James Madison continued its winning ways with a 31-24 win over William & Mary and now turn its attention to Saturday's Week 7 matchup with New Hampshire. Both JMU and UNH are unbeaten in league play.
Remember, you can submit your questions via Twitter using #JMUTalk or send an email to me at gmadia@dnronline.com to have your question answered. Let's get started with this week's questions.
The quarterback run-game has been a point of emphasis this week for James Madison. Over the weekend, William & Mary’s Steve Cluley scored on a 32-yard run against the Dukes in a game where he rushed for 52 yards. Two weeks ago, the defense yielded 46 rushing yards to Delaware’s Joe Walker and this week the test only gets tougher. New Hampshire quarterback Trevor Knight is an asset in the run game for the Wildcats. He’s the team’s second-leading rusher in UNH’s featured zone-read attack. Earlier this week, JMU coach Mike Houston said he’s emphasized the importance of playing within the defense to both defensive ends Andrew Ankrah and Darrious Carter. Despite giving up a few big plays on zone-reads, JMU has also made some key stops against those types of plays. Houston said Carter “slow-played” Cluley into his second-half, red-zone fumble. Carter recovered the ball and JMU scored on its next possession.
According to his coaches and teammates, Jimmy Moreland has had a great attitude since rejoining the program in the spring. Each week, it seems like Moreland is playing more and more at cornerback for the Dukes. He also plays a big role on the special teams units. After two punt return touchdowns in the first two weeks of the year, Rashard Davis credited Moreland and said he was actually the lead blocker on both of the scores.
That’s right Michael – Cole Johnson has done a great job with the scout team since the season began. This week he had the job of emulating New Hampshire dual-threat quarterback Trevor Knight. Johnson is certainly one for JMU fans to keep an eye on. Another freshman I think will see significant playing time as early as next fall is tight end Nick Carlton. At 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, Carlton has the size to play now. I know Jonathan Kloosterman is only a junior and will keep his starting role in 2017, but with Dan Schiele set to graduate, Carlton should get a crack at the two-deep. Having seen Carlton in practice, I believe he has the potential to be a future pass-catching weapon for the Dukes. With a number of receivers – Domo Taylor, Rashard Davis and Brandon Ravenel – also set to graduate, JMU will need more receiving-threats to emerge. Carlton could be a player that does.
EMAIL FROM Jonathan K.
Can you tell me if there is any battle going on for place kicking duties. We had a really reliable guy the past few years in Ryan Maglio and I think Tyler Gray has a great leg but still very young. How do other kickers compare?
Good question. I asked Houston if Tyler Gray’s inconsistencies had given him any cause for concern. Houston told said no, and that he still had full confidence in Gray. The sophomore is 4-of-7 on field-goal attempts. As far as other kickers on the roster go, Bowie, Md., native Jeremiah McBride is a true freshman and junior Pat Frio is a JUCO transfer from Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pa. I doubt Houston would want to burn McBride’s redshirt this late in the season and Frio is injured. Gray is the really the team’s only option.
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