Another week’s worth of practice has eased James Madison coach Curt Cignetti’s concern about his offensive line.

Previously the group had struggled, he said, in pass protection during the Dukes’ pair of preseason scrimmages.

But Friday, a week since the last intrasquad and eight days out from their season-opening contest against Morehead State, Cignetti changed his tune.

“We’ve been able to get our starting five out there,” he said, “so there’s been continuity, which has really helped the offense.”

Sixth-year senior center J.T. Timming and fifth-senior left tackle Liam Fornadel, an All-American, didn’t play in either of the scrimmages and were held out of some practices earlier this month for precautionary reasons. But they’ve practiced this past week to stabilize the front.

With Timming and Fornadel in the lineup as expected, the Dukes have three experienced starters – with redshirt sophomore Nick Kidwell securing the right tackle spot – around two freshmen, right guard Cole Potts and left guard Tyshawn Wyatt. Potts started five games this past spring, but Wyatt only appeared in two contests.

“It helps that you have a veteran at left tackle,” Timming said earlier this week, “and an older guy at center and another older guy at right tackle, and having Potts back is really going to help and we’re going to bring Tyshawn along.

“But I think having two younger guys between three older guys is really going to be a help on the field, and you’ve just got to keep building the chemistry every single day.”

Said Cignetti about having two younger players sandwiched between three older players: “It just kind of happened, but Cole Potts started at right guard last year. With Kidwell, his natural position is probably right guard, too, but he’s a good tackle and Tyshawn Wyatt is really coming along and we’re really pleased with his progress.”

Cignetti noted the second-team offensive line is still seeking improvement.

Some regulars on the second team include tackle Tyler Stephens, tackle Ronald Altman, center Stanley Hubbard and guard Josh Toner.

“The young guys are developing and still working on their progress,” Cignetti said.

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- JMU completed its preseason practices this past Tuesday before having Wednesday off for the first day of classes on campus.

Cignetti gave this thought about his squad's effort throughout training camp: “I liked our focus. I liked the way the guys approached their work, good intensity and business-like attitude. Got after it pretty good. I thought we had a good camp. We developed players, developed depth and all in all it was a good camp.”

The Dukes held a walkthrough Thursday night as they began shifting their preparation to focus on Morehead State.

- Cignetti said the battle for the backup quarterback job is still ongoing with senior Patrick Bentley and freshmen Kyle Adams and Billy Atkins all in the mix.

- The competition for the punt-return gig is also up in the air, though, Cignetti has narrowed the choices down from four contenders to three. He said cornerbacks Jordan Swann and Jack Sroba as well as receiver Kris Thornton are vying for the job.

“We haven’t made a final decision,” Cignetti said. “Sroba catches the ball well. Swann can make you miss. Thornton can take it the distance, but he has to work on his judgement on short kicks a little bit. But the number one thing is get the ball caught. But, we’d like to do something with it, too, and I think that can be a weapon for us.”

- Get used to seeing safeties MJ Hampton, Sam Kidd and Chris Chukwuneke on various special teams.

When asked about who could play on many of the special-teams units, Cignetti noted those three. He also said it’s likely the Dukes will use more regular offensive and defensive players on special teams.

“On certain teams and in certain games for sure,” Cignetti said. “We’ve worked hard on it this camp and I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made and I expect our [special] teams to be really good.”

- A final tally of 11 NFL franchises – Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, New England and Washington – sent scouts to visit practices at James Madison during the preseason.

- Fornadel and senior defensive tackle Mike Greene were named to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl big board watch list. The all-star game is a showcase event for NFL scouts annually. Former JMU standout Ron’Dell Carter, now a defensive lineman with the Dallas Cowboys, played in the 2020 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.