HARRISONBURG – It’s a new season and Bryce Maginley is making another position switch.
“We think he can help us,” JMU coach Curt Cignetti said. “That’s why we’ve done it.”
The 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior was taking reps at defensive end on Friday, and Cignetti said that’s where Maginley will play this fall.
In his fourth year with the Dukes, Maginley, a former high school quarterback, has never played the same position from one season to the next at JMU.
Last year, Maginley played as a backup inside linebacker. Two seasons ago, he was JMU’s starting outside linebacker. And he began his career as a safety when he arrived in Harrisonburg ahead of the Dukes’ 2016 national-title winning season.
“He’s got good quickness off the edge,” Cignetti said. “I realize he’s played quite a few positions here, but a lot of other guys have in their college careers, too. But we think he’s got value there.”
Over 42 career games, Maginley registered 46 tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception and two forced fumbles.
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- Maginley isn’t the only newcomer to the defensive line. Antonio Colclough transferred to JMU from Temple and the Dukes have three freshmen – Jalen Green, Carlo Jones and Sean Johns – in the group. And senior Ron’Dell Carter, a preseason All-American, said he will try to share some of his experiences to make sure the freshmen are prepared for each day of training camp. Carter told this story about an encounter with Green on the eve of the team’s first practice: “I walk into Jalen Green’s room and he’s playing a game,” Carter said. “I’m like, ‘Yo, bro. What do you do on this play? What do you do on that play?’ And he’s looking at me. I’m like, ‘Bro, do you know what you’re doing? I see you playing a game, but make sure you know the playbook.’ And I’m not saying he didn’t know the playbook, but the point I was trying to make to him was that his first practice was [Friday] and he needs to know the playbook a little bit better.”
- Carter said he expects the defensive line to be challenged by the offensive line daily. Both first-team units are completely made up of returning starters. “They know our tendencies,” Carter said. “… They know certain things about us that I don’t know what we’re showing and I don’t know what we’re doing, but the offensive line knows obviously because of the chemistry they have with each other.”
- Offensive tackle Liam Fornadel agreed with Carter. “I’ve seen how hard the defensive line has worked in the offseason,” Fornadel said. “I’ve seen all the effort they’ve put in and I know they’ll get it together and be one of the best in the country.”
- Wide receiver Jake Brown finished the team session strong on Friday, throwing a touchdown pass and then catching a long touchdown pass from quarterback Ben DiNucci a few plays later.
- The running back position went from four-deep to seven-deep from spring to the start of training camp with the additions of freshmen Austin Douglas, Latrele Palmer and CJ Jackson to roster. They join Percy Agyei-Obese, Jawon Hamilton, Solomon Vanhorse and Eric Kirlew, who were already on the roster. More backs means less reps each player has to take during individual drills and team periods, but should create plenty of competition and give Madison options with the position group heading into the season.
- The players who were injured and missed all of spring or some of it, but returned for the start of training camp are: offensive lineman Zaire Bethea, offensive lineman Raymond Gillespie, wide receiver Riley Stapleton, safety Wayne Davis, safety Adam Smith, cornerback Rashad Robinson and cornerback Charles Tutt.
