Bolstered by veterans, transfers, Robert Morris excited for return to NEC

Robert Morris finished its last football season in the Big South with a 2-4 record and a 4-7 mark overall. The Colonials will look for better results this season as they return to the NEC, a conference they helped start in 1996.

The Colonials finished 6-1 in the NEC in 2019, when coach Bernard Clark Jr. was named Co-NEC coach of the year.

With a mix of three- and four-year starters and several Power 4 transfers, the Colonials are preparing to regain their spot atop the NEC.

“Coming in as a group, we had anywhere from 50 to 70 guys all summer, working out, getting together and playing hard,” Clark Jr. said. “I thought we had a good camp, though. It was tough on them. Probably one of the tougher camps that we’ve had, and we pushed real hard. We had more full pads than anything.”

A return to the NEC includes several rivalry matchups, notably Nov. 9 at Duquesne.

“We’re excited about playing them again,” Clark Jr. said. “We’re excited to play Wagner again. We’re excited to play St Francis. … . They’re rival teams, and coach Joe Walton did an unbelievable job when he was in the NEC, winning conference championships. We just want to try to get back to that. We want to push our guys as hard as we can and compete in the NEC.”

Senior quarterback Anthony Chiccitt (Bethel Park) will spearhead the offense. Chiccitt completed 169 of 257 passes last season for 1,651 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“I would definitely say this year, it was our biggest turnout,” Chiccitt said. “That’s mostly due to just overall belief in the long term culture. I think everyone believes that we’re going have a pretty special year. I would say summer, we put in a lot of good work, and we’re just really excited. We had a good camp, and we’re really excited to start the actual season.”

Chiccitt’s top target is Noah Robinson, who set a Big South record with 70 receptions. He tallied a league-leading 846 yards and six touchdowns.

Arizona State transfer Shawn Charles and Lafayette transfer Carl Smith Jr., who was at Virginia Tech as a freshman, add to the receiving corps. Andre Cooper II, Kai Holloway and Trenell Ridgley return. Ridgley tallied 234 receiving yards last season, and Cooper notched 146 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Landen Lucas, Pitt transfer Cole Mitchell and Kentucky transfer Nik Ognenovic are the tight ends. Lucas caught 16 passes for 256 yards last season, along with four touchdowns, including an 80-yard reception.

“All of those guys, I really trust all of them,” Chiccitt said. “We have some really good receiving backs, too.”

One of those backs is Merrimack transfer Tyvon Edmonds Jr., a first-team All-NEC selection after rushing for 1,247 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“He’s come in, and he’s done an outstanding job,” Clark Jr. said. “The guy’s vision is just unbelievable. He has some of the best vision I’ve seen at running back, just being able to see the hole, and when he hits the hole, he’s at top speed. That’s the thing that’s going to help us, but we also got some guys behind him that we feel good about. Julian White and DJ Moyer, those guys are good football players, so we’re excited about this year with our running game.”

Edmonds is glad he’s earned the coaches’ trust over the offseason.

“It’s just also a blessing because that’s what I really worked for day in and day out,” Edmonds Jr. said. “It’s just showing my talent level at a different school and about gaining the trust again. It’s cool when somebody gets to see what you’ve been working for. You’re not putting in the work for no reason.”

Edmonds Jr. looks forward to the new opportunity. He believes the Colonials’ offense will allow him to flourish.

“This offense is more for me, and I feel like my last school is a powerful offense, but I feel like I’m more in space in this offense,” Edmonds Jr. said. “I’m gaining the trust in my O-line since I transferred in the spring. It’s just been a blessing. We got to build the chemistry coming into the fall season, so I feel like it’s a great opportunity for me.”

The offensive line features Hayden Baron, Luke Beltavski, Dante Thompson and Villanova transfer Jaden Rolling.

Baron missed last season because of injury, but he brings experience and toughness to a veteran RMU team.

“Hayden is one of our team leaders,” Clark Jr. said. “He’s one of our captains. He’s a guy that would give you 100%. He started ever since he was a true freshman. … He’s been here four years, but the guy’s just an outstanding football player and outstanding person.”

Baron and Chiccitt believe their running backs are the best in the conference.

“I think our running back room is awesome,” Baron said. “Tyvon, DJ, Julian (White), Delvecchio (Powell II), I mean, those were just four running backs off the top of my head that I think had a great spring and a great fall camp.”

Baron believes team chemistry will work wonders for the team rejoining the NEC.

“A lot of us have been here for three, four years, and we’ve been around each other, but even the new guys, I feel like we’re jelling well with them,” Baron said. “We’re getting along with all the transfers and the young kids.”

Lucas is confident in the offense and the competitiveness of the team.

“I feel like as an offense, we got a lot of players who are ready to play,” Lucas said. “Everybody’s hungry, so everybody pushes each other, knowing that the guy behind you is just as hungry as you are.”

As for the defensive line, Baron said Bernadin Fleurima Jr. and Tizlam Muhammad have looked amazing.

Muhammad tallied 33 tackles and a sack last season. He has high hopes for the defense.

“Jamar (Shegog) is holding it down,” Muhammad said. “We got Seth (Verilus), who will be back for us. We got a transfer, Keon (Freeman) I played with a couple years ago at my old school (Charleston). We got a good linebacker and pass rush. We definitely got some guys in the DB room from Dee (Pierce) to (Will) Barber to Rob (Carter Jr.).”

Jamar Shegog leads the charge on defense. The sixth-year senior and Seton LaSalle alum mustered 51 tackles, five tackles for a loss and one sack last season.

“I’m going into my fourth year as a starter here, so I’ve grown throughout the years, grown as a leader, grown as a player and just trying to control the D in spots and make the correct checks,” Shegog said. “It’s a big part of the job.”

One player he’s excited to play with is Patrick McDonell, a junior linebacker transfer from Walsh.

“He’s been a great young guy for us,” Shegog said. “He’s very talented, very smart, and he works hard, so he’s going to fit right in with me. I’m excited to play next to Davion (Dee) Pierce at safety for us. He was the second leading tackler on the team. Tremendous safety as well. Will Barber. He’s another guy…we have a ton of talent on the team. I don’t want to leave anyone out, if I could name all 11 of us, but this team has a ton of talent. I really believe in this team.”

Dee Pierce was second in tackles behind Joe Casale, who graduated, with 57. William Barber mustered 37.

Clark, who is entering his seventh season, said the team motto is “Ubuntu,” which means “I am because we are,” showcasing the fact that everyone is coming together as a family and as a team, not as an isolated individual.

“Our motto is push and pull,” Clark jr. said. “We’re going to push. We’re going to push in the classroom. We’re going to push on the football field, We’re going to push you in the weight room. We’re going to push you to become a better man, better husband, a better father.”

Robert Morris takes on Utah State in its road opener at 8 p.m. Saturday. Clark Jr. said he wants to see a clean game, as Utah State dealt its last FCS opponent, Idaho State, a 78-28 loss.

“This team was the fifth fastest offense last year in FBS, so we also know what we’re going through with that,” Clark Jr. said. “We have to make sure we stay focused on what we do and not so much what they do. We got to try to slow the game down. We got to play clean, and we got to compete, and that’s what’s going to happen.”