Union County alumni Joe Mancuso enjoyed what was a breakout season in 2018, his redshirt-sophomore year. Perhaps just coincidentally, he similarly forced his way into the starter’s role back in 2013 in high school as a sophomore.

For Mancuso, he has bided his time to get a real chance to prove his worth, and the hard work behind the scenes is finally paying off.

The former BLITZ Player of the Year redshirted in his first year at Richmond (2016), and last season as a redshirt-freshman didn’t attempt a pass, and ran the ball only seven times.

2018 was a different story. He played sparingly through the first four games, going 2-for-7 in his passing with a TD and 94 rushing yards. Then came the Delaware game on October 6. Mancuso had a phenomenal game, passing for 489 yards (27/37 passing) with three TDs, and rushed for 71 yards and another TD. Phenomenal is a word that doesn’t accurately describe the performance, but there is no other word.

Richmond had found its new QB, and Mancuso didn’t disappoint. He finished the season with 1,185 passing yards and 7 TD, adding 354 rushing yards and 3 TD. On November 3, he even had a 28-yard receiving TD.

It hasn’t been easy for Mancuso, who did throw 10 interceptions throughout the 2018 season.

Mancuso and the Spiders finished 4-7 overall and 2-6 in the Southern Conference.

Mancuso had a stellar high school career under coach Brian Allison, leading the Panthers to three straight playoff trips. He tallied 8,110 passing yards, 2,048 rushing yards and 109 total TD (88 passing / 21 rushing). He graduated as the state’s 10th best passer in yards and fifth best in passing TD. At that time, he was ranked third all-time in total TD with 109.

Feature Photo by Richmond Spiders