HARRISONBURG — Securing commitments from two transfers last week wasn’t the only recruiting being done by James Madison.

First-year coach Curt Cignetti said his program is in the thick of determining which prospects in the 2020 class would fit well with the Dukes.

“Tape evaluation is probably 50 percent of it right now,” Cignetti said. “Because you’ve still got to get to know the guys, and hopefully get ‘em in camp and work with ‘em some. So right now we’re just sort of creating a pecking order.”

JMU doesn’t have any class of 2020 prospects on board yet, but Cignetti, the former recruiting coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban and the one with the final decision on all personnel matters for the Dukes, is not racing to do so.

He said he operates deliberately to avoid misses in recruiting.

“The biggest mistakes we’ve made through the years at all places come when we rush into things and are in too much of a hurry,” Cignetti said. “Some kids are going to commit early and some aren’t. You’ve got to be patient because there will be guys there for you, but you’ve got to be patient and take the right ones.”

Cignetti can’t discuss unsigned prospects including the two verbally committed transfers — defensive lineman Antonio Colclough (Temple) and wide receiver Brandon Polk (Penn State) — due to NCAA rules, but he did identify what positions the Dukes need to address in the 2020 class.

And his theory on waiting for the right prospect to offer applies to perhaps the program’s biggest necessity — a quarterback. JMU hasn’t signed a quarterback since former coach Mike Houston inked Gage Moloney as part of the 2017 recruiting class, and the Dukes lose Ben DiNucci to graduation following this fall.

“It’s all the things I talk about at practice,” Cignetti said of trying to recruit a quarterback for his program. “Guy has to be a leader and be highly productive, and obviously, has to be able to throw the ball. Movement is a big plus and we’re looking for it, and you’re looking at their numbers. You listen to what their coaches say and other area coaches. You watch the tape and you’re evaluating, and hopefully you’re seeing them live.

“So we’re seeing a number of good quarterbacks. We’ve got a number of good quarterbacks on the board, but my big thing is I really don’t want to rush into things. Most of the guys you’ve seen us offer have FBS offers already, so we’re kind of patient in our approach compared to some other people. But I think at the end of the day it pays off with the more you know about them.”

Interior defensive linemen are being heavily targeted for this class, Cignetti said, and that the Dukes are also pursuing linebackers and corners on the defensive side considering linebackers Dimitri Holloway and Landan Word, and corners Rashad Robinson and Charles Tutt, are all scheduled to graduate after this coming season. Offensively, aside from a quarterback, JMU is looking for a receiver, a tight end or two, a running back and a couple of offensive linemen.

Cignetti said he’ll likely sign between 10 and 15 prospects in this recruiting class.

Since late April, Cignetti’s assistants have traveled to visit players JMU has interest in. As part of the Dukes’ recruiting process, when his coaches return to Harrisonburg, the staff meets to figure out whether or not to offer a player they recently took a trip to see.

It’s why a flurry of prospects earned offers from JMU over the past two weeks, according to the coach.

“We had a chance to come back and watch tape together and see where we are,” Cignetti said. “A lot of that was in-state and some in Maryland, but the emphasis is always in-state first because you’ve got to do a great job in your own backyard, so that was probably a result of those days together.”

Cignetti said his coaches have relayed to him the program is being well received on the road, especially in the state which is crucial given the number of Division I schools in the Commonwealth battling for many of the same players.

Safeties coach Ryan Smith is leading the Dukes’ recruiting efforts in Richmond and the 757, but every assistant on staff has territory to cover in Virginia.

“I think the relationships are being developed, have been developed,” Cignetti said. “And every prospect is different in terms of who the key people are involved in their decision, and I feel pretty confident in our brand and that it sells itself.

“Virginia and Virginia Tech, those are tough battles and you’re not going to win many of those battles, let’s just be honest. But all the other guys that are available even when you’re fighting the Group of Five, you’re going have a swinging chance for. Then when you get into the FCS competition, you’ve got to be in pretty good shape.”

The next phase of the recruiting process is a crucial for both coaches and prospects alike, and that begins in early June.

“Camps are really big,” Cignetti said. “Not only the ones we’re going to have here on campus, but our guys will go work other college camps and be able to evaluate players that maybe don’t make it to our camp, so that’s a big part of it.”

Cignetti and his staff will host four prospects camp, an offensive line/defensive line camp and a specialist camp. He added members of his staff are already slated to work camps at Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Old Dominion, Rutgers and Wake Forest, and might work camps at Penn State and Pittsburgh.