wins over #21 Colgate, #16 Albany and #11 Villanova, before falling by four points to #6 James Madison. Richmond earned a spot in the FCS Playoffs and defeated #17 North Carolina A&T in the first round before travelling to #7 North Dakota and earning a 27-24 victory. Another trip across the country came next for the Spiders, which saw their season ended with a 38-0 defeat at #2 Eastern Washington.
 
Matchup
The 2017 contest between Elon and Richmond will be just the eighth-ever meeting in the series. Elon is looking for its first win in the series. The two programs first met in 1928 with Richmond earning a 34-0 victory. The next matchup did not occur until the 2008 season opener at Elon's Rhodes Stadium, a game won by the #4 Spiders by a 28-10 margin. The two met in the FCS Playoffs the following season in Richmond with Elon coming up just short in a 16-13 game. Elon was then the first opponent for Richmond in Robins Stadium as the Spiders opened their new home with a 27-21, overtime victory.