HARRISONBURG — The benefit to playing through a season with a lack of starting experience is that the next year, assuming those athletes return, the roster is more seasoned.

James Madison football used 16 first-time, full-time starters to fill out the offense and defense in 2018 and all of them are trying to keep their roles with new coach Curt Cignetti in charge in addition to trying to improve upon what they did during their initial fall of significant action.

Defensive end John Daka was the breakout star of the bunch, tallying 47 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and a team-best 10 sacks as a junior while earning All-American and All-Colonial Athletic Association honors. Through five spring sessions, Daka has been limited in practice, but there are others who performed well in their first year as a starter and are working at full speed now to best last year’s effort.

“I was a freshman All-American, but that year is over now,” sophomore wide receiver Kyndel Dean said. “It’s not that year anymore, it’s a new year and I want to get my hands stronger.”

Dean hauled in 47 catches for 614 yards and five touchdowns last season, and made three or more catches in nine straight games to finish the 2018 campaign.

But Dean said he’s capable of more, which is why he carves out time of each afternoon to catch passes from the Jugs machine.

“I try to get 100 catches a day,” Dean said of his routine. “I got my class schedule setup where in the afternoon I’m free, so I just come here to do some workouts in the weight room and then catch passes. I make sure my footwork is straight and I make sure I’m ready for what’s next.

“It’s not something I’ve always done. I didn’t do it until last year, but last year I started doing good and I was like, ‘I like the feeling of doing good.’ I liked the recognition and I thought the only way to stay this good is to keep working hard and work harder than everyone else.”

Cignetti said he likes what he sees from Dean.

“I thought he had an impressive redshirt freshman year last year,” Cignetti said. “He really came on, but he works every day, and we’re getting a lot of work against press coverage because that’s what our defense likes to do. I think he’s really improved on his releases and getting on top. But I’m glad I’ve got him for three more years and I think he’s got a chance to be a really good player.”

The Dukes’ best offensive lineman last year was tackle Liam Fornadel, who proved he was more than ready to make the jump from rotational player as a freshman to starter as a sophomore.

The New Jersey native played in all 15 games as a freshman in 2017, but only started twice that year before earning second-team All-Colonial Athletic Association accolades this past season while starting all 13 contests at right tackle.

“Just to get better in this system,” Fornadel, now a junior, said is what he needs to accomplish this spring.

Cignetti and new offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery are installing a new offense.

“I need to know there are different schemes and different things from the past offenses that we’ve run,” Fornadel said. “I’m getting the footwork and getting technique down. That’s the big thing for me, personally. I want to get to where I’m fine-tuning everything.”

Upon learning Cignetti would take the job as JMU coach and offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski would follow the headman from Elon, Fornadel said he started watching tape of the Phoenix’s offensive line.

“Their tackles were great last year,” Fornadel said. “Of every team in the CAA that we played, I loved watching them play because of their physicality and the way they were moving people. So I saw how they blocked their schemes, and over the offseason I did the same to learn the nuances. There will be different stuff that we do because of what we have ingrained, but I definitely have a lot of film on Elon and it’s good to know the basics while we learn the specifics.”

There was some anger in the approach Mike Greene took into the offseason and carried into the start of spring football.

He said he wasn’t happy about being left off the All-CAA teams.

“That sat on me,” the junior defensive tackle said. “So I blew it off and just got back in the lab.”

Greene had 41 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks to go along with a forced fumble and fumble recovery in his first year as a starter last season.

“I knew I had to step up,” Greene said. “After not getting the accolades of all-conference and stuff, I knew I had to get in the weight room and get stronger to be better this year. I focused on getting my upper body more toned up. And I wanted to keep going on and on and on with my endurance, and then get my legs right with explosion, so I worked on my power cleans.”

The Highland Springs product said he’s keeping his weight between 292 pounds and 295 pounds, and has improved his diet to do so. He’s cut down on junk food and his current go-to meal is a chicken, spinach and tomato panini.

“I can stay in there on the run and move faster against the pass,” Greene said.

Said Cignetti: “Mike is stout and he can move. He’s walked off the field better every day and I think he’s a guy with a lot of upside.”

Some injuries pushed tight end Dylan Stapleton into the starting lineup quicker than most expected after he transferred from Division II Slippery Rock to JMU ahead of last season.

He ended up playing in all 13 games and starting eight times while catching 19 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown.

“That was definitely a huge thing with getting my mind right, getting confidence because coming up a level you're not sure you can do it,” Stapleton said. “But I gained confidence and this year I’m definitely confident in myself more.”

Stapleton, a senior, is sharing first-team reps at tight end with junior Clayton Cheatham, who missed time due to a few different injuries last year.

But now adjusted comfortably to the FCS, Stapleton said he no longer has the pressure of having to show he belongs in Division I football, which has allowed him to simply learn the system Cignetti and Montgomery are implementing.

“The biggest thing is he decided he wanted to take a stab at a bigger opportunity,” Cignetti said. “And he’s a taken advantage of his opportunity.

“… He blocks well and catches the ball well. He moves well and I think he’s got a lot of upside at that position. He’s really young still. A lot of guys have redshirted and he hasn’t. He’s probably one of the younger guys on the team as a senior for sure. We’ve got quality depth at that position, but he’s caught my eye.”