Richmond coach Mike London hopes to redshirt his freshman class.

Familiar, yet still a young team

Last year, they won a school-record 11 games, shared the Colonial Athletic Association championship and advanced to the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals. The Spiders don't seem headed for rebuilding mode that commonly follows such success.

UR recently released its two-deep for Saturday night's opener at Elon, and of 22 projected starters, six are seniors. It's a junior-sophomore team, and most of them were very involved last year.

"It's still a learning process for them," first-year coach Mike London said. "But they've played in some big games. They've played in some pressure situations. So you hope that with that amount of experience behind them that it's only going to help them as they go into this season."

Four seniors will start on offense, only two on defense. No true freshman is listed on the two-deep. London said that his plan is to keep it that way so he can redshirt the whole class. Injuries could change that.

"Although there are some [true freshmen] who could be dynamic, there are still some learning curves that they have to experience," London said.

New coach embraces road-heavy slate

Former coach Dave Clawson, with input from Richmond's administration, didn't do London any schedule favors. Five of the first eight games and seven of 12 will be played away from UR Stadium.

"It is daunting . . . We're going to have to be a road-tested and road-galvanized team," London said.

"The tickets are sold and the bands are playing, so we're going to play the 2008 schedule the way it is."

The Spiders play next Saturday at Virginia, where London was defensive coordinator the past two years. For that date, UR will collect a $235,000 check. The Spiders also are scheduled to play at U.Va. in 2010 ($250,000), 2012 ($300,000) and 2014 ($350,000).

New time and place for radio show

Spider Sportsline, UR's weekly coach's radio show, moves this season from evenings to lunch hour. The program will air on ESPN Radio 950 from Outback Steakhouse (7917 W. Broad St.), noon to 1, each Tuesday, beginning next week. - John O'Connor