His two catches this past Saturday were more than he had all of last season.

James Madison tight end Clayton Cheatham looked the part of the role he’s expected to play for the Dukes this spring in their season-opening win over Morehead State.

He had a kick-out block to free running back Jawon Hamilton for the game’s first score, and on the first play of the consequent series, Cheatham displayed an ability he hasn’t had in quite a while. He hauled in a play-action pass near the line of scrimmage and turned it into a 9-yard gain by accelerating up the field and lowering his shoulder to barrel over an approaching defender.

“That comes with just being healthy,” Cheatham said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

No kidding.

Toward the end of the 2019 season, he said, his health had him contemplating a potential early ending to his career.

An injury forced Cheatham, now a senior, to choose between an abrupt finish to his time with the Dukes or a treacherous, prolonged path toward his return.

“I was really nervous,” Cheatham said. “I was a kid that football was life to, and I hadn’t had anything figured out except that I wanted to be the best player I could be at JMU and play football for as long as I could.”

His older brother, Deane Cheatham, a former JMU tight end who wore the No. 37 like Clayton, said: “[Clayton] had to make the decision about if he really wanted to play or not.”

Throughout the younger Cheatham’s first three years in the Dukes’ program, he experienced highs and lows. He caught four touchdowns during his freshman season and proved his value at tight end after formerly starring as a quarterback for Hanover High School in Mechanicsville.

The next fall wasn’t so easy, though, and Cheatham dealt with a fracture in his foot that he played through. He also had a torn UCL tendon in his thumb, and last season – as JMU was on its way to another appearance in the FCS national title game – was the worst of all for the 6-foot-2, 234 pounder. Cheatham said a lower-body injury left him in significant pain and made him question whether or not he could ever successfully contribute to the Dukes again.

At that point, he wasn’t capable of practicing as much as he wanted to and ultimately a slipped down the depth chart.

“I was always worried that, ‘Is this going to be the play that I get hurt?’” Cheatham said. “I just wasn’t feeling good. I was playing at like 75 percent. Everyone knew that and I knew that, but I didn’t want to admit that to myself.”

Cheatham didn’t appear in a game after mid-November and went into what would become an extended offseason – thanks to the pandemic – with that lingering decision. He said he had long conversations with coaches about the future and leaned on his family, too.

Deane could relate to Clayton on any level, having played the same position at the same school, having suffered a serious injury himself and having spent time in college coaching and witnessed his players go through what Clayton was going through. Deane was the tight ends coach at Austin Peay this past fall. He had a stint at Western Carolina and was a graduate assistant at Marshall before that.

“My brother just didn’t want me to give up on it,” Clayton said.

Deane said when he spoke to Clayton through two 14-week rounds of rehab separated by one intensive surgery, he did so as a brother and not from the perspective as a former player or ex-coach.

“There are so many risks and the risks you take in order to play the game are huge,” Deane, who has left the coaching profession to work for RCI Builders in Richmond, said.

“But it’s all part of it and I think it’s definitely different when it’s your brother,” Deane said. “You care about him because he’s your brother and you want things to work out for him, but it’s a scary thing – especially when you see it as a coach – just how it doesn’t work out for some kids.”

Deane said they were around each other quite a bit since they both were home in March through the early part of the summer with quarantine guidelines in effect.

“With him kind of taking a more supportive role last season,” Deane said, “I think that challenged him to see how much he really wanted it when you find yourself in a role like that, and when the circumstances of the injury that got him there weren’t really his fault. The timing was terrible, but everybody that ever has played college football has a story just like it, so it was a lot for him to make up his mind to get to where he is for this year.”

One positive for Clayton about the postponement of the Dukes’ season from the fall to the spring was that it gave him extra time to feel confident in himself and heal his injury. His rehab wasn’t rushed and he was able to practice, without missing any drills, in the fall to gain a further boost heading into this spring slate.

“When we came back in fall ball, he was like a new man,” JMU coach Curt Cignetti said. “He’s been out there every practice. Knock on wood, he’s stayed healthy. He’s really playing with a tough, hard edge. He’s athletic. He’s blocking well. ... And I’m really happy for Clayton because he’s had so many down moments with injuries in his career.”

Cheatham said he’s thrilled he made the decision to return and overcome months of challenging rehab to do so.

He is even happier he’s capable of contributing now like he did in Week 1.

“This year, there’s no hesitation,” Cheatham said. “It was really awesome going out there feeling 100 percent and really feeling like myself. I just got to play the game that I love and do what I love, which is winning by a lot, make a couple of catches, being physical, blocking people and watching our running backs go to work. That’s pretty cool.”