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Field Notes - 8.30.16

Each Tuesday during the season, James Madison will have a media-heavy schedule. On Tuesday, Dukes coach Mike Houston held his weekly press conference at O’Neill’s Grill in Harrisonburg and his players spoke to reporters following the team’s practice this evening. JMU opens its season Saturday against Morehead State.

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- Houston said he doesn’t have a decision made yet at quarterback. Juniors Bryan Schor and Connor Mitch have competed for the job throughout the last month. Houston did say that whoever gets the start would have an opportunity gain momentum with the starting offense. The first-year coach said that he wouldn’t want the starter “looking over his shoulder” with the threat of the backup coming in quickly on Saturday. With that in mind, the second quarterback may not play until the score is separated or unless there is an injury to the first-team quarterback.

- Whoever the quarterback is will have to deal with some unknowns. Morehead State has a first-year defensive coordinator in Zack Moore. Moore was elevated from linebackers coach to coordinator during the offseason. Houston said he thinks Morehead State will do a lot of what they did last year - a base 4-3 defense - but at the same time knows that every coordinator has wrinkles of their own and that JMU hasn’t had the opportunity to see those wrinkles on film.

- One position battle that Houston has made a decision on is the place kicking job and kickoff specialist job. Sophomore Tyler Gray will handle both roles while senior Gunnar Kane resumes the punting duties.

- On the defensive line – a position group that was wide open during camp – JMU will rotate at least seven players, Houston said. Junior Andrew Ankrah will start at the hybrid defensive end-linebacker spot. Virginia transfer Darrious Carter will start at the other defensive end spot while junior Brandon Brown and freshman John Daka will play as backups. At the inside positions, junior Simeyon Robinson and junior Cornell Urquhart will start with senior Martez Stone contributing.

- Like Monday on the Colonial Athletic Association’s coaches teleconference, Houston pointed out both Morehead State quarterback Austin Gahafer and wide receiver Jake Raymond as the two key players for the Eagles’ offense. To combat the throw-and-catch combo, Houston said he plans to give Morehead State multiple looks in coverage – which means on one play, senior cornerback Taylor Reynolds could lineup opposite of Raymond and on the next play, senior safety Raven Green could match up with the slot receiver. Houston said that JMU also has to be able to attack Gahafer through the pass rush so that he doesn’t have time to get the ball out to his receiver.

- Schor said when he watches tape of Morehead State from last season, one thing that he notices is that Eagles have a lot of smart defenders. If Moore uses most of the same defense that the Eagles used last year, Schor said it would give JMU’s offense plenty of different looks at the line of scrimmage on Saturday, so the quarterback has to be able to recognize those looks. The Milford, Pa., native added that after the ball is snapped, the Eagles have multiple combinations of blitzes and pass coverage the quarterback must be able to recognize.

- Throughout camp Schor battled the South Carolina transfer Mitch for the starting role. Schor said during the three weeks of practice that he didn’t do anything too different from what he’s done in the last few years at JMU. He said his focus was to push himself forward and not worry about what Mitch was doing, although he admitted having the competition was good for both him and the program.

- Since Houston still hasn’t announced a starter, Schor said that if he does get the nod against Morehead State that he would be really excited especially for the first few snaps on the first drive. After those first few plays it’s his job to “level off” the excitement so that he isn’t too amped up for the rest of the game.

- Running back Cardon Johnson said he noticed a big difference with the team at practice since it’s the first game week of the season. Johnson said everyone had better energy after a long three weeks of preseason camp.

- Johnson ran for a game-high 123 yards last season against Morehead State. The junior said regardless of what he did against Morehead State last year, he knows every defense wants to stop the run. Stopping him and Khalid Abdullah should be a “primary factor” for the Eagles, he said.

- Defensive end Andrew Ankrah said he believes that Morehead State is a good team and it won’t be the same team that JMU beat easily last season. Ankrah said through watching film that he was able to see that Morehead State improved after losing in Harrisonburg last fall.

- Ankrah called Gahafer a “great player” and added that JMU’s defense would have to play really disciplined against him this Saturday.

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