The sweat from the brim of his purple cap dripped onto his smile.

On this humid August afternoon, he didn’t have to worry about any of the distractions the last season brought. James Madison coach Curt Cignetti spent two-and-a-half hours on the sun-drenched turf at Bridgeforth Stadium and soaked up everything he loves about his job and the excitement this new season brings.

“Good first day,” Cignetti said following the Dukes’ first preseason practice on Friday. “Feels a lot more like ’19 to be honest with you. It’s kind of back to normal.”

He watched his players closely, and they carried enthusiasm and an upbeat pace with them for their first session of the campaign. The booming and encouraging cadence fifth-year senior defensive lineman Mike Greene provided while leading jumping jacks to start the workout set the tone for the rest of the practice.

“We’ve got a lot of older guys who have played a lot of football, man,” Cignetti, the third-year coach, said, “and they know what it takes. I think we’ve had a really good summer and I think they’re ready to go to work.”

Greene, and fellow fifth-year seniors quarterback Cole Johnson, running back Percy Agyei-Obese and offensive tackle Liam Fornadel are the most familiar names, but JMU brings back all 11 of its defensive starters and all but two of its offensive starters from the spring.

And that’s similar to 2019, too, when Cignetti inherited a veteran club which understood how to practice and what was necessary for them to play deep into the postseason. They eventually reached the FCS national championship game.

The group two seasons ago had a senior quarterback, ex-starter Ben DiNucci, who was the starter the season before, and so does this version of the Dukes. Johnson looked crisp and confident in his throws on Friday.

“Cole has high standards,” Cignetti said, “lot of pride and knows what it takes. He gives you his best, day in and day out.”

One noticeable difference for those upperclassmen during the practice was the move Fornadel is making from right tackle to left tackle. Fornadel missed most of the spring with a shoulder injury, but the All-American is a perfect candidate to protect Johnson’s blindside, according to Cignetti.

JMU’s left tackle role opened last month when Raymond Gillespie opted to walk away from football.

The other change is the extended depth around the solidified first-teamers. Cignetti’s staff added eight transfers and Fornadel is one of five – along with defensive ends Isaac Ukwu and Jalen Green, safety Sam Kidd and linebacker Taurus Jones – to return to the practice field Friday after sitting out the bulk or all of the spring season.

Former Maine cornerback Jordan Swann was only added to the roster on Thursday, but was already running around the field, fitting in with his new teammates on Friday.

“We’ve added a ton of competition to the defensive backfield,” Cignetti said. “And I think we’ve added significant competition to the linebacker group and the defensive line. Overall, we’ve got a lot of numbers on defense.”

Cignetti said he’d like to have more depth on the offensive line, but with Fornadel back is ultimately eager to see how the group develops.

“He’s one of the best players in the country at his position,” Cignetti said, “so it’s awesome to have him back. Glad he came back and glad Mike Greene came back, because with the one-time transfer there was a little concern, but those guys love JMU and they want to go for the ring. That’s why all those guys came back.”