Follow us on social media:
Rhode Island
With departure of veteran QB, who will be under center for Rhode Island football this fall
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Jim Fleming hasn’t had to answer this question since the beginning of the decade.
Kasim Hill was the University of Rhode Island’s starting quarterback. His four years included 36 games under center and progress to contender status in both the Coastal Athletic Association and in the race for a long-awaited FCS playoff berth.
Hill has finally left college after seven years – a final COVID redshirt extended his time with the Rams through last fall. Devin Farrell and Hunter Helms are the leading contenders to succeed him, last season’s backup and a Clemson transfer who exit spring practice on seemingly equal footing.
More: In a rapidly-changing world, this Rhode Island football tradition endures
“We’ve got tough decisions to make,” Fleming said. “That’s what it really comes down to. No one will know here until we know, which will probably be the day before Holy Cross.”
Saturday’s Blue-White Game at Meade Stadium offered no definite conclusion. Farrell and Helms will enter summer camp still competing after the Blue defense posted a 42-31 victory over the White offense.
Farrell threw the lone touchdown and Helms tossed the only interception of the day, which featured occasional rain squalls and a stiff breeze blowing across the turf.
“It’s been a great competition,” Helms said. “I don’t know if it’s over. Just pushing each other in the weight room, on and off the field. It definitely makes me better.”
“It has to come from within,” Farrell said. “It can’t be driven by other people around you. Yes, he’s there. He’s my competition. But I’m my competition. I have to get better every day.”
Helms closed 11-for-26 for 145 yards and profiles more as a pocket passer. He played nine games with the Tigers from 2020-23 and served as a backup to five-star prospects D.J. Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik. His only serious mistake was picked off by former Mount Pleasant star Fredrick Mallay, who matched former St. Raphael standout Moses Meus with five tackles, a sack and a pair of tackles for loss.
“We all love Kasim, but right now we’re focused on the future,” running back Jaden Griffin said. “We’ve got two good quarterbacks in front of us who have a lot of potential.”
Farrell finished 8-for-14 for 135 yards and added eight rushing attempts. He’s a dual threat who was also recruited out of high school as a defensive back. Farrell connected with former Classical star Marquis Buchanan on a 23-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, a pretty throw to the left corner of the end zone.
“I see great arm talent,” Buchanan said. “They’re both trying to be leaders out there and spread the ball around to the open man. We’re going to keep the QB battle going into camp and figure it out Aug. 31.”
Farrell redshirted in 2022 at Virginia Tech and played in six games last year at URI. He was a three-star prospect out of Georgia who held offers from Georgia Tech, Duke, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and more. Farrell left the Hokies after one season and flashed some of his versatility with the Rams when he got on the field last fall.
“I’ve been praying for this opportunity,” Farrell said. “I’ve been praying for this chance. It’s exciting. I’m loving every bit of it.”
Helms is a South Carolina native who was a preferred walk-on in his home state. He had interest from Bryant, Holy Cross, Campbell, Elon, Liberty, Troy, South Florida and more before enrolling with a national power. Helms has the Crusaders in common with his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach – Patrick Murphy left Worcester for Kingston prior to the 2020 season.
“It’s such a good place,” Helms said. “And I really think we can win here – that was also a big thing. Looking forward to seeing what we do this season.”
Griffin was the star in this one, rushing for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just five carries. His 65-yard score was arguably the highlight of the morning. Buchanan grabbed four passes for 84 yards as the top receiver in his position group, and both should be notable weapons when URI hosts Holy Cross in a 7 p.m. opener four months from now.
“I’m pleased generally with the whole thing,” Fleming said. “There’s plenty we’ve got to work on. We’re not ready yet.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25
New East Bay Bike Path bridges are open and ready for bikes
What’s it like to ride over the new East Bay Bike Path bridges? We sent a reporter to try them out.
I’ve long thought bike paths are among Rhode Island’s premier attractions, up there with the beaches, the mansions and the bay.
We like to knock government, but credit where it’s due, the state has done an amazing job building out an incredible pedaling network.
It’s clearly a priority.
At least I thought it was.
But they’ve just dropped the ball on what should have been a beautiful new stretch.
The plan was to finish a mile-long connector from the East Providence end of the Henderson Bridge all the way to the East Bay Bike Path.
There was even $25 million set aside to get it done.
Except WPRI recently reported that it’s now been canceled.
The main fault lies with the Trump administration, which is no friend of bike paths, and moved to kill that $25 million.
But it gets complicated, as government funding always does.
To try to rescue that money, the state DOT reportedly worked with the administration to refunnel it into a road project. Specifically, the $25 million will now be spent helping upgrade the mile-long highway between the Henderson Bridge and North Broadway in East Providence, turning it into a more pleasant boulevard.
That totally sounds worthy.
But it’s insane to throw away the bike path plan.
Especially for a particular reason in this case.
They’d already put a ton of money into starting it.
When state planners designed the new Henderson Bridge between the East Side and East Providence, they included a bike path.
It’s a beauty – well protected from traffic by a barrier, a great asset for safely riding over the Seekonk River.
The plan was to continue it another mile or so along East Providence’s Waterfront Drive, ultimately connecting with the East Bay Bike Path, which runs all the way to Bristol. Which, by the way, is one of the nicest bike paths you’ll find anywhere.
But alas, that connector plan has been canceled.
So the expensive stretch over the Henderson Bridge to East Providence is now a bike path to nowhere. Once the bridge ends, the path on it continues a few hundred yards or so and then, just … ends.
Too bad.
We were so close.
Most of the stories on the issue have been about the complex negotiation to rescue the $25 million by rerouting it to that nearby highway-to-boulevard project. But I don’t want to get lost in the weeds of that bureaucratic process here because it loses sight of the heart of this story.
Which is that an amazing new addition to one of the nation’s best state bike path systems has just been scrapped.
You can knock the Rhode Island government for blowing a lot of things.
The PawSox.
The Washington Bridge.
But they’ve done great with bike paths.
And especially, linking many of them together.
Example: not too many years ago, Providence bikers had to risk dicey traffic on the East Side to get to the more pleasant paths in India Point Park and on the 195 bridge to the East Bay Path.
But the state fixed that by adding an amazing connector that starts behind the Salvation Army building and beautifully winds along the water of the Seekonk River for a mile or so.
That makes a huge difference – and no doubt has avoided some bike-car accidents.
We were close to a comparable stretch on the other side of the river – that’s what the $25 million would have done.
But it’s now apparently dead.
Online commenters aren’t happy about it.
On a Reddit string, “Toadscoper” accused the state of being “complicit” with the feds in rerouting the money from bikes to cars.
And there was this fascinating post from FineLobster 5322, who apparently is a disappointed planner who worked on the project: “Mind you money has already been spent on phase one so rejecting it at this point is wasting money and also against the public interest … but what do I know? I only worked on the project as an engineer … I didn’t get into this to build more highways. I do it … to give back to communities and give them more access to their environment.”
Wow. One can imagine the state planning team is devastated. That’s not a small consideration. Good people go into government to make life better in Rhode Island, and it’s a bad play to take the spirit out of the job by first assigning a great human-scale project and then, after a ton of work, trashing it.
A poster named Homosapiens simply said, “We just accept this?”
Hopefully not.
The first stretch of the path over the Henderson Bridge is done, money already sunk.
What a shame to leave that as a path to nowhere.
It doesn’t have to happen.
Between Governor McKee and our Washington delegation, there’s got to be a way to get this done.
There’s got to be.
mpatinki@providencejournal.com
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts.
Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the free WPRI 12+ TV app.
A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoGame 21: Tigers at Red Sox, Garrett Crochet battles both Detroit and the weather
-
San Francisco, CA1 hour agoWhy do gray whales keep dying in San Francisco’s waters?
-
Dallas, TX1 hour agoDallas Mavericks Owners Might Be Making Big Mistake in Search for New GM
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoDefense dominates, Mensah flashes in Miami’s spring game – The Miami Hurricane
-
Boston, MA2 hours ago
A crowd scientist is helping the Boston Marathon manage a growing field of 30,000-plus runners
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoDenver Nuggets Altitude broadcasts now being offered in Spanish for first time ever
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoNeed to shred? Free drive-up/ride-up shredding Wednesday at Village Green West Seattle
-
San Diego, CA2 hours agoGame 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels
