ELON, N.C. – James Madison will be without its best offensive lineman and one of the top players in the country for the rest of the spring.
After the Dukes’ 20-17 win over Elon on Saturday, JMU coach Curt Cignetti said senior right tackle Liam Fornadel, an All-American, is out for the spring with a shoulder injury.
Fornadel didn’t make the trip to North Carolina.
“It’s been a shoulder issue and some other issues through the years,” Cignetti said. “So, we fixed the elbow and thought we’d be able to get through the spring with the shoulder, but when he came back there was a problem right away.
“But he’ll be ready to go for the fall.”
Fornadel has started 33 games and appeared in 46 during his time with the Dukes. He’s already earned All-Colonial Athletic Association honors twice in his career.
On Saturday, JMU showed a reshuffled offensive line as a consequence of Fornadel’s injury. Senior left tackle Raymond Gillespie slid to right tackle and freshman Tyler Stephens started for the first time in his career at left tackle. When JMU lined up in its heavy package, the Dukes brought in Jake Glavin as an extra offensive lineman and played him on the left side of Stephens.
Stephens was heavily recruited out of Ocean Lakes High School (Virginia Beach). He signed with JMU over other offers from Appalachian State, East Carolina and Liberty.
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- Cignetti didn’t like that his Dukes started slow for the second time in two weeks.
On Feb. 27, they trailed Robert Morris by a touchdown on two separate occasions before tying the score before halftime and pulling away in the second half. Against Elon, the Phoenix took a commanding 17-3 in the second quarter and appeared to be every part of the better football team for the first 30 minutes.
“It’s certainly something I’m not pleased with,” Cignetti said. “And I think everybody has to take a look at themselves, their preparation and let’s be realistic about who we are. We can’t have any false illusions. In this conference anybody can beat you on any given day, so we’ve got to play with great energy throughout the whole game and [with] urgency. The last two weeks we’ve had to get down before we flipped the switch.”
JMU committed penalties, which hurt the Dukes in the first half. Gillespie got called for a personal foul and the penalty removed the Dukes from field goal range. Cornerback Greg Ross was called once for pass interference and once for defensive holding. Each foul extended Elon’s drives.
- Dukes running back Percy Agyei-Obese tallied 132 rushing yards and the game-winning touchdown on 19 carries. It’s the second time this season and the eighth time in his career, he eclipsed 100 yards on the ground.
- JMU’s defense shutout its opponent in the second half for the second straight game.
The Dukes allowed Elon to accumulate just 37 yards of total offense over the final 30 minutes. Elon had -7 rushing yards in the second half.
- For the first time this spring, there were NFL scouts in attendance to see the Dukes. There was one scout from the Chicago Bears and another from the Carolina Panthers.
