Can record-setting QB lead nationally-ranked Monmouth football to CAA championship?

WEST LONG BRANCH – It’s Monmouth’s outstanding quarterbacking lineage that has helped fuel the program’s rise in FCS football over the past 32 years.

So it’s only fitting that record-setting Derek Robertson is the one leading the Hawks into the most anticipated college football fall ever at the Jersey Shore, with their first Coastal Athletic Association championship seemingly within reach. 

“We are in Year 4 in the CAA and hopefully Derek is the guy who can lead us to that championship,” said Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan, whose team was picked to finish second in the preseason coach’s poll. “The fourth year has been the year for us in each conference we’ve been in. That’s when it all seems like it comes together, as you as you adapt and put the pieces together that you need to compete in that new league. So I am excited to see where we’re at.”

The foundation traces to Dan Sabella, the current Don Bosco head coach, who got the program off the ground with its first NEC championship in 1996. Kenji Bahar rewrote the passing record book and led the Hawks to their first Big South title in 2019.

It all begins with Friday night’s season-opening visit to Colgate (7 p.m.) , with Monmouth ranked No, 21/22 in the two major FCS top 25 polls.

How high can Hawks' offense fly?

Robinson comes off a year like no other at Monmouth. In his first season after transferring from Maine, he threw for a program-record 3,937 yards in 12 games, with 31 touchdown passes and six interceptions, named the CAA Offensive Player of the Year.  He finished sixth last season in balloting for the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the FCS’s top offensive player.

“He’s a really selfless person. Respectful. Just a great person, beyond being a great football player,” said tight end Jack Neri, a team captain who caught 32 passes for 329 yards and five TDs in 2024. “The way he studies the game, loves the game, teaches the game, it’s really, really cool to see.”

Monmouth returns nine starters on offense, as well as the offensive coaching staff, including Roberton’s brother, Jimmy, the passing game coordinator/quarterback coach.

“The offseason was obviously a long grind,” Derek Robertson said. “We were here pretty much the entire offseason. Most of the time was spent with the team, just trying to grow and come closer as a team and personally. I was trying to maintain my shoulder mobility and stuff like that, trying to stay as healthy as possible.”

When the dust settled in a 6-6 season, Monmouth ranked first nationally in total offense (489.9 yards) and second in passing offense (332.4 yards), closing with back-to-back wins over top 20 foes.

“That’s where the quarterback comes into play,” said offensive coordinator Jeff Gallo. “His ability to process and get the ball to the right spot at the right time keeps everyone involved in the offense. Every player knows on any given play they could get the ball and that is the beauty of it.

“We have very good players. We’re deep.”

Monmouth opens with three straight road games, including at Fordham on Sept. 6 and at Charlotte, an FBS opponent out of the AAC, on Sept. 13, before the home opener on Sept. 20 against No. 11 Villanova.

“We’re ready to win. We want to see each other succeed,” Neri said. “We love the coaching staff, and there’s a trust and respect for one another.

“We want to win together. And we want to win at the Shore.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: QB Derek Robertson leads Monmouth NJ football in hunt for CAA title