Back To School For JMU's Greene

HARRISONBURG — In November when Raven Greene learned he gained an extra year of eligibility for 2017 he said he was excited to dive into the “300-level classes” about JMU’s defense taught by coordinator Bob Trott.

The course began last week in conjunction with the start of spring football.

“I guess graduate-level classes would fit it a little better,” Greene said with a grin following James Madison’s first practice Thursday at Bridgeforth Stadium.

Greene was a senior at the start of the 2016 season, but a retroactive medical-hardship waiver granted by the NCAA gave him another year at JMU. The standout safety — a first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection and the Dukes’ leader with six interceptions last fall — is now preparing for his redshirt senior season.

“The big thing now is that he not only understands his position, but he understands the whole defense,” JMU coach Mike Houston said of Greene. “We’re going to work throughout the spring and summer to make him and Jordan [Brown] interchangeable between the safety and rover positions.”

Brown will also be a senior in the fall. Him and Greene combined for 162 total tackles, eight interceptions and 14 pass breakups during JMU’s FCS championship-winning season.

The dangerous duo is part of a secondary that returns all but one starter from last season. Cornerback Taylor Reynolds has graduated and is off for a shot in the NFL, but others at corner such as Jimmy Moreland, Curtis Oliver and Rashad Robinson are all back.

“I’ve always felt once you’ve played in the system and you’re an older player, you should be interchangeable,” Trott, who is also the position coach for Greene and Brown, said. “We just have to get them some reps and looks at it.

“They’re both skilled players. They’re both veteran players and that’s what you should be able to do.”

The big difference between Greene’s safety position and Brown’s rover-safety position is the amount of responsibility each has within the 4-2-5 defense, Greene said.

“He makes a lot more decisions than I do,” Greene said. “It’s more so about being able to play different coverages in certain situations and he has a little more free rein in that area.”

The Virginia Beach native added with the emphasis on learning Brown’s role during the spring, it isn’t anything he can’t master, which in turn should help the defense evolve in Trott’s second year at the school.

As a team, James Madison led the country with 21 interceptions in Trott’s first season as the Dukes’ defensive coordinator.

“I feel it’s something that would have helped us a lot last year just so we wouldn’t have had to switch sides so much,” Greene said. “It’s a lot easier to stay on one side, especially if you know both positions. It’ll help us better understand the whole defense and if we both have a pretty good grasp and know what each other has to do, then we can correct each other too.”

While Houston and Trott teach Brown and Greene the ins and outs of each other’s spots, the coaches are also searching for a third safety to understand both the safety and rover-safety positions.

Houston said he wants one player to be the primary backup to both Brown and Greene.

“The big battle right there is between Adam Smith, who has the edge because he played last year,” Houston said. “Then D’Angelo Amos, who is a young kid that we redshirted last year, but someone I have very high expectations for, and then Reggie Collins, another young player.”

Smith shined on special teams for JMU as a true freshman. He blocked a punt in the FCS quarterfinals against Sam Houston State that led to a scoop-and-score for Bryce Maginley.

Madison has this week off for spring break but will return for practice on March 14.