HARRISONBURG – The four tight ends James Madison used this past Saturday allows the Dukes to line up differently from one snap to the next.

And not many opposing defenses can effectively match those big-bodied players who can block on the line of scrimmage and catch the ball in space.

“We do mix up our personnel groupings,” first-year JMU coach Curt Cignetti said during the Colonial Athletic Association coaches teleconference, “and have the ability to get four-wide or three-wide or two-wide with two tight ends. There’s more we can do, so we’ve got some pretty good depth [at tight end] and hopefully we can continue to develop that package and those guys continue to get better and stay involved in the game plan.”

JMU used a three-tight end formation near the goal line in its win over St. Francis, too.

During the victory, starting tight end and senior Dylan Stapleton made three catches for 39 yards. Backup Drew Painter, a sophomore, recorded the first grab of his college career and junior Clayton Cheatham caught a 2-yard touchdown on a play-action pass.

“Dylan has been playing very consistently from the spring, fall and throughout,” Cignetti said. “It was good to see him get involved in the pass game and he’s a high-effort guy. He’s very dependable. Drew Painter has been coming along as the No. 2 tight end and [junior] Nick Carlton has played a lot of football as has Clayton Cheatham.”

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- Dukes running back Solomon Vanhorse was named CAA Rookie of the Week by the conference on Monday. Vanhorse rushed for 86 yards and two scores in JMU’s win over St. Francis this past Saturday.

- Cignetti was impressed with Vanhorse’s 9-yard touchdown run this past Saturday. “He broke a couple of tackles and spun out and scored,” Cignetti said.

- Penn State transfer receiver Brandon Polk leads the team with 10 catches for 161 receiving yards through two games. About Polk, Cignetti said, “He’s a smart guy. He’s got a feel for the game.”

- Cignetti reiterated what he said Saturday regarding red-zone chances: JMU needs to come away with touchdowns instead of field goals during those opportunities. Cignetti said those failures were execution related.

- This Saturday’s opponent, Morgan State, had a bye week this past Saturday, which Cignetti said provides some challenges. The Dukes only have tape of Morgan State’s 46-3 loss to FBS Bowling Green to study since the Bears didn’t have spring football and have a first-year coach, Tyrone Wheatley, at the helm.