2018 VMI Keydets football team

2018 VMI Keydets football
2018 VMI Keydets football
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	1–10 (0–8 SoCon)
Head coach	Scott Wachenheim (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Brian Sheppard (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Tom Clark (4th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Alumni Memorial Field; (Capacity: 10,000)
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 13 Wofford +^	6	–	2	9	–	4
No. 22 East Tennessee State +^	6	–	2	8	–	4
Furman +	6	–	2	6	–	4
Samford	5	–	3	6	–	5
Chattanooga	4	–	4	6	–	5
The Citadel	4	–	4	5	–	6
Mercer	4	–	4	5	–	6
Western Carolina	1	–	7	3	–	8
VMI	0	–	8	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. It was VMI's 128th football season. The Keydets were led by fourth-year head coach Scott Wachenheim. They played their home games at 10,000–seat Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 1–10, 0–8 in SoCon play to finish in last place.

Previous season

The Keydets finished the 2017 season 0–11, 0–8 in SoCon play to finish in last place. This was VMI's fourth winless season and the first time they had gone winless since 2004.

Preseason

Preseason media poll

The SoCon released their preseason media poll on July 25, 2018, with the Keydets predicted to finish in last place.^[1] The same day the coaches released their preseason poll with the Keydets also predicted to finish in last place.^[2]

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Samford	204 (20)
2	Furman	174 (2)
3	Wofford	163 (1)
4	Mercer	133
5	Western Carolina	114
6	Chattanooga	88
7	The Citadel	83
8	East Tennessee State	53
9	VMI	23

Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Samford	63 (7)
2	Wofford	53 (1)
3	Furman	52 (1)
4	Western Carolina	39
5	Chattanooga	34
6	Mercer	32
7	The Citadel	28
8	East Tennessee State	15
9	VMI	8

Preseason All-SoCon teams

The Keydets placed one player on the preseason all-SoCon teams.

Offense

2nd team

Brad Davis – OL

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 p.m.	at Toledo*	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN3	L 3–66	24,136
September 8	6:00 p.m.	at No. 8 Wofford	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN+	L 14–59	4,957
September 14^[a]	2:30 p.m.	East Tennessee State	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN+	L 24–27	2,764
September 22	3:30 p.m.	at Western Carolina	E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	L 50–52	12,759
September 29	1:30 p.m.	Mercer	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN3	L 38–48	3,251
October 13	2:00 p.m.	at Samford	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN+	L 22–73	4,163
October 20	1:30 p.m.	The Citadel	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA (Military Classic of the South)	ESPN3	L 32–34	7,002
October 27	3:00 p.m.	at Chattanooga	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	L 27–34	8,201
November 3	1:30 p.m.	Tusculum*	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN+	W 20–11	3,617
November 10	1:30 p.m.	Furman	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN+	L 13–49	3,922
November 17	2:00 p.m.	at Old Dominion*	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA	ESPN+	L 14–77	20,118
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Source:^[3]

^ This game was originally schedule for September 15. It was moved up one day in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

Projected depth chart

Defense

^[4]

FS
Ethan Caselberry
Will Bunton

OLB	ILB	ILB	OLB
Tyren Cloyd	Elliott Brewster	Brett Howell	Uzoma Kpaduwa
Imani Bey	Carter Johnson	Devin Carper	Najee Lawrence

SS
A.J. Smith
Jaylen Adkins

CB
Collin Loftis
Chris Ferrill

DE	NT	DE
Zack Baker	Warren Dabney	Jarrod Richmond
Chuck Weatherman	George Brown	Jordan Ward

CB
Kaleb Tucker
Mike Williams

Offense

^[4]

WR
Kris Thornton
Kendrick Jackson

WR
Devone Humphrey
Isaiah Parker

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Marshall Gill	Sawaar Canady	Cole Brummit	Josh Andre	Brad Davis
Critt Johnson	Nick Hartnett	Aaron Gallagher	Will Morris	Shane Strand

TE
Colby Rider
Ryan Clark

WR
Javeon Lara
Michael Jackson

QB
Reece Udinski
Chance Newman

RB
Quan Myers
Alex Ramsey

Special teams
PK Tommy Smith
PK Reed King
P Reed King
P Tommy Smith
KR Korey Bridy
PR Isaiah Parker
LS Connor Riddle
H Jake Paladino

Game summaries

at Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Keydets	0	3	0	0	3
Rockets	21	21	21	3	66

at Wofford

	1	2	3	4	Total
Keydets	0	7	0	7	14
No. 8 Terriers	21	21	17	0	59

East Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	7	6	7	7	27
Keydets	0	17	7	0	24

at Western Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Keydets	14	10	13	13	50
Catamounts	14	7	21	10	52

Mercer

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	13	14	14	7	48
Keydets	7	13	0	18	38

at Samford

	1	2	3	4	Total
Keydets	9	13	0	0	22
Bulldogs	14	28	24	7	73

The Citadel

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	7	14	6	34
Keydets	7	7	6	12	32

at Chattanooga

	1	2	3	4	Total
Keydets	14	7	0	6	27
Mocs	7	14	6	7	34

Tusculum

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	0	3	0	8	11
Keydets	0	7	7	6	20

Furman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Paladins	21	14	14	0	49
Keydets	7	0	0	6	13

at Old Dominion

	1	2	3	4	Total
Keydets	0	0	14	0	14
Monarchs	21	28	14	14	77

References

^ "Media picks Samford to win 2018 SoCon football title".
^ "Football coaches select preseason all-conference teams, poll".
^ "Football - Schedule - VMIKeydets.com - The Official Site of Virginia Military Institute Athletics". www.vmikeydets.com.
^ ^a ^b "2018 VMI Football Game 11: Old Dominion" (PDF). VMIKeydets.com. Retrieved 20 December 2018.

[3] This game was originally schedule for September 15. It was moved up one day in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

[1] "Media picks Samford to win 2018 SoCon football title".

[2] "Football coaches select preseason all-conference teams, poll".

[4] "Football - Schedule - VMIKeydets.com - The Official Site of Virginia Military Institute Athletics". www.vmikeydets.com.

[VMI-5] "2018 VMI Football Game 11: Old Dominion" (PDF). VMIKeydets.com. Retrieved 20 December 2018.

[1]

[2]

[a]

[3]

[4]

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