2023 FCS Top 25: No. 25 Rhode Island Football Preview

Rhode Island ranks No. 25 in HERO Sports’ FCS Preseason Top 25.

The Rams finished 7-4 overall last year, 7-3 vs. the FCS, and 5-3 in the CAA. They were one of the first four teams left out of the 2022 playoff bracket and one of the first three teams left out of the 2021 bracket.

Here’s a look at this year’s Rhode Island football squad.

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1st Team
OL Nick Correia

2nd Team
S Brent Jackson (2022 All-Patriot at Bucknell)

3rd Team
OL Lorenzo Thompson
LB Evan Stewart

Transfers Lost To The FBS (5)
James Makszin (DL) to Ball State
Matt Thomas (DL) to Colorado State
Antonio Carter II (DB) to Notre Dame
Ajani Cornelius (OL) to Oregon
Dylan Brown (DL) to Florida State

Transfers Lost To The FCS (2)
Sebastian Sagar (LB) to Stephen F. Austin
Sean Stackpole (TE) to Stonehill

Transfers Coming In From The FBS (8)
Kareem Wilson (DL), FAU
Omari Walker (WR), Arkansas State
Kevin Pyne (OL), Boston College
Rian Black (WR), Coastal Carolina
Deon Silas (RB), Iowa State
Desmond Mamudi (DL), Virginia Tech
Devin Farrell (QB), Virginia Tech
Romello Edwards (DB), Tennessee

Transfers Coming In From The FCS (3)
Brent Jackson (DB), Bucknell
Brock Bethea (OL), Chattanooga
Braden Price (DB), Illinois State

After scoring 30.6 points per game in 2022 (No. 36 in the FCS) and throwing for 235.3 yards per game (No. 41), Rhody returns its veteran quarterback, two of its top four pass-catchers, and four starters on the offensive line.

Kasim Hill enters his seventh season of college football and his third full season starting for the Rams. A four-star recruit out of high school, his collegiate career began in 2017 at Maryland, where he started two games as a true freshman before a season-ending injury. In 2018, he started another 10 games at Maryland. In 2019, Hill transferred to Tennessee and had to sit out due to transfer rules. The following season, he transferred to Rhody and played in three games during the 2021 spring.

Twenty-five games later at Rhody, Hill has thrown for 5,147 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions while rushing for 570 yards and 15 TDs.

Hill has two big wide receivers coming back. Kahtero Summers finished second on last year’s squad with 42 catches for 675 yards and a team-high six TDs. Darius Savedge finished fourth on the team with 19 catches for 218 yards and two scores. Savedge and Summers are both 6-foot-3 targets.

Rhody loses its 1,000-yard rusher Marques DeShields. No. 2 RB Jaylen Smith returns, rushing 51 times for 287 yards and three scores a season ago.

Nick Correia (6-6, 330 lbs) and Lorenzo Thompson (6-7, 295 lbs) are two standouts on the o-line. Correia is an All-American-level talent who earned 2022 First Team All-CAA honors. Thompson earned Third Team honors. Sebastian Delasoudas (6-2, 305 lbs) returns after 11 starts at center. As does Michael Scibelli (6-3, 290 lbs), who started nine games at left guard.

The Rams added Brock Bethea (6-5, 305 lbs) from Chattanooga and Kevin Pyne (6-8, 310 lbs) from Boston College to the offensive line.

They also brought in skilled-position talent from the FBS: Arkansas State WR Omari Walker, Coastal Carolina WR Rian Black, and Iowa State RB Deon Silas.

Rhode Island has less experience coming back on defense. The unit allowed 26.6 points per game in 2022, which ranked No. 53 in the subdivision.

Only one of the top five tacklers returns (No. 2 Evan Stewart). And just four of the top 11 tacklers are back.

Stewart is a solid linebacker to build around. He led the 2021 squad with 88 tackles. In 2022 as an All-CAA Third Team selection, he totaled 80 stops, six tackles for loss, five sacks, one interception, and four passes defended.

LB Gabe Salomons was sixth on the team with 40 tackles, including three TFLs and one sack. Safety Jordan Colbert was right behind him with 39 tackles and 1.5 TFLs. LB Jarrett Martin was 11th on the team with 32 stops, including 4.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, one interception, and four passes defended.

A.J. Pena will be another impact player after a strong freshman season, tallying 22 stops, 6.5 TFLs, and 5.5 sacks.

Rhody lost three defensive linemen to the FBS this offseason. Returners Westley Neal Jr. (6-0, 315 lbs) and Malachi Burby (6-3, 265 lbs) will be relied on to step up. Neal, a former four-star recruit, has started 15 of the 20 games he has played at Rhody, totaling 65 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks. Burby recorded five starts, 25 tackles, three TFLs, and two sacks in 2022.

The Rams hope to have filled some of its defensive holes via the transfer portal.

They added two FCS transfers with starting experience. Brent Jackson was a standout safety at Bucknell. The 2022 All-Patriot League Second Team selection racked up 111 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, three sacks, four interceptions, 15 passes defended, and two forced fumbles last fall. Braden Price is another defensive back who started six games at Illinois State in 2021.

FBS transfers include FAU DL Kareem Wilson, Virginia Tech DL Desmond Mamudi, and Tennessee DB Romello Edwards.

8/31 at Georgia State
9/8 vs Stony Brook
9/16 at Maine
9/23 at Villanova
9/30 vs Bryant
10/7 at Brown
10/14 vs No. 23 Richmond
10/21 at UAlbany
10/28 vs No. 14New Hampshire
11/11 vs North Carolina A&T
11/18 at Towson

HERO Sports’ rankings
Bold indicates CAA games