Rocco facing unique challenge as he takes VMI reins
FILE - Richmond quarterback Reece Udinski looks for a receiver during the team's NCAA college football game against Stony Brook, Sept. 24, 2022, in Richmond, Va. Danny Rocco knows the job he's taken as the football coach at Virginia Military Institute will be harder than any of his three previous head coaching positions. Reece Udinski, who set the school record for passing yards as a Keydet, four years marked the end of his eligibility and he transferred to Maryland, where he was a seldom-used backup.(Shaban Athuman/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Shaban Athuman]
Danny Rocco knows the job he’s taken as the football coach at Virginia Military Institute will be harder than any of his three previous head coaching positions. He need look no further than his 9-0 record as a coach against VMI to see it. Rocco’s challenge will be different than any he’s had before. The military school has handicaps highlighted by an inability to access the transfer portal and the absence of a graduate program that allows players to stick around for a fifth year. That helps explain why VMI has had just two winning seasons in the last 42 years.
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FILE -VMI receiver Jakob Herres pulls down a pass over The Citadel's Destin Mack during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, April 17, 2021 in Lexington, Va. Danny Rocco knows the job he's taken as the football coach at Virginia Military Institute will be harder than any of his three previous head coaching positions. Herres had two Division I offers coming out of high school: VMI and West Point. He picked the Keydets rather than a military commitment. (David Hungate/The Roanoke Times via AP, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/David Hungate