Richter Leads Quarterback Room Built on Trust, Competition and Confidence

Ninth in a series of position-by-position outlooks for the 2026 Toledo Football team.

TOLEDO, Ohio – New coaching staff, new offensive system, new terminology, new receivers.

For a quarterback, that's as much change as possible.

Yet as preseason camp approaches, Toledo's quarterback room isn't talking about growing pains. It's talking about confidence.

"I think we laid a foundation in the spring," said offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Cris Reisert. "That foundation has been built upon throughout the summer. Fall camp is about continuing to layer good things on top of good things."

The foundation starts with fifth-year quarterback John Alan Richter.

After patiently waiting behind veteran quarterbacks during his first four seasons with the Rockets, Richter enters 2026 as Toledo's projected starter. While much around him has changed, his confidence in the new staff made the decision to remain at Toledo an easy one.

"It was really cool to learn a new offense and see different philosophies with Coach Jacobs and Coach Reisert," said Richter, who's completed 66 percent of his career passes for 699 yards, seven touchdowns and only one interception. "They're just great dudes, and they're really intelligent about what we want to be and what we want to do. They made it super easy to learn the system and set the direction of where we want to go."

Reisert quickly became convinced Richter was the right person to lead the offense.

The film impressed him. And the person impressed him even more.

"I was blown away," said Reisert. "Obviously the tape speaks for itself, but as a leader, as a human, somebody that loves football and will do the extra work to be an elite player, we've got that with him. It was really important for us to recruit him to stay and for him to put his faith in Coach Jacobs and myself."

One of the biggest challenges wasn't learning new plays – it was learning a new language.

Many offensive concepts remain the same across football, but different coaching staffs use different terminology and signals. Early in spring practice, quarterbacks often had to mentally translate every play call before executing it. Now, that process has become second nature.

"When they hear the play call now, they're not thinking about translating it," said Reisert. "They know exactly what they're doing from an alignment perspective, a progression perspective and an execution perspective. Now they can just go play football."

That comfort has shown throughout the offense. The biggest difference between spring practice and late summer is simply how connected everyone has become.

"We're just a much tighter group," said Richter. "Things are more crisp. Everything is rolling. We know each other now and we know each other's strengths."

Chemistry extends beyond practice. Receivers spent much of the offseason organizing extra throwing sessions and film study on their own.

"That's one of my favorite parts," said Richter. "We've been meeting together, watching film and throwing extra since January. Those guys all love football, so it's been super easy to connect with them."

The depth of Toledo's quarterback room will be one of the team's strengths entering preseason camp.

"Our staff is excited about the quarterback room and their development throughout the spring and summer," said head coach Mike Jacobs. "Each quarterback presents a different skill set that'll prove beneficial over the course of the season. Keeping a quarterback like John Alan Richter at the University of Toledo, signing a quarterback in Khamoni Robinson, with two years of starting experience, and the development of young and talented Walter Moses and Jake DeHaan will make for a competitive training camp."

The QB room received an important addition through the transfer portal in Robinson, who followed head coach Mike Jacobs to Toledo after previously being recruited by him out of high school and spending one season together at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Their relationship made the transition natural.

"I just knew I could trust him," said Robinson, who completed 177 of 277 passes for 2,391 yards and 20 touchdowns last season at L-R, while rushing for another 325 yards and nine TDs. "He's more than a football coach. He's really like a father figure and a mentor. He wins games, develops players and invests time in his players. I knew this was the right place for me to take that next step."

Reisert believes Robinson gives Toledo one of the strongest quarterback rooms in the Mid-American Conference.

"He can flat-out throw the football," said Reisert. "He can push the ball down the field, make tight-window throws and he has a level of athleticism that's different than a lot of guys in this league. Once he continues to get more reps at this level, he's got a chance to be a really, really good player."

Robinson arrived from Division II understanding that questions would follow him. And he's embraced the queries.

"I feel like people kind of look down on us coming from the FCS and D-II," said Robinson. "We've definitely got something to prove. We've all got that fire, and we're just ready to put the pads on and get after it."

After months of teaching, installing and building relationships, the offense is prepared to take another step once preseason camp begins.

"I'm very optimistic," said Reisert. "I'm very excited and very encouraged by what we're doing. I think it's a really good group that's eager to compete, and I think they'll present themselves really well when they get the chance to put it on display for Toledo fans."

Players Mentioned

Jake DeHaan

Walter Moses

John Alan Richter

Khamoni Robinson