By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion once again has a ton of newcomers on its football roster, and for the first time in a while, a significant number of newcomers on its coaching staff.
But as the Monarchs opened spring practice on Thursday, Head Coach Ricky Rahne expressed confidence that the Monarchs have enough talented players, and perhaps more importantly, players who have the desire to win, to have yet another good season.
The Monarchs are coming off arguably their best season in FBS – they finished off the 2025 season with a 24-10 victory over South Florida in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl in Orlando. It was their sixth victory in a row and gave ODU its first 10-win season since 2016.
In the age of the transfer portal and NIL, that notoriety led to some players and coaches heading elsewhere.
But the Monarchs also were able to re-recruit some valuable players from last season who might have gone elsewhere, including running back Devin Roche and quarterback Quinn Henicle.
It was on defense where the Monarchs had their most success. Headed by Mario Easterly, the safety who led ODU with 80 tackles last season, the Monarchs brought back a host of key players on defense, including linebackers Mario Thompson, Koa Naotala and Jackson Forrest, defensive backs Zion Frink, Daevon Iles and Brandon Crutchfield and defensive linemen Deandre Lynch and Chris Forbes.
Rahne said many of those players could have made more money elsewhere, but chose to remain at ODU.
Easterly is a rarity in college sports in that he’s a rising fifth-year senior with a degree in hand who has spent his entire career at ODU.
Rahne praised ODU President Brian O. Hemphill, PhD., and Dr. Wood Selig, the university’s director of athletics, and many donors to the athletics program for providing football with an increase in NIL funding.
“Obviously, these players believe in our ability to help them develop and reach their goals,” he said. “And that’s a credit to our academic staff, our training staff, and our coaching staff. You know, everyone thinks that every decision comes down to dollars and cents, but there are still a lot of kids who want to feel like they’re getting developed. We had players who could have gotten more money had they gone into the portal. But they see the value in playing for a fan base that they appreciate, they see the value in wanting to win and it be about something more than just dollars and cents. They want to leave a lasting legacy.”
ODU’s biggest questions come on offense, where the starting receivers, linemen and quarterback must all be replaced.
Henicle started and played well in the Cure Bowl and was named the MVP. His 51-yard TD run with under three minutes remaining clinched the victory.
ODU also added a solid quarterback prospect in Jaxon Potter, a redshirt sophomore who transferred from Washington State. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Huntington Beach, California native is more of a drop-back passer than Henicle, who is fleet afoot.
Potter started three games for Washington State last season, completing 67-of-85 passes for 604 yards and two touchdowns.
“I think we’ve done a nice job of giving ourselves options at the quarterback position,” Rahne said. And although he was only allowed limited time to watch his QBs throw during winter workouts because of NCAA rules, “I was impressed with how they are throwing the ball. I’m confident that we’re going to continue to make strides in that area.”
ODU has had tremendous success recruiting junior college players and hit the JUCO circuit again hard in the offseason. There are 11 newcomers to the offensive line, including nine junior college players or players with JUCO experience.
Bubba Craig, a 6-6, 312-pound junior from Fort Wayne, Indiana, transferred from Arkansas, where he did not play last season because of an injury. In 2024, he was rated the nation’s top JUCO offensive lineman prospect by 247Sports at Hutchinson College in Kansas.
Brayden Walker (6-2, 297) started at center last season for Elon while Martez Curry (6-3, 307) and Khi’len Gates (6-1, 294) started last season at Lincoln University of Missouri.
ODU added a good running back in Ole Miss transfer Trey Hall, who missed last season but rushed for 1,981 yards and 20 touchdowns in two seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast junior college.
Wide receiver JJ Harrell (6-0, 195) transferred from Holmes Community College, where he caught 14 passes for 226 yards. He was a 4-star player at North Panola High in Sardis, Mississippi, who began his career at Mississippi State. Zion Agnew, a 5-9, 160-pound transfer, had 41 receptions for 655 yards and five touchdowns at Lenoir-Rhyne College.
The offense will for the most part be under new management.
Kody Cook takes over as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after coaching ODU’s wide receivers the last two seasons.
Cook, a former quarterback and wide receiver at Kansas State, coached at Tennessee and Hutchinson before coming to ODU.
Phil Serchia will coach the offensive line and is the run game coordinator. He comes to ODU from Tennessee, where he coached in 2025. He spent the previous two seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Ryan Wilson will coach the tight ends and Michael Smith the wide receivers. Smith is a veteran coach, with 27 years of experience, and coached wide receivers at McNeese State the last two seasons.
Wilson was the offensive quality control coach for ODU last season and previously was the offensive coordinator at Hampden-Sydney.
ODU faces another difficult schedule that includes eight teams that competed in bowl games and has an especially attractive home slate that includes games with Norfolk State, East Carolina and James Madison.
CLICK HERE for 2026 ODU football schedule announcement
Spring practice concludes on Saturday, April 18, when the Monarchs host the Priority Charity Bowl ODU Spring Game at 2 p.m. at Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
Following the game, fans are encouraged to interact with football players and coaches and other student-athletes on the field. There will be autograph sessions and opportunities to take photographs with players.
Rahne said between now and then his team needs to do a lot of growing and maturing.
“With the number of new guys we have, in the process of getting everyone going in the same direction there will be some leadership hiccups,” he said. “There are going to be some X’s and O’s hiccups. But as long as we continue to grow each and every day, I feel confident that we’re going to be able to go out there and play well. The offensive line is obviously a key area. I feel really confident that coach Serchia is going to do a great job of getting those guys to come together. It’s going to be a process. It’s going to be about Tony finding the five to 10 guys who will play. But it’s also going to be about building a culture and build the same mentality that we had last year. Our offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage, and we want to do that again. The theme of the spring is that we must have growth. We have to grow.”
Minium is ODU's Senior Executive Writer for Athletics. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
To see past stories from Minium, CLICK HERE