HARRISONBURG — If the early signing date was any indication, the transition is trending to be a smooth one.

James Madison signed eight prospects for the 2019 class on Dec. 19, which came only two days after new Dukes football coach Curt Cignetti was officially introduced and said he thought he’d be able to ink only about half the group during the early period.

Now, Cignetti and company have four unsigned commitments to land when the Feb. 6 traditional signing date hits, but he’s set himself up for success next month and in the coming years in recruiting, considering the staff he assembled has a wide-range of ties up and down the East Coast.

“We’re about 80 to 90 percent there,” Cignetti said of figuring out each assistant’s recruiting territory.

The final contact period before Feb. 6 began Friday and runs through Feb. 2. Coaches can visit prospects during the contact period.

Cignetti said all 10 of his assistant will have responsibilities in Virginia, but safeties coach Ryan Smith would lead in Richmond, cornerbacks coach Matt Birkett would lead in the 757 and linebackers coach Bryant Haines would lead in Lynchburg. Smith is a Virginia native who played at William & Mary, and Birkett recruited the mid-Atlantic during his seven seasons on staff at Maine.

“Ryan Smith was in Richmond for me at Elon and he also went to the beach,” Cignetti said. “But he’ll be a primary Richmond recruiter for us and extend down into the beach area.”

Stretching north of Virginia, a few coaches will have their hands in different parts Maryland.

“Maryland and Baltimore, those are big areas for us,” Cignetti said. “We’ll have [offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski] in there. Matt will pick up a little bit of that, which he did at Maine, and I’ve just got a number of guys on my staff that have recruited Maryland before. Bryant Haines did a great job for me in the past, but [wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator] Mike Shanahan was in there last year for me.”

Shanahan, a former Pittsburgh receiver, will also cover central and western Pennsylvania, according to Cignetti. Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman will work eastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Delaware and southern New Jersey while defensive tackles coach Andrew Jackson handles central New Jersey, northern New Jersey and New York City.

Heading south, running backs coach Matt Merritt will recruit from Virginia into North Carolina, Haines will also have a role in the triad area of North Carolina as well as Charlotte, and special teams coordinator Grant Cain is tasked with getting the Dukes into Georgia.

“That’s where I’ve made my money in recruiting, and in the coaching profession, you better be able to recruit,” Cain said. “[Cignetti] asked me the other day if I thought I could get some players up here because it’s an eight- to 10-hour trip depending on where you’re at in Atlanta. I said, ‘Absolutely. We’ve lost kids to JMU when I was coaching in-state at Mercer.’ We’ve got to get them up on campus and that’ll be the hard part, but we’ll get ‘em here, but there’s a lot of talent there.”

Cignetti said Cain recruited Atlanta and the state of Georgia for the last 16 years.

JMU currently has three Georgians — tight end Nick Carlton, wide receiver Josh Sims and running back Solomon Vanhorse — on its roster and signed Mt. Vernon (Atlanta) running back Austin Douglas for its 2019 class.

The only coach without a defined territory yet is offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery, who Cignetti said has recruited Georgia and North Carolina in the past. Despite not having an area, Montgomery will handle recruiting quarterbacks, Cignetti said.

Montgomery said he looks for the same traits when recruiting quarterbacks as he does when he evaluates the signal-callers already on the roster.

“You’re always trying to get to know the kid,” Montgomery said. “And I think it’s that much more important to the quarterback position.

“You want to know if they’re going to be the leader of your team for four or five years, so you’re looking for a guy that has leadership qualities and is a winner and that makes the people around him better. Doesn’t necessarily have to have the strongest arm or be the fastest guy, but he just makes his team better and they have trouble winning without him. You’re looking to see if he has the ability to make all the throws in our offense, guys that are mobile, guys that are tough mentally and physically.”