By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – At 75 minutes, the 57th Annual Priority ODU Charity Bowl Spring Football Game on Saturday was one of the shortest on record.
But for hundreds of fans who then gathered on the turf at Old Dominion’s S.B. Ballard Stadium, the fun had just begun.
For the second year in a row, the Monarchs ended their spring game by holding a fan fest on the stadium turf on a sun-kissed afternoon. Fans tried their luck at kicking, tackling and throwing a football.
Yet most fans seemed more intrigued by interacting with players. Hundreds lined up to get autographs from the Monarchs, seated at a long table, while others snapped selfies with players and coaches.
James Seed, a season ticket holder since ODU’s first season in 2009, brought his grandson, Tucker DeMott, along and he emerged with dozens of autographs on his Monarch hat.
“This is so exciting,” said Seed, a Chesapeake resident who works at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth.
“My grandson’s having the time of his life, getting autographs of the players that he reads about and sees, the sons of so many parents we’ve met in the stands. This is like a big family gathering. It’s so cool to come down here and enjoy some excitement.”
Randy Rusbuldt, a Norfolk native who lives in Edenton, North Carolina, is also an original season ticket holder and said he was thrilled last season when Head Coach Ricky Rahne had his players participate in the first fan fast in 2025.
Rusbuldt had a miniature helmet he received for renewing his season tickets autographed by quarterback Quinn Henicle, the MVP of ODU’s 24-10 Cure Bowl victory over South Florida.
“This is such a great thing,” he said. “It’s a great atmosphere down here. I think this will help promote the team. It’s connecting the team to the fans.”
As is the case with most spring games, it was difficult to draw many hard and fast conclusions about the Monarchs. Rahne has often said this spring that he won’t get a handle on how good this team will be until well until fall practice.
And yet, a few players made big plays.
Defensive linemen DeAndre Lynch and Chris Forbes both did something you rarely see in college football. Both batted passes up in the air, retrieved the ball and ran untouched into the end zone.
“That’s not an easy thing to do,” Rahne said. “Anybody can just catch a ball, but to bat it and catch it, that’s pretty sweet.”
The defense, which returns some key starters, appeared ahead of the offense, which returns just one starter.
One newcomer stood out on offense – running back Trey Hall, a senior transfer from Ole Miss, sprinted 60 yards for a touchdown, showing deft moves as he pulled away from defenders.
Stats weren’t kept but he likely came close to 100 yards rushing for the day.
He played at Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College for two years, rushing for nearly 2,000 yards. He was injured and did not play last season at Ole Miss.
ODU’s quarterbacks, Rahne said, “I wouldn’t say had their best day of the spring, but I thought we had some growth there. (Wide receiver) TJ Johnson did some good things while he was in there.”
He also had praise for sophomore linebacker Jackson Forrest and senior linebacker Koa Noatala,
Of the two batted passes, Rahne said: “Sometimes it’s no one’s fault. It’s just a great play by the defense. Maybe it’s on the offensive line and sometimes it’s on the quarterback. So, we’ve got to look at the tape and get that figured out.”
Henicle remains enmeshed in a three-way battle to start at quarterback with Jaxon Potter, a transfer from Washington State, and Ryan Huff, the redshirt freshman from Gulf Breeze, Florida.
Rahne praised Henicle for his play-calling on Hall’s long touchdown run. Henicle had the option of handing off to Hall or keeping the balling and either running or passing.
“Sometimes you have a tendency to pull the ball and throw it and try to make a play, especially, when you’re trying to win a job,” he said. “And he didn’t do that. He handed the ball off and look what happened.”
Rahne said Hall had a good spring and may have had his best practice on Saturday.
“Trey had a few more big runs than maybe he’s had, but he’s had some pretty good days with us,” he said.
With 109 days before ODU’s home opener against Norfolk State on Sept. 5, Rahne said his Monarchs need to spend the summer “getting stronger. We’ve got to get faster. Obviously, I think core strength is going to be something we’re really going to have to focus on.
“And then I think the other thing is we’ve got to continue to come together as a team. I’ve seen progress with that from the beginning of the semester until now. And I think we’re going to continue to see progress.”
Forbes, a redshirt sophomore from Upper Darby, Maryland said the best part of Saturday may have been interacting with fans.
“It felt so good to be able to play in front of our fans again,” he said. “They showed out for us a lot last year and we appreciate that so much. I loved being on the field with them. I don’t think I’ve seen another college do this, with fans lined up for autographs on the field, talking with us and getting to know us. I love our fans and being able to spend time with them.”
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