HARRISONBURG — For those 60 minutes and the moments leading up to them, John Daka doesn’t want to think.

He only wants the result.

“I try to get in sort of savage mode,” the James Madison senior defensive end called it.

Fellow Dukes defensive end Ron’Dell Carter said he’s witnessed the transformation happen.

“It’s crazy because [Daka] doesn’t talk to anyone before the game,” Carter said. “He puts his headphones in and he tunes everything out. He’s been like that ever since I met him. He’s never been a big talker, but then when game day comes, he just turns on the switch.

“He’s got his own twitch in his head. He tells himself that he’s about to go. I’ll be like, ‘Yo bro, what’s wrong with you today?’ And he’ll be like, ‘Nothing. I’m just ready.’”

On each of the last three Saturdays, Daka punished his opponents with quarterbacks mostly on the wrong end of his jarring hits.

Villanova signal-caller Daniel Smith was smothered and plowed into the ground by Daka less than two seconds after the ball was snapped during a play in the third quarter this past Saturday.

Daka was named STATS FCS National Defensive Player of the Week for his nine tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks and forced fumble — that setup the game-tying score — against the Wildcats to accentuate the production he’s had since Colonial Athletic Association play began during the last week of September.

In JMU’s three conference contests to this point, Daka racked up 18 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and all 5.5 of his sacks this season have come in the last three weeks. He was held without a sack through four non-league games to start the campaign.

JMU plays at William & Mary in CAA action on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

“I’m the kind of guy that likes to know what the person beside me and the person behind me are doing in order for me to fully grasp what I can do within the defense,” Daka said.

First-year Dukes coach Curt Cignetti and defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman installed a new scheme upon their hiring and Daka said he had to adjust to it after earning All-American honors with 17 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in former defensive coordinator Bob Trott’s system last year.

“So, with me, it was just understanding the defense in and out, so I could know exactly how to play within it,” Daka said. “Once I realized that, I was able to play faster than how I was playing. It was more muscle memory [against Villanova] rather than thinking because when I’m out there thinking I feel like I play slow. But when I’m out there playing fast, I’m just reacting. So it just became more muscle memory and reaction in order to play faster.”

And JMU right tackle Liam Fornadel, who has had the pleasure of battling Daka in training camp and practices throughout their college careers, said when Daka plays without hesitation, any offensive lineman would have problems blocking him.

“He’s a big speed guy,” Fornadel said, “but he’ll catch you with power every once in a while. He’s a mix of everything and he always gives it his all. He’s going to go out there and make those big plays that we need as a team, and that’s just John Daka.”

Cignetti said: “I think [Daka] has stepped his play up. There’s really not much of an adjustment. We’re both four-down [defenses] and there were some subtle tweaks to be honest with you, but he’s got twitch. He’s a great speed rusher and he made some tremendous plays.”

Daka said being able to stay as focused as he can on playing fast and eliminating worry about what to do based on the defensive call from play to play is all that matters to him.

He said it’s the reason why he remains to himself and puts whatever pump-up music in his headphones he needs — it was mostly songs from the rapper Young Boy during warmups ahead of Villanova — to avoid any overthinking once the game is kicked off.

“If you see me off the field, you’ll probably see me goofy and laughing all the time,” Daka said. “But pregame I try to get locked in. I try to visualize me making the plays. I try to visualize certain plays that they run and how I’m going to attack it and I listen to music to lock in and get in my zone. But I do a lot of visualization and mental preparation, so I don’t try to get too high or too low and I try to stay level-headed in everything I do.”