Marquis Buchanan returns to Rhode Island for senior season

Marquis Buchanan’s decision to stay at Rhode Island for his senior season gives the Rams something every CAA contender wants and few can keep: a receiver defenses have to plan for first. After leading the FCS in receiving yards and putting himself among the subdivision’s most valuable returnees, Buchanan gives Rhode Island a true offensive centerpiece as it tries to stay on top of a league race that has grown tighter and more public.

The importance of that return starts with what Buchanan already did in a Rams uniform. In 2024, he caught 82 passes for 1,124 yards and eight touchdowns, became only the eighth player in Rhode Island history to post a 1,000-yard receiving season, and entered 2025 ranked 10th on the school’s career receiving yards list. He was also named to the Stats Perform FCS preseason All-America first team, a nod that reflected both his production and the way he had become the face of URI’s passing game.

Rhode Island’s broader rise made Buchanan’s choice even more significant. The Rams were coming off a program-best 11-3 season in 2024, shared the CAA Football championship and earned their first FCS playoff berth since 1985. That momentum carried into 2025, when the league’s coaches picked Rhode Island to finish first in the preseason poll with eight first-place votes and 163 points, and the Rams opened the season ranked in the top 10 in multiple national preseason polls. Buchanan was a major reason the Rams could be viewed that way.

He backed up the reputation immediately in 2025. Rhode Island opened with a 31-20 win over Campbell, and Buchanan delivered six catches for 167 yards and a touchdown. Later, in a 2025 win over Bryant on Oct. 25, he added three catches for 124 yards. By December, he had added first-team All-America recognition from FCS Football Central, another sign that his production was not just preseason hype but week-to-week proof of a receiver capable of swinging games.

His return also says something about Rhode Island’s program identity. Buchanan had transfer opportunities, but he stayed because of the support he and his family felt from the Rhode Island community. In an offseason defined by movement, that choice strengthens URI’s continuity and keeps the Rams from having to relearn their offense around a new primary target. If Rhode Island is going to defend its place near the top of the CAA pecking order, Buchanan is the player who makes that case believable.