The 2015 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. It was VMI's 125th football season and the Keydets were led by first year head coach Scott Wachenheim. They played their home games at 10,000–seat Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium, as they have since 1962. This was VMI's second season as a member of the Southern Conference, following 11 seasons in the Big South Conference, which followed 78 years in the Southern Conference. They finished the season 2–9, 1–6 in SoCon play to finish in last place.
Schedule
VMI released its schedule on February 3, 2015. The schedule features six home games and five road contests. VMI will face Ball State on the road in the season opener on a Thursday night. The home opener will be September 12 against Pioneer League member Morehead State. The Keydets will play one team from the commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond, after not playing a team from Virginia in 2014. VMI will host conference rivals Samford, Chattanooga, Wofford, and Western Carolina, and will travel to Furman, Mercer, and The Citadel.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|
| September 3 | 7:00 pm | at Ball State* | | ESPN3 | L 36–48 | 10,473 |
| September 12 | 1:30 pm | Morehead State* | | ESPN3 | W 43–40 | 5,016 |
| September 19 | 6:00 pm | at No. 22 Richmond* | | CSN MA+ | L 10–42 | 8,700 |
| September 26 | 3:00 pm | at Furman | | ESPN3 | L 21–24 | 7,915 |
| October 3 | 1:30 pm | Bucknell* | - Alumni Memorial Field
- Lexington, VA
| ESPN3 | L 22–28 OT | 3,713 |
| October 10 | 1:30 pm | Samford | - Alumni Memorial Field
- Lexington, VA
| ESPN3 | L 13–49 | 4,875 |
| October 17 | 1:30 pm | No. 6 Chattanooga | - Alumni Memorial Field
- Lexington, VA
| ESPN3 | L 27–33 | 6,104 |
| October 24 | 3:00 pm | at Mercer | | ESPN3 | W 28–21 | 9,754 |
| October 31 | 1:30 pm | Wofford | - Alumni Memorial Field
- Lexington, VA
| ESPN3 | L 20–41 | 4,437 |
| November 7 | 2:00 pm | at No. 25 The Citadel | | ESPN3 | L 14–35 | 14,925 |
| November 21 | 1:30 pm | Western Carolina | - Alumni Memorial Field
- Lexington, VA
| ESPN3 | L 20–24 | 4,523 |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Eastern time
|
Game summaries
Ball State
at Scheumann Stadium (Muncie, IN)
- Date: September 3, 2015
- Game time: 7:00 PM
- Game weather: Temperature: 85 • Wind: WNW 5 mph • Weather: Sunny
- Game attendance: 10,473
- Referee: Tony Cannella
- TV: ESPN3
Morehead State
Richmond
Furman
at Paladin Stadium (Greenville, SC)
- Date: September 26, 2015
- Game time: 3:00 PM
- Game weather: Temperature: 66 • Wind: SW 13 mph • Weather: Light Rain
- Game attendance: 7,915
- Referee: Marshall Lewis
- TV: ESPN3
Bucknell
Samford
Chattanooga
Mercer
at Moye Complex (Macon, GA)
- Game time: 3:00 PM
- Game weather: Temperature: 81 • Wind: 4 mph • Weather: Partly Sunny
- Game attendance: 9,754
- Referee: Larry Saunders
- TV: ESPN3
Wofford
The Citadel
Western Carolina
Personnel
Coaching staff
VMI will be led by first-year head coach Scott Wachenheim, a native of California and a 1984 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy.[1] Wachenheim was previously the offensive line coach at Virginia under head coach Mike London. He replaces Sparky Woods, who compiled a 17–62 record in seven seasons at VMI.[2] Shortly following a home loss to The Citadel, VMI chose not to renew Woods' contract, and several weeks later announced the hire of Wachenheim.
Wachenheim introduced an almost entirely new coaching staff his first year on post. Coordinating the offense is Dustin Ward, while the defensive coordinator is Tom Clark who served two stints at William & Mary as a defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.[3] There were only two holdovers from Woods' staff: wide receivers and tight ends coach Brad Robbins, and linebackers coach Justin Hamilton, a 2006 graduate of Virginia Tech.[3] Also new to the staff is running backs coach Tim Maypray, who played football at VMI and graduated in 2010 before a brief stint in the Canadian Football League.
Roster
| 2015 VMI Keydets football team roster
|
| Players
|
Coaches
|
Offense
| Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
| QB
|
4
|
John Burton
|
Jr
|
| QB
|
4
|
Jake Paladino
|
Fr
|
| WR
|
6
|
Dane Forlines
|
Jr
|
| QB
|
8
|
Al Cobb
|
So
|
| WR
|
9
|
Taylor Stout
|
Jr
|
| WR
|
11
|
Darrian Johnson
|
Jr
|
| TE
|
13
|
Ryan Swingle
|
So
|
| WR
|
15
|
Joey Brown
|
So
|
| QB
|
16
|
Jade Maher
|
So
|
| RB
|
17
|
Brice Tucker
|
So
|
| QB
|
18
|
Austin Coulling
|
Fr
|
| WR
|
21
|
Aaron Sanders
|
Jr
|
| WR
|
22
|
Dontae Mauck
|
Fr
|
| FB
|
23
|
Cody Shirley
|
Jr
|
| RB
|
24
|
Quan Myers
|
Fr
|
| RB
|
26
|
Mason Dermott
|
Fr
|
| RB
|
37
|
Chris Gavin
|
Fr
|
| FB
|
39
|
Derrick Ziglar
|
Sr
|
| RB
|
40
|
Hunter Marshall
|
So
|
| WR
|
43
|
Kyle Harrell
|
So
|
| TE
|
47
|
Zander Royston
|
Fr
|
| WR
|
48
|
John Wilkins
|
Jr
|
| RB
|
49
|
Kyle Vardo
|
So
|
| C
|
50
|
Chase Smith
|
So
|
| G
|
57
|
Bradley Hann
|
Jr
|
| OT
|
61
|
Stephen Miller
|
So
|
| C
|
62
|
Patrick Doucette
|
So
|
| G
|
63
|
Nate Murray
|
Sr
|
| G
|
65
|
Matt Milner
|
So
|
| OT
|
66
|
Iyan Roseborough
|
Jr
|
| OT
|
71
|
Christian Williams
|
So
|
| OT
|
72
|
Andrew Lewis
|
Jr
|
| OL
|
73
|
Cole Brummit
|
Fr
|
| OL
|
76
|
Will Morris
|
Fr
|
| OL
|
77
|
Tyler Thacker
|
Fr
|
| G
|
78
|
Chad Reed
|
Jr
|
| OL
|
79
|
Garrett Barker
|
Fr
|
| WR
|
80
|
Samuel Patterson
|
Sr
|
| TE
|
81
|
Chad Jacob
|
Jr
|
| WR
|
82
|
Matthew Nicholson
|
Jr
|
| WR
|
83
|
Isaiah Parker
|
Fr
|
| TE
|
85
|
Kevin Carson
|
So
|
| TE
|
86
|
John Mobley
|
So
|
| WR
|
89
|
Will Wampler
|
Fr
|
|
Defense
| Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
| CB
|
1
|
Caleb Furlow
|
Sr
|
| LB
|
2
|
Bradley Lipscomb
|
Jr
|
| LB
|
3
|
Tony Richardson
|
So
|
| LB
|
5
|
Darnell Ashton
|
Jr
|
| CB
|
7
|
Damian Jones
|
Jr
|
| S
|
14
|
Greg Sanders
|
So
|
| CB
|
19
|
Doug Moore
|
Sr
|
| S
|
20
|
Alex James
|
Sr
|
| S
|
25
|
Alex Keys
|
Jr
|
| DB
|
28
|
John Porter
|
Fr
|
| DB
|
29
|
Karee Carter
|
Fr
|
| DB
|
30
|
Gabe Sutherland
|
So
|
| DB
|
31
|
Eddie Stawowczyk
|
So
|
| DB
|
32
|
John Strozyk
|
So
|
| CB
|
33
|
Tyruig Trotman
|
Fr
|
| LB/P
|
34
|
Bill Hogan
|
So
|
| DB
|
35
|
Scott Frazier
|
So
|
| CB
|
36
|
Michael Williams
|
So
|
| S
|
38
|
Alijah Robinson
|
Jr
|
| DB
|
41
|
Uzoma Kpaduwa
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
42
|
Troy Barden
|
So
|
| LB
|
44
|
Ryan Francis
|
Jr
|
| LB
|
45
|
Tyler Fedison
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
46
|
Allan Cratsenberg
|
So
|
| DE
|
52
|
Zack Baker
|
So
|
| LB
|
53
|
Arnold Roots
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
55
|
Daniel Rader
|
So
|
| LB
|
56
|
Brian Ellis
|
Jr
|
| LB
|
58
|
Brian Lipscomb
|
So
|
| LB
|
59
|
Chris Copeland
|
Sr
|
| DL
|
60
|
Thad Stevenson-Panchisin
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
67
|
Derek Wilson
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
68
|
Brad Mallory
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
69
|
Jameson Donahue
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
73
|
Connor Mildrum
|
Jr
|
| DB
|
84
|
Mandela Kabi
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
87
|
Cody Peregoy
|
Fr
|
| DE
|
88
|
J. C. Garvin
|
Jr
|
| DE
|
90
|
Robert de Wolff
|
Jr
|
| DL
|
91
|
Xavier Greenfield
|
So
|
| DT
|
92
|
Walker Hays
|
Jr
|
| DT
|
93
|
Denton Ensminger
|
Sr
|
| DT
|
94
|
Amon-Ra Clay
|
So
|
| DL
|
95
|
Shavon Henderson
|
So
|
| LB
|
96
|
Seth Mallory
|
Jr
|
| DE
|
97
|
Jarrod Richmond
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
98
|
Casey Phillips
|
Fr
|
| DE
|
99
|
Joe Nelson
|
Jr
|
|
Special teams
| Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
| P/QB
|
12
|
Hayden Alford
|
Jr
|
| PK
|
27
|
Dillon Christopher
|
Jr
|
| PK
|
64
|
Tommy Smith
|
Fr
|
|
- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Dustin Ward (Offensive Coordinator – 1st year
- Tom Clark (Defensive coordinator/Secondary) – 1st year
- Tim Maypray (Running Backs) – 1st year
- Justin Wood (Inside Linebackers) – 1st year
- Justin Hamilton (Outside Linebackers) – 2nd year
- Brad Robbins (Wide Receivers) – 3rd year
- Gordon Sammis (Offensive Line) – 1st year
- Josh Zidenberg (Secondary) – 1st year
- Mike Saint Germain (Defensive Line) – 1st year
- Jimmy Whitten (Strength & Conditioning) – 12th year
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
Roster
Last update: August 27, 2015
|
Returning starters
Offense
| Player
|
Class
|
Position
|
| Al Cobb
|
R–Sophomore
|
Quarterback
|
| Pat Doucette
|
Sophomore
|
Offensive Line
|
| Bradley Hann
|
R–Junior
|
Offensive Line
|
| Andrew Lewis
|
Junior
|
Offensive Line
|
| Nate Murray
|
R–Senior
|
Offensive Line
|
| Derrick Ziglar
|
R–Senior
|
Running Back
|
| Matthew Nicholson
|
Junior
|
Wide Receiver
|
| Sam Patterson
|
Senior
|
Wide Receiver
|
| Aaron Sanders
|
Junior
|
Wide Receiver
|
| Reference:[3]
|
|
Defense
| Player
|
Class
|
Position
|
| Damian Jones
|
R–Junior
|
Cornerback
|
| Denton Ensminger
|
Senior
|
Defensive Line
|
| Joe Nelson
|
R–Sophomore
|
Defensive Line
|
| Ryan Francis
|
R–Sophomore
|
Linebacker
|
| Allan Cratsenberg
|
Sophomore
|
Linebacker
|
| Alex Keys
|
R–Junior
|
Safety
|
| Alijah Robinson
|
Junior
|
Safety
|
| Reference:[3]
|
|
Special teams
| Player
|
Class
|
Position
|
| Dillon Christopher
|
Junior
|
Placekicker
|
| Hayden Alford
|
R–Junior
|
Punter
|
| Dane Forlines
|
Junior
|
Punt returner
|
Taylor Stout
Dane Forlines
|
Junior
Junior
|
Kick returner
|
| Reference:[3]
|
|
|
References
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| Bowls & rivalries | |
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