HARRISONBURG – The incumbent starter and front runner didn’t lose his job.

On Tuesday, James Madison coach Curt Cignetti named Ben DiNucci the team’s starting quarterback.

“He’s done a good job,” Cignetti said after the Dukes’ practice. “I have total trust and confidence in him. He’s played a lot of football. He’s impressed me. He’s done a good job with his decision making.”

Throughout JMU’s training camp, DiNucci, a fifth-year senior, took the majority of first-team reps and held off Cole Johnson, who challenged for the No. 1 role. Johnson, a redshirt junior, has served as the primary backup for the past three seasons.

“Honestly, a little part of me was like, ‘This is probably what I needed anyway,’” DiNucci said of Cignetti and offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery reopening the competition when they arrived this offseason.

DiNucci beat out Johnson last August and became a third team All-Colonial Athletic Association choice in 2018, throwing for 2,275 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushing for 433 yards and a JMU-best nine scores.

“But last year, it didn’t end how I wanted it to end,” DiNucci said.

His five interceptions plagued the Dukes in their second-round playoff loss at Colgate this past December.

“And I’m not very proud of how I played in that last game and in a few of those games last year,” he said. “So it’s been good being able to come out and prove myself every day and prove to these new coaches every day that I’m not that same guy anymore and that I’m willing to work every day to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

The former Pittsburgh transfer, DiNucci, said he gained more confidence this summer while working with Quincy Avery, a private quarterback instructor. With Avery, DiNucci was able to train alongside other recently named college starting quarterbacks Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma) and Justin Fields (Ohio State) as well as Penn State’s Sean Clifford and Boston College’s Anthony Brown.

“Being able to run things by them was great and they were trying to take things from my game too,” DiNucci said. “And that’s ultimately it. Everyone is trying to win and everyone has the same goal in mind, so it was really cool being around those guys and just taking it all in and seeing that I’m at the same level of these guys and I can throw with these guys.”

Cignetti said DiNucci’s experience helped him in the competition. During his time at Pitt, DiNucci started six games and played in 12. Last year, DiNucci was third in all of FCS with a 68.3 percent completion percentage.

“He’s had high productivity at the quarterback position,” Cignetti said. “He completed a high percentage of his passes last season.

“The main thing is we’re not asking the quarterback to carry the team on his shoulders. We’re going to have an offensive plan, a defensive plan and a special teams plan to win the game, and now every game is a little different the way it plays out, but we’re not asking Ben to carry the team. We’re just asking him to play quarterback for us, make good decisions and protect the ball to complete the passes he should. And he’s got good maneuverability.”

JMU opens its 2019 campaign on Aug. 31 at West Virginia.

“It helps that he’s been in the big stadium before,” Cignetti said. “And I think he’s a very confident guy, so he’s got a lot of game experience and that’s a plus.”