His role could expand from what it was last fall, even if running back Solomon Vanhorse carries the ball less during James Madison’s spring season.

“I think we’re trying to develop that a little bit right now,” second-year Dukes coach Curt Cignetti said Saturday.

The 5-foot-7 redshirt sophomore, Vanhorse, was a two-time Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of Week in 2019 and now the Dukes are exploring whether or not he can handle more responsibility.

“We’re using him at running back,” Cignetti said. “We’re using him in the slot. Return game, too. We’re starting to teach him a few routes also, RPOs and downfield routes, so he could line up at either position.”

And the former walk-on surprised when he was heavily used early in the campaign last year. He tallied 382 rushing yards and five rushing scores on 88 carries. His 9-yard touchdown run in the opener against West Virginia was JMU’s first touchdown of the year.

But Vanhorse’s productiveness depreciated after he missed two games due to injury and Latrele Palmer emerged as the third back to play in a rotation alongside Percy Agyei-Obese and Jawon Hamilton. Of Vanhorse’s 88 carries, only 14 came after he returned to action, and he earned just six carries over four postseason contests.

“We have so many running backs,” Cignetti said, “but he’s one of our better players so we want to try to use him as much as possible.”

Cignetti didn’t rule out using two of those talented runners on offense at the same time, but he did say it’s unlikely both would be in the backfield together.

“We may have two backs in the game, but not be in a two-back set,” he said. “Sometimes when you have two backs in the backfield and you are not under center with a big fullback or to have two split backs, you’re a little bit limited schematically in some of the things you can do.”

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- Cignetti said James Madison players and coaches are being tested weekly for the coronavirus and are being evaluated for symptoms daily, and that the program has done a good job of keeping the rate of positivity for the virus down.

- Cignetti said the practice schedule for his team hasn’t changed much because of the virus. “And when the kids cross the white lines, too,” he said, “they’re away from a lot of different things and are kind of in an arena that they’re passionate about. They love ball.”

- When JMU’s spring campaign begins, it’s not out of the possibility that the Dukes will have players forced to miss games – like so many FBS programs have experienced this fall – due to positive coronavirus tests or contact tracing. Cignetti is already preparing for that and acknowledged he’ll cross train players at multiple positions that make sense to cross train them at. “I don’t think anything outlandish,” Cignetti said. “You know what I mean? … We’ve got some corners who can play safety and linebackers who can play some different spots, and guys up front on the D-Line and O-Line, and receivers who can play inside and outside, so we’ve got enough numbers and depth that we can sort of prepare and social distance the way we do things so we don’t lose a whole position group.”

- About Towson’s decision to opt out of the CAA’s spring season, Cignetti wasn’t surprised because he heard there was a chance of it, he said.