Dukes Ink 13 For Early Signing Period

HARRISONBURG — Hayden Mann knew his decision was going to change.

He was visiting James Madison for the first time and even on a busy day for Dukes coach Mike Houston, he had carved out time for a one-on-one meeting with the safety from North Carolina.

It was the second Saturday in October with conference rival Villanova and ESPN’s “College GameDay” in town.

“I asked Coach Houston if I could look at the ring from last year. He was showing it to me and then we sat down, started talking and that’s when he offered me,” Mann said. “I was grinning and then I looked over at my little brother, he was grinning, and then my mom was smiling ear to ear. We were all excited.

“I was speechless at first, but then all I could think was, ‘What am I going to tell Furman?’”

The Eastern Alamance High School (Mebane, N.C.) product was one of 13 prospects to sign National Letters of Intent to play at JMU on Wednesday as part of the NCAA’s new early signing period.

The Dukes added seven in-state players and one each from Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

Mann, who also played quarterback in high school, wasn’t on JMU’s radar until a few weeks into his senior season. He had already verbally committed to play at Furman.

“But we fell in love with him immediately,” Houston said. “You watched him and you go ‘I don’t know if he’s a quarterback, but he’s something.’

“I see an athlete that can run, jump and judges the ball well. He’s a great basketball player and a tough guy, and those guys will find a place to play.”

With a late start and an early signing date looming, the Dukes coaching staff moved quickly and ultimately it led to Mann’s choice to flip his commitment.

“It was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Mann said. “My mom compares it to ripping off a Band-Aid, you just got to do it quick, and once you do it everything is fine.

“But JMU [coaches] compared me to [JMU senior] Jordan Brown because he was a high school quarterback and now he’s an All-American safety.”

Mann is one of four signees that will play in the secondary along with Peddie School (Edison, N.J.) safety Chris Chukwuneke, South Pointe (Rock Hill, S.C.) cornerback Jamari Currence and Smithfield cornerback Willie Drew.

Currence will enroll early and participate in spring practice, Houston said.

JMU cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator Tripp Weaver said the defensive backfield and the offensive line were positional areas the program felt like it needed to address with this class.

“We had to balance the classes,” Weaver said. “You look at the secondary and we did sign a lot of secondary players, but we’re going to lose two great ones in Jordan [Brown] and Raven [Greene] and even another in Justin Bethea. … And the next year we’ll lose even more because none of them redshirted, so they’re all together.

“I think we did a really good job with that.”

Three offensive linemen — Boonsboro’s Nick Kidwell (Knoxville, Md.), Princess Anne’s Amelio Moran (Virginia Beach) and St. Christopher’s Henry Schroeder (Richmond) — were signed.

At 6-6, 300 pounds, Moran was the most sought after prospect of the class while holding other scholarship offers from nine FBS programs including Central Florida, Florida Atlantic and Missouri.

“Strong class upfront,” Weaver said. “And that’s obviously something Coach Houston and our staff believe in is that you win by building upfront, especially in these games that we’re playing in right now.”

JMU also added Kathleen (Lakeland, Fla.) wide receiver Reggie Brown, Hershey (Hershey, Pa.) tight end Drew Painter and North Stafford wide receiver Devin Ravenel on offense as well as Hermitage linebacker Mateo Jackson and Garden City Community College linebacker Matt Terrell on defense. Blacksburg kicker Camden Wise was signed for special teams.

Terrell, who played at the University of Virginia before spending this past season at the junior college in Kansas, will also be enrolled in time for spring practice. Weaver said Terrell will play as a hybrid defensive end/linebacker for the Dukes.

“He was a specific need,” Houston said. “I expect him to compete for a starting position.”

Jackson said coaches have told him he’ll have a chance to secure early playing time as well. From the same school that produced current JMU cornerback Rashad Robinson and linebacker John Kinney, Jackson is a fit at middle linebacker.

Jackson said he was anxious to sign since he had been committed since October. JMU beat Cincinnati to land the 6-foot-1, 200-pound defender.

“I’ve been watching them and rooting them on,” Jackson said. “They had me scared against Weber State but they took care of business this past Saturday.

“I feel like with me being able to sign early, I already knew where I wanted to go and it wasn’t just a commitment to gain more attention or whatever. Just to get it out of the way, it’s a good idea.”

As for the Dukes coaches, they said they felt the good and bad of the early signing day.

“The thing I like about it is that the kids are signed,” Houston said. “They’ve been committed to us and they’re signed.

“The thing that I don’t like about it is for a program like ours, a playoff team and a contender year in and year out, you’ve got to juggle recruiting, official visits in the season and in the playoffs and it’s not like my coaches can go out or I can sit in people’s homes, so we’ll have to find creative ways to do that.”