Dukes Grab U.Va. Transfer

HARRISONBURG — For the second consecutive offseason, James Madison football is adding an ACC transfer wide receiver to its roster.

University of Virginia’s David Eldridge announced this week on Twitter he is transferring to JMU.

Eldridge joins a position group that features Terrence Alls, who transferred to Madison from Duke last summer, and Ishmael Hyman, who left Kansas for JMU prior to the 2014 season.

Alls made eight starts and hauled in 39 catches for 575 yards and five touchdowns during his first season in Harrisonburg.

“Terrence Alls was actually my host last weekend,” Eldridge said during a phone interview Wednesday. “He was just real with me and was telling me all the success he’s had because he’s happy with his choice.”

Eldridge made two starts for the Cavaliers last fall and played in 11 of 12 games. He finished the 2016 season with eight catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

The Kettle Run High School product has two years of eligibility remaining and will be a junior this fall at Madison.

“I came to the conclusion that I wanted to play out those two years and graduate on schedule,” Eldridge said. “FCS was the option for that and it lucked out that I found a school that was as interested in me as I was in them.”

When he was granted his release from Virginia, Eldridge said he had already begun doing his homework about where he wanted to attend school and play football next.

JMU was high on Eldridge’s list, and not long after his release Dukes offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick reached out, Eldridge said. Then wide receivers coach Drew Dudzik followed up.

“I was talking to them about the same amount of time when the recruitment started and they led my official visit,” Eldridge said.

Illinois State and Montana State contacted Eldridge, too, he said, along with a number of FBS programs.

But between Eldridge’s desire to play right away and the restrictions on his release from Virginia — Eldridge couldn’t transfer to any ACC school or any school on U.Va.’s schedule as long as he was eligible — landing with the reigning FCS champs was a great fit, he said.

“And with them losing three starting wide receivers due to graduation, that kind of interested me and brought me in a little bit more,” Eldridge said.

Brandon Ravenel, Domo Taylor and Rashard Davis all graduated and were three of the team’s top four receivers along with Alls this past season.

Throughout the spring, rising seniors Alls, Hyman and John Miller took reps as the first-team receivers. Rising sophomore Riley Stapleton also earned first-team snaps.

Eldridge, at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, is similar in size to Alls and Hyman.

A former three-star recruit, Eldridge said the recruiting process moved much quicker as a transfer than a high school prospect. Out of high school, he had offers from other Power Five programs like Boston College, Illinois and Wake Forest. Eldridge was recruited to Virginia by ex-Cavaliers coach Mike London’s staff.

“In high school, you get a lot of people who announce all their offers and go on all these visits and want to take all their official visits, and nothing is wrong with that, but there’s just a lot of hype,” Eldridge said. “I feel, as a transfer, that you’re leaving the program you started with and there just isn’t a whole lot of time. It gets real and serious, so you crack down on finding a home to finish your college career.”