Familiar Names Commit To JMU
HARRISONBURG — Despite his ties to James Madison, Devin Ravenel wasn’t so sure a scholarship offer from the Dukes would come his way.
“Junior year I got hurt and they didn’t have that much film on me, so they couldn’t make a move,” Ravenel said Tuesday.
Ravenel, a senior at North Stafford, is the younger brother of former James Madison star Brandon Ravenel. In his career at JMU, the older Ravenel was a two-time first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association wide receiver and helped JMU win its second national title.
“But the coaching staff talked to me a little bit more and had me come down to a one-day camp,” Devin said.
The legacy prospect said he knew he had to earn his offer.
Defensive coordinator Bob Trott is the lead recruiter and wide receivers coach Drew Dudzik assisted, Ravenel said.
“There’s a lot of pressure going into it,” Ravenel said. “But I got used to it. I just really had to work on my 40-yard dash times and run routes in my free time.
“I went to about seven or eight different camps I’m pretty sure, so I’d say after the first two, I got the gist of everything.”
Like his brother, Brandon, had done on so many Saturdays inside Bridgeforth Stadium before, Devin Ravenel used the July 22 camp on the same field to stand out.
“That’s when they offered me,” he said.
“The real excitement was when they offered,” Brandon Ravenel said. “Devin texted and I threw my phone around the room. I started jumping up and down. I was excited.
“It wasn’t a given at all and even though I had a strong hunch it would happen, we weren’t sure because you never know with schools.”
On Monday, the younger Ravenel pledged his commitment to the Dukes – where he hopes to play wide receiver.
Ravenel is the second legacy prospect of the 2018 class to give his verbal to the Dukes. Former punt returner Rashard Davis’ little brother, Rakeem Davis (Charlottesville), committed during the spring game, Rashard said during a phone call on Tuesday. Rakeem Davis could not be reached for comment.
“I didn’t want there to be any pressure on Devin coming from my way, but it ended up this way and it’s crazy to think about,” Brandon Ravenel said. “I don’t think we talked about him going to JMU too much.
“It may have come up a few times, like ‘That’d be cool if it happened.’ But it’s not something we really talked about. I wanted him to do what he wanted to do.”
Virginia State, Norfolk State and New Hampshire — the same Wildcats that gave up two receiving touchdowns and a kick-return score to Brandon Ravenel in the second round of last fall’s playoffs — also offered Devin scholarships before he picked JMU.
“I already had a feel of what JMU was like since Brandon went there,” Ravenel said. “And I kind of wanted to make a decision before football season so I could just concentrate on school and football.”
Devin said his relationship with Trott also played a part in his decision.
“I remembered him from him being Brandon’s recruiting coach coming out of high school,” Devin said. “He was at Richmond at that time, and once he started recruiting me since I already knew him, we started talking pretty often.
“I got a good feel from there.”
As for Brandon Ravenel, he’s spending the fall helping coach at North Stafford, and in January he’ll head to Spain to begin a professional football career. He said he’s going to play for the Badalona Dracs during the sixth-month Liga Nacional de Futbol Americano season in Spain, which means he’ll be back to the United States in time to see his little brother’s first season at JMU.
“Always being busy with football, I didn’t get to make many of his games at all,” Brandon Ravenel said. “I missed out on a lot of it and now I actually have the opportunity to watch him. I’m excited to see the name he makes for himself.”
Devin Ravenel added there was only “a little bit” of pressure on him to live up to the legacy Brandon left behind in Harrisonburg.