Dukes Fill Their Needs

HARRISONBURG — The early signing period has come and gone.

James Madison bolstered its roster by inking 13 prospects to National Letters of Intent this past Wednesday.

With the majority of JMU’s 2018 signing class set, here are a few takeaways.

Two of the 13 signees will enroll early and be on campus for spring practice.

Garden City Community College (Kan.) linebacker Matt Terrell and South Pointe High School (Rock Hill, S.C.) cornerback Jamari Currence gain an advantage by showing up for an extra semester.

“They can get accustomed to our defense, our culture and our locker room,” JMU cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator Tripp Weaver said. “A lot of times there is a learning curve, but that learning curve is greatly diminished once they come in mid-year because they’ll get all of spring, all of summer and all of fall camp before the season starts.

“In order to compete for a job, you really need to be here for the spring, for the summer and going into fall camp.”

Weaver was the lead recruiter on Currence, who played at one of the top high school programs in South Carolina.

The 5-10, 160-pounder is a Rivals.com two-star prospect. He racked up 76 tackles and four interceptions as a senior.

“I saw the next [current JMU junior cornerback] Curtis Oliver-type player,” Weaver said. “Very physical, good tackler, smart, instinctive and is an all-conference, all-region kid and one that could play multiple positions for us whether it’s corner or nickel.”

In the case of Terrell, JMU benefited from the relationship he has with current Dukes sophomore linebacker Landan Word.

Terrell and Word spent a season at Virginia together before Terrell left for Garden City and Word became a Duke. Terrell is originally from Lynchburg.

“We knew Matt from the past and we’re fortunate to have him sign,” JMU coach Mike Houston said. “He had FBS Power Five scholarship offers, but being back closer to home and to his parents was important.

“I think the familiarity with Landan and some of the other players on our roster was important. I think his parents and their comfort with our coaching staff was important.”

Houston said he expects Terrell to compete for a starting role right away.

An already deep unit appears as if it’s only going to grow into the strongest position group at JMU.

The Dukes signed three offensive linemen and all three were highly recruited. Princess Anne’s (Virginia Beach) Amelio Moran gained scholarship offers from nine different FBS schools. Four FBS schools offered St. Christopher’s (Richmond) Henry Schroeder. Nick Kidwell (Boonsboro, Md.) had offers from JMU’s conference rivals, New Hampshire and Villanova.

“You got Nick Kidwell, who’s just a massive human being and a physical, punishing player,” Houston said. “You’ve got Henry Schroeder, who’s not as big, but a top-end athlete who can really move and run, can probably play center or tackle. And then you’ve got Amelio Moran, who has so much versatility because of the athleticism and size combination.

“We feel really good about our offensive line of the future with some of the guys playing now and [JMU freshman] Jake Glavin, who is redshirting, but we wanted to solidify that because, to me, your fronts are where everything starts.”

This season, JMU has started five different underclassmen — sophomore center Mac Patrick, sophomore right guard Gerren Butler, sophomore right tackle Jahee Jackson, freshman left guard Zaire Bethea and freshman right guard Liam Fornadel — on the offensive line. Plus, sophomore Tyree Chavious, who’s missed the entire season with an Achilles injury, started in last year’s postseason at right tackle. Summer offensive line transfers EJ Donahue (Maryland) and Pika Leota (South Carolina) will also have worked a year in the program by the time August training camp rolls around.

Just because JMU didn’t add a high school quarterback this week doesn’t mean the team isn’t getting one.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben DiNucci announced his decision to leave the school earlier this month.

This week, he sent out a Tweet that read, “#GoDukes.”

Media outlets in Pittsburgh reported DiNucci plans to continue his college career at JMU.

JMU coaches, per NCAA rules, can’t speak about players that aren’t signed, so it’s likely DiNucci will walk-on to join the program.

DiNucci played in 10 games for the Panthers this year, completing 55 percent of his throws for 1,091 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions.

The lone specialist signee, Camden Wise, isn’t afraid of competition.

The Blacksburg High School standout kicker said he knows he’ll have to battle current Dukes Tyler Gray and Ethan Ratke for a role in his first year at JMU.

“I definitely want to come in and kick with other kickers that have proved to be good,” Wise said. “If you can kick against other kickers, it will bring out the best in all of you.

“Whether I start right away or redshirt and then start as a redshirt junior, once they all graduate, I feel like when I do start I would want to have proven myself, so I earned the starting job as opposed to going somewhere where it might be given.”

In addition to JMU’s offer, Wise had opportunities from Army and Marshall at the FBS level, East Tennessee State and Richmond at the FCS level and the University of Virginia’s College at Wise in Division II.

“When we got the commitment from Camden, I’m looking at Tyler Gray being a senior next year,” Houston said. “So I think that at the very least, now I have Camden and Ethan. So you’re going to have a lot of competition and depth, where you’re not going to be in jeopardy.

“The other thing about Camden is he’s versatile. He punts pretty well and is an exceptional place kicker. He’s got a very strong leg for kickoffs, so I think you’ll see him compete immediately.”

Ratke made a game-winning 46-yard field goal in the Dukes’ national quarterfinal contest to beat Weber State. Before suffering an injury this year, Gray had converted 9-of-11 field-goal attempts.

Even though six weeks may not seem like a long time, it is to coaches and the difference between a mid-December signing date and an early February signing date is significant.

After utilizing the NCAA’s early signing period for the first time, Houston said JMU is going to adjust the timing of its recruiting.

“It’s going to change the way our recruiting calendar works moving forward,” Houston said. “It changed it this year, but I think it’s going to change more.

“Typically December and January is when you do visit prospects and typically your official visits are in the month of January.

“I think we’re going to have to find a way to have large official visit weekends in the month of December and maybe even in late November. I think it really will have a big impact on our recruiting calendar moving forward because of the level of our program.”