By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Last season, William & Mary's offense ran the ball on 67% of its snaps. The Tribe led the Colonial Athletic Association, and was 17^th nationally, in rushing yards at 204 per game.

The flip side to that was that W&M was last in the conference at 135 passing yards a game. But with junior Hollis Mathis and sophomore Darius Wilson both returning at quarterback, the Tribe expects to have a more effective one-two punch this fall.

"We want a more balanced attack to make sure we're not as predictable," said Mathis, who was limited to four games last season with an injury. "We want to make (opponents) respect the run and the pass.

"We'll still be one of those teams that likes to run the ball primarily. But we'll move the ball however it takes."

A big reason why more is expected from the passing game is the experience behind center. Over the Tribe's last three seasons, including the abbreviated spring of '21, either Mathis or Wilson has started 24 of 26 games.

Mathis has completed 118-of-240 passes for 1,605 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. He's also rushed for 673 yards and nine TDs. His signature moment to date came in the final game of his freshman year with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Zack Burdick to cap an overtime win at Richmond.

With Mathis injured most of last season, Wilson started eight games and completed 106-of-177 throws for 1,205 yards with six touchdowns and eight picks. He rushed for 384 yards and four touchdowns and was named CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year.

They are competing for the QB1 spot, but there is only support between them.

"The way he talks in the huddle and in practice, he's the type of guy everyone wants to follow," Wilson said of Mathis. "He's the guy everyone looks to for a spark of energy when they need it."

"He's a very composed young quarterback," Mathis said of Wilson. "It was very exciting to see. He's a quick decision maker and one of those guys who is decisive."

There's an old saying that if you have two starting quarterbacks, you actually have none. Christian Taylor, W&M's offensive coordinator, doesn't buy that.

"You can never have enough quarterbacks who are starter caliber," he said. "The season is long, and you never know when someone is going to get dinged up or hurt. I think the more great quarterbacks you have, the better off your team is going to be.

"We're really fortunate to have both of them. I feel like we're in a very good spot with the quarterback position, and I'm excited to see it pay off this fall."

As for which starts the season opener at Charlotte on Sept. 2, it's anyone's guess. Don't forget that in his first game as head coach in 2019, asked repeatedly in preseason who would start, Mike London had four quarterbacks in for the first play from scrimmage.

Either way, the Tribe believes it is in good hands.

"Whoever we have out on the field, we're going to win," said tight end Lachlan Pitts, who had three touchdown receptions last season. "They're very experienced guys, and they're both great leaders.

They'll control the huddle, and they'll control the offense.

"It doesn't matter which is out there. We're going to go 1-0 every single week."

Counting Mathis and Wilson, William & Mary's top seven rushers from last season are returning. That includes running backs Bronson Yoder, Donavyn Lester and Malachi Imoh, each of whom averaged 5-plus yards carry.

The Tribe lost its two leading receivers from 2021 — Cole Blackman (26 catches, 426 yards) and Burdick (19, 353). The leading returning wideout is JT Mayo, who had eight catches for 116 yards as a freshman.

But W&M is counting on some new faces to emerge. Like Josh Guilford, a 6-foot-4 sophomore who Wilson said is one of the three fastest players on the team. And Auburn transfer Caylin Newton, the younger brother NFL quarterback Cam Newton.

Taylor also likes sophomore Tyler Rose, who had four catches last year. And he said DreSean Kendrick, officially listed as a running back, will be "a jack of all trades." He had 13 catches for 90 yards in '21.

"There's going to be more depth," Taylor said. "There's a number of guys who have put themselves in position to play at a very high level."

Wilson sees it all coming together.

"We already have a great running game, so our goal is to improve our passing game so we can take our team to the next level," he said. "It's all getting better every day."