UAlbany Football: Spring Game Recap

Albany, NY — Change has come to the Albany area in a multitude of ways, and the 2026 Great Danes football team is no different. Hosting their first spring football game under new head coach Tom Perkovich, UAlbany had a chance to showcase their talent in front of their home crowd. With multiple positions open during a rebuilding phase of the program, it brought for some interesting action on both sides of the ball. And, there were some key standouts in the process.

UAlbany Football: Spring Game Recap

After parting ways with interim head coach Jared Ambrose, UAlbany hired Tom Perkovich as their third-ever full-time head coach. Perkovich comes from Susquehanna, a DIII program that has gone to the playoffs in four consecutive years. Yet perhaps more importantly, the program went undefeated (26-0) in conference play under Perkovich. The Great Danes will need those results in the CAA, looking to take advantage of an open conference.

For football fans, the UAlbany spring game was a golden opportunity to get their first glance of action and what to expect from the program.

Sophomore QB Stands Out

While Aidan Semo got reps with the first team through the event, it was quarterback Levi Kulik who stood out at the spring game. The sophomore took control of the offense with ease. Not only was he able to consistently find open targets quickly, but he targeted one-on-one situations when given the opportunity. He also led the offense to their first scoring drive, set up by some great throws.

After the spring game, Perkovich mentioned that the quarterback position was completely open. On top of that, the team has yet to have Princeton transfer Kai Colón join the team. Yet, with a true open competition, keep an eye on Kulik to potentially steal the job if he continues playing well.

Elusive Backs

Without Griffin Woodell, the UAlbany running back room consisted of juniors Joey Koch and Rahshan La Mons. Koch has worked his way from the bottom to the top-half of the depth chart. Meanwhile, La Mons is a transfer from Susquehanna who could be a difference-maker for UAlbany.

La Mons followed Perkovich from the DIII program after putting up 2518 yards on the ground with 30 touchdowns in two seasons. He also has 638 receiving yards and four scores through the air. With little tape on the RB for opposing defenses, La Mons could be in for a massive workload in the Great Danes offense in 2026. If he’s able to replicate even half of his production while at Susquehanna, UAlbany could have a true game-changer at the position.

Defense Stands Out

While the event was much different than last year’s, the results were very similar. The 2026 iteration of the event provided situational reps, live reps driving the length of the field, and other fun practices for fans to watch. And, a key observation from the UAlbany spring game is that the defense dominated most of the football “game” for the second-consecutive year.

While the Great Danes’ running back room showcased some great movement, the offensive line was consistently beaten to the punch. Defenders consistently found themselves in the backfield on multiple occasions. One such player was HVCC transfer linebacker Dom Jones, who was a standout player at the event.

Big TFL in red zone drills by UAlbany linebacker Dom Jones who comes over from HVCC pic.twitter.com/CJDEuNy3Zm

— Thomas Christopher (@TommyCFB) April 25, 2026

Jones has been moved throughout the defense so far in spring, and is still working to get the install down. Yet, he’s proven to be an explosive player, and his energy is contagious.

Another player that stood out at the event was cornerback Donny Jones. Jones showed excellent coverage skills during the event. He understand where he needed to be to maintain leverage against receiver stems. That allowed him to be sticky in coverage, and blanketing whoever was across from him.

Finally, St. Francis transfer defensive lineman Christian Santiago also looked good at the spring game. He won multiple reps in live drills. He also had a filthy pass-rush move in one-on-one reps, completely defeating the offensive lineman.

In all, it was a productive display from the defense. And, surprisingly, they showed well despite playing some tricky coverage concepts early in spring. With a multiple-look defense, the Great Danes could cause issues for other offenses in the CAA this season.

Final Thoughts

The UAlbany football spring game was productive for multiple reasons. It allowed fans and media to get a good look at players in a more “live” setting. It also gave an opportunity for the coaches to show off their concepts and play calls – even in this exhibition.

While it’s always hard to have true takeaways from spring ball, it seems like the Great Danes defense is further along than their offense – at least at this stage of the offseason. With that in mind, Coach Perkovich has stated that the install was going to be a prolonged process with a limited time for players to learn it. With that in mind, we will get a much better look at the team once summer ball hits. And hopefully for Great Danes fans, that leads to improved results in 2026.