HARRISONBURG — Saturday’s stage is the opportunity for them to show why they were there in the first place.
“I played in a bunch of crazy atmospheres before,” James Madison quarterback Ben DiNucci said. “Clemson, Penn State, Virginia Tech.”
DiNucci, a fifth-year senior, is one of seven FBS transfers the Dukes have on their roster. JMU kicks off its 2019 season Saturday at West Virginia at 2 p.m., and the game serves as a showcase for those who started their careers at the highest level of college football to prove they could’ve stayed and had success there.
The signal-caller, DiNucci, played in 12 games and made six starts over his three seasons at Pittsburgh before making the move to JMU. In 2017, he threw touchdown passes against Power Five programs Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Virginia and Virginia Tech for the Panthers. Last year in his first season with the Dukes, he was third in all of FCS with a 68.3 percent completion rate, threw for 2,275 yards and was responsible for 25 total touchdowns.
“You can tell he’s got great leadership skills coming in as a transfer to win that locker room like he did,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said of DiNucci. “He’s impressive and it’s not going to be too big for him, obviously, starting those several games at Pitt. So he’s played in some atmospheres like he’s going to see on Saturday afternoon, so I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
DiNucci, a Wexford, Pa., native, grew up less than two hours from Morgantown, W.Va.
“As soon as we saw that [West Virginia] was our first game this year, a couple of us were like, ‘Heck yeah. Let’s do this thing,’” DiNucci said. “That’s a pretty cool atmosphere up there and they got some crazy fans and it’s a cool place to play. They got a high-powered offense because they play in the Big 12 and they’re in shootouts every single week, so we’re looking forward to going there and showing everyone what we’ve got.”
Dukes senior defensive end Ron’Dell Carter, who started his career at Rutgers, agreed with DiNucci.
Carter had 13 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks last season.
“I look at these games as big games anyway because, unfortunately, we don’t get the FBS competition every game,” Carter, a preseason FCS All-American, said. “So it’ll be fun to get that competition.”
Carter and DiNucci both were recruited by multiple FBS programs, and so was junior spur Wayne Davis, who chose to attend Ohio State out of Lake Taylor High School. Ohio State, Auburn, Clemson and Michigan were just a few of the blue bloods that offered Davis a scholarship, but he only appeared in two games in two years for the Buckeyes.
He started all 13 games for the Dukes last season, though, and racked up 45 tackles to go along with two interceptions and six pass breakups.
“Like I said when I first got here,” Davis said, “we definitely have FBS talent on this team, but a lot of people might underestimate us.”
Other FBS imports at JMU are junior running back Jawon Hamilton (Central Florida), senior linebacker Landan Word (Virginia), senior wide receiver Brandon Polk (Penn State) and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Antonio Colclough (Temple).
Hamilton started in 11 of the 15 games he played at Central Florida, but a season-ending injury derailed his sophomore year and he transferred afterward. His first meaningful touches as a running back since his time at UCF will come Saturday against the Mountaineers.
“This is the healthiest I’ve been,” Hamilton said. “I feel amazing. I feel like my high school self again and if you look back at my high school stuff, you’ll see why I’m saying that. I feel like it’s going to be exciting.”
Although they’re all eager, Polk, who moved on from Penn State to join JMU this past May, said the preparation and importance of the contest doesn’t differ from any other game on the schedule.
“We’re not going to change how we practice or how we play just because of who we’re playing because that’s not what championship teams do,” Polk said. “They do the same thing every week to make sure they’re playing at their best.”
Carter and the other six former FBS players aren’t the only ones that can use the setting of the meeting with West Virginia as a motivator.
“I definitely have a chip on my shoulder to prove what I could do,” Carter said. “But I think that’s anybody. You look at any of my teammates and, even if they didn’t play at the FBS level, that can be their edge of why they should’ve played at the FBS level when they weren’t recruited to play there. So I think it’s a chip on everybody’s shoulder and not just the guys who transferred down.”
