UAlbany football's Koch prepares for 1st career start if La Mons can't play

UAlbany running back Joey Koch hits a hole against Monmouth on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Casey Stadium in Albany, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union) (Jim Franco/Times Union) ALBANY - For nine games, University at Albany junior running back Joey Koch has served as an extremely dependable backup while the Great Danes surged into the Football Championship Subdivision national rankings and playoff contention.With Rahshan La Mons dealing with an ankle injury, Koch is poised to make his first career start as No. 20 UAlbany tries to keep rolling against Bryant on Saturday in Smithfield, R.I."I don't try and change much," Koch said. "I've played a lot of snaps this year. I know Rahshan's doing everything he can to play this week, so I know if they need my role to be increased this week, I'll be prepared. I'm not going to change anything. Just preparing like I have every week."UAlbany (6-3 overall, 4-1 Coastal Athletic Association) is aiming for its fifth straight victory. Bryant (5-4, 3-2) has lost three of four.La Mons, UAlbany's most dynamic offensive player, had to be helped off the field in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's 45-35 victory over Campbell at Casey Stadium. He ranks fourth in the CAA with 789 rushing yards and is tied for second with nine rushing touchdowns.He was just hitting his stride before the injury. La Mons had his first three 100-yard rushing games of the season the past three weeks. La Mons, a transfer from Division III Susquehanna, had a spectacular 63-yard touchdown run against Campbell that ranked No. 7 in ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays on Saturday.UAlbany coach Tom Perkovich said La Mons had "an ankle sprain of some sort" and the likelihood is "pretty high" La Mons will miss the Bryant game. Beyond Saturday's game, Perkovich said UAlbany is taking a day-to-day approach with La Mons with only three games left in the regular season.Until La Mons returns, UAlbany will turn to Koch, a Mahopac native who is ninth in the CAA with 491 rushing yards. He had his only career 100-yard rushing game with 144 yards against New Hampshire in the season opener.Perkovich said UAlbany's offensive game plan wouldn't change much with La Mons out."If you look through our season, right, I've talked about 1A, 1B with (La Mons) and Joey," Perkovich said. "Joey's been our leading rusher, or leading yards-per-carry guy, in multiple games this year. We have the utmost confidence in what Joey Koch can do. We've got to figure out a little bit on how we're going to give him rest at times."Perkovich said Keon Kenner, who hasn't touched the ball this season, could move into the No. 2 role.Koch needed reconstructive knee surgery two years ago after tearing his anterior cruciate, lateral collateral and medial collateral ligaments during a practice. He also suffered nerve damage.He returned to appear in 11 games last season. He carried three times for nine yards before taking on a much larger role this season."I think I've had a pretty good season," Koch said. "It was a little bit of a shock to everyone because I haven't done much in the past couple of years because of my injury. So I'm definitely taking this as a success, but, for sure, I'm prepared to keep going. There's more work to do, so I'm excited for the rest of the year."Koch will face a Bryant defense that allows 198.6 rushing yards per game, 11th in the CAA. Meanwhile, UAlbany is tops in the league in rushing defense (105.3 yards) and is second in scoring defense (20.9 points)."We believe that we're one of the best teams in the country," Koch said. "It's cool to be ranked, but we've got to take each opponent every week serious and there's more work to do."SubscribeThere’s more to Albany with the Times Union. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at UAlbany football's Koch prepares for 1st career start if La Mons can't play.