By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

The pandemic wiped out William & Mary's 2020 football season, and it cut last spring's already abbreviated schedule in half. But with no eligibility lost, the Tribe has 22 seniors on this year's roster.

Seven of those seniors are coming back for their sixth year. Of those, three are projected starters on the offensive line — center Ryan Ripley, guard Dan Evers, and tackle Andrew Trainer. Add guard Cory Ryder and tackle Colby Sorsdal, and that makes five seniors with a combined 75 starts.

"I've told the offensive line that they have a chance to be really good," W&M coach Mike London said Tuesday during the CAA's virtual media day. "They're a veteran group and an athletic group, and there's some ability where guys can play multiple positions.

"They're smart and tough. We have guys who have played in a lot of college football games."

They also have a chemistry that comes from knowing each other on and off the field.

"We're a super close-knit offensive line," Ripley said. "We go out to eat all the time, and that transitions to our work on the field."

"That's very true," London confirmed. "They ravish through places. It's been a joy to watch."

Update on Mathis, Watkins
London said quarterback Hollis Mathis and linebacker Trey Watkins, both of whom were injured in the spring season, are on the mend as the preseason practice approaches.

After two solid performances, in which he completed 31-of-51 passes for 379 yards with no interceptions, Mathis missed the third and final game of the spring season with a shoulder injury.

"He's coming along well," London said. "He's working out with the team. I saw him throwing with our trainers and he's a really resilient young man."

Watkins had a career-high 12 tackles in last spring's opener against Richmond. He missed the next two with an injury.

"He's coming along great," London said. "Trey's going to be one of our leaders. I can't wait to see him play healthy and show what he's capable of doing."

Transfers to help
William & Mary added five transfers during the offseason, including a pair of defensive backs who are expected to see early playing time.

Joining the Tribe are Tate Haynes, a cornerback from Boston College, and Tye Freeland, who played safety at Howard.

Haynes, the son of former NFL Hall of Famer Mike Haynes, played in 24 games with five starts at BC.  Freeland had 66 tackles and two interceptions as a redshirt sophomore in 2018, London's final season as the Bison's head coach.

W&M also added quarterbacks Kevin Doyle from Arizona and Cole Northrup from Lafayette. Doyle spent three seasons in Tucson but never played. Northrup started four games for the Leopards, including the 2019 season opener at William & Mary in which he completed 10-of-17 passes for 127 yards.

Also coming in is Josh Guilford, who redshirted the 2020 season at Florida International.

"We were able to put some pieces together to add to our team to provide depth and playing experience," London said. "With this older group of guys, I think we have a chance to be really good."

Spring season 'better than nothing'
The three games William & Mary played last spring were more than some of its CAA brethren but fewer than most. Still, linebacker Tyler Crist is glad the Tribe got at least that.

"If we had to (COVID) test twice a day every day, I would have done it," he said. "I would have done anything to get on the field. Obviously, not playing a full six games was tough. But I think all in all, we still got a lot out of it.

"We had guys who had never played before get a lot of game experience. Even though we didn't get the full six, three's better than nothing."

A busy summer
Because of the pandemic, players were unable to lift together in the weight room last summer. This year, under new Director of Student Athlete High Performance Kenny O'Mary, has been a very different story.

"The amount of guys we had show up in June was more than I've seen in the six years I've been here," Ripley said. "I'm really excited to see what we do in training camp and the season."

London appreciates what O'Mary has brought to the program.

"Your strength coach becomes your MVP during this time," he said.

The prognosticators
William & Mary was picked 11^th out of 12 teams in the preseason CAA poll. Which is exactly where the Tribe was picked before the 2019 season, when it finished tied with Delaware for ninth.

All of which means nothing to London.

"I feel good about this team," he said. "I feel good about the talent, the depth and the leadership of this team. There are a lot of positive things coming out of the spring to the summer and going into the fall."