HARRISONBURG — The James Madison football program followed through on a promise coach Mike Houston made when he took the job last January.

On Wednesday — National Signing Day — JMU inked 11 players from the state of Virginia as part of its 25-man signing class.

“I made the statement last winter in Richmond when I spoke to the state’s high school coaches,” Houston said. “We were going to recruit the state of Virginia and it was going to be a priority to us. I think this backs up that statement.”

In the spring, Houston tasked his staff of assistants with visiting every high school that plays football in the state, whether the school had a college prospect or not. The staff completed Houston’s challenge.

The Dukes landed three players from Fredericksburg, three from the Virginia Beach area, two from the Richmond area, and one from Mechanicsville, Salem and Springfield.

“I think there’s great talent here in the state of Virginia and I think what we want to do is keep as much of that great in-state talent here,” Houston said. “I think we can stay at the top end of our league and the top end of the FCS by doing that.”

JMU benefited from some of its in-state signees like Benedictine (Richmond) cornerback Taurus Carroll, who attended prospect camps in Harrisonburg over the summer.

Carroll was one of two cornerbacks along with Northwest High School (Germantown, Md.) corner Wesley McCormick that the team signed.

“Both of the guys actually came to the same one-day camp in the summer,” JMU cornerbacks coach Tripp Weaver said. “At the time, it looked like we’d only be able to take one cornerback and I told them they were battling for that one scholarship. I flat out told them that before the camp and both of those guys came out and competed their tails off.

“I told Coach Houston after the camp that I wish I could take them both and I think on that day, Wesley probably had a little bit better of a day, but Taurus and I stayed in contact.”

Carroll’s lead recruiter, defensive line coach Jeff Hanson, also stayed in contact. Defensive coordinator Bob Trott had a prior relationship with Carroll also — he tried to recruit Carroll to Richmond when he held the same job there.

The 6-foot, 167-pounder bounced around in high school having spent time at Benedictine and Fork Union while garnering offers from FBS programs like Toledo and Maryland, but it was the persistence of JMU’s staff, Weaver said, that ultimately helped keep the prospect in-state.

“[Carroll] has been a traveling man,” Weaver said. “When you go to prep school, it’s usually for a test score or something like that, so he did a good job of taking care of that.

“And there were big names on him early, hot and heavy, and then it fell off, but Coach Hanson did a great job of keeping in touch with him so that when everything did fall into place, we were right there to get him.”

After verbally committing to Madison last week, Carroll said he was ready for the opportunity.

“It’s not far from my house,” Carroll said of JMU. “They have a good education and they have a good football team — a great football — team having won the national championship.

“I like the coaching staff also.”

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy (Suffolk) KAT (what JMU calls its hybrid defensive end/linebacker) Keshaun Moore, Lake Taylor High School (Norfolk) linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey and Cosby (Richmond) tight end/linebacker Joe Hunt were the highest-rated prospects — all two-star recruits by Rivals.com — that JMU was able to keep in the Commonwealth.

All three had offers from FBS and FCS schools out of state. Moore had one from Elon. Tucker-Dorsey had offers from Buffalo, Delaware, Delaware State, Elon, Maine, Robert Morris, Towson and Youngstown State. Hunt had Army, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Maryland and Navy coming after him.

Salem High School (Salem) quarterback Noah Beckley committed and signed to JMU as an athlete on National Signing Day.

“I think he could be a great receiver,” JMU offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick said.