Though the nearing football season is unconventional with its spring timing and abbreviated slate, James Madison’s end goal isn’t any different.

One of the perennial FCS national championship contenders through the last half decade, the Dukes don’t intend to let an abnormal calendar slow them down.

“We have the material to be pretty good,” JMU coach Curt Cignetti said.

Dukes athletic director Jeff Bourne added: “If our team were to remain healthy, then I think we can have a really good spring season. I think it’s realistic to think if we stay healthy, then we should be eligible and playing in the playoffs. The coaching staff has done a remarkable job recruiting and our conditioning staff has done a wonderful job preparing our young men for the season. Right now, like we do every year, we have high hopes and we hope we’re one of those contenders nationally.”

JMU has won three Colonial Athletic Association titles outright in the last four seasons and in each of those seasons reached the FCS championship game, capturing the national crown in 2016. In Cignetti’s first season at the helm in 2019, the Dukes finished as the runner-up to North Dakota State.

“It’s up to us, and what price are we willing to pay?” Cignetti said. “What are we willing to do to be the best we can be to stay away from the virus and what are we willing to give up to stay away from the virus to be available? Because availability is the key to the drill right now.”

Cignetti insists as long as JMU players and coaches remain committed to making the season a successful one, then, “this team can be as good as it makes its mind up to be.”

He said the stability of the squad resides in the offensive line and running backs, with many of the same players in place who helped the Dukes lead the CAA and rank 10th nationally for rushing offense in 2019.

Senior running backs Percy Agyei-Obese and Jawon Hamilton as well as sophomore running backs Solomon Vanhorse and Latrele Palmer all return. Agyei-Obese carried for 1,216 yards and 19 scores as a junior. Three senior offensive linemen – right tackle Liam Fornadel, left tackle Raymond Gillespie and left guard Truvell Wilson – have combined for 69 career starts.

“Those two positions without question are absolute strengths on this football team,” Cignetti said.

The defense must replace eight starters lost, but Cignetti landed key transfers to alleviate potential issues.

“I believe our program is in a good place,” Bourne said, “and we’re at a good point to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way.”

JMU opens its season on Feb. 20 at home with a non-conference contest against Morehead State of the Pioneer Football League.

Villanova was one of three CAA programs to reach the postseason in 2019, but it suffered a 45-44 loss in the first round of the playoffs at Southeastern Louisiana while having to play without standout running back Justin Covington.

Covington suffered a torn ACL midway through that campaign.

Heading into the Wildcats’ spring schedule, though, they’ll have Covington available again, according to coach Mark Ferrante.

“He’s had a longer time to get ready,” Ferrante said. “He would’ve been cleared if we did have a season in the fall as far as talking to our medical staff and the training staff and so on, so this extra time that we’ve had with no games [in the fall] and pushing into March, those extra months will definitely help Cov.”

At the time of his injury, he was leading the CAA and second in the country for rushing yards. Covington had 727 yards on the ground to go along with three rushing scores while averaging 8.1 yards per carry.

“He’s strong,” Ferrante said. “He looks good. He’s out there doing full participation, so we’re excited about having him back and seeing how he progresses moving forward.”

Stony Brook senior quarterback Tyquell Fields is looking to upgrade his accuracy, Seawolves coach Chuck Priore said.

Fields, entering his second season as Stony Brook’s starting quarterback, threw for 2,466 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. But he also threw 11 interceptions and completed just 51 percent of his throws.

“He had the opportunity all spring and summer to study himself,” Priore said. “He got drill work while he was home from our quarterback coach and the biggest thing ended up becoming his accuracy and his improvement in that game. His play-action game was lights out for us. His ability to throw the ball up the field, yards per reception [was good], but he needed to become more accurate.”

Priore said Fields’ progression, experience and ability to lead the team as one of its captains should only help Stony Brook this spring.

The lone CAA program not participating in the league’s spring season is Towson, and Tigers coach Rob Ambrose said it was a decision his players came to.

“We started asking the kids,” Ambrose said. “And on the first ask half the team, without any information at all, was like, ‘I don’t want to do that,’ and that made me realize I better follow up really hard.”

Ambrose said he and his staff decided to examine the team’s injury report from 2019 and there were seven players who suffered season-ending ACL injuries. The more information he gave his players about the team’s injury history, according to Ambrose, the less interested the rest of the roster became in pursuing the spring season.

He said it wasn’t worth the risk of injury in the shortened spring to put the fall 2021 season in jeopardy.

“One kid said, ‘Coach, this whole year doesn’t count against our eligibility, right?’” Ambrose recalled. “I said no. [The player said,] ‘Then why are we trying to make it count?’ I didn’t have a good answer, I really didn’t. And in talking with my administration, they didn’t disagree.

“Does the school save some money, because we didn’t do anything last fall and we’re not traveling? Yeah, we save some money and it is a big deal at this period in time, but that’s not the justification for doing it. The justification is the player’s safety. That’s it and it wasn’t my decision. This was a decision pushed from them. On first ask, 50 percent didn’t want to play.”

As for those Tigers who did want to play, Ambrose said he had no problem reasoning with them about it.

“The ones who wanted to play by in large were the guys who have never played,” Ambrose said, “the younger kids who just haven’t played a game yet and they would desperately love to get on the field and play a game. And it didn’t matter what the circumstances were.

“But I’m blessed to say we recruit some pretty intelligent kids and some smart kids, so when I say, ‘This is why we’re doing what we’re doing and it’s not about you, it’s about us,’ they understand. One was a quarterback and I go, ‘So would you be comfortable behind your entire true freshman offensive line?’”