LCA's Tucker Will Join Older Brother At JMU
He’ll get to suit up with his older brother for one season.
“I’m elated about that,” Life Christian Academy (Chester) defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker told the Daily News-Record on Monday shortly after announcing his decision to commit to James Madison.
Tucker, a 6-foot-1, 300-pounder, is the younger brother of current Dukes starting linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey.
Tucker said this past Saturday, he attended a one-day prospect camp in Harrisonburg and impressed the JMU staff enough to earn a scholarship offer.
“I was in front of the coaches and they had seen it in plenty of clips,” Tucker said, “but wanted to see it for themselves in person, so I had to show them what I could do in person.”
He said Tucker-Dorsey was there with him every step of the way during the day, following along for drills and showing him around the football facility and campus – one Tucker has been to many times before for games and to visit Tucker-Dorsey.
“The camp went extremely good,” Tucker said. “I went out there and I dominated like I planned to, so everything went smoothly and the visit was great. It was fascinating and everything about the school was impressive, so I really enjoyed that a lot, too. The overall weekend, if I had to put it on a scale from one through 10, I’d give it a 12.”
Aside from spending time with Tucker-Dorsey, Tucker said he was able to chat with his lead recruiters – cornerbacks coach Matt Birkett and rovers coach Eddie Whitley – and get coached up by defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Corey Hetherman throughout the camp.
He said he wanted to absorb everything he could from Hetherman during the session.
“He was giving great feedback and great coaching, so I took it all in and kept working,” Tucker said. “It was great work.”
On Monday, Tucker made the decision official, but noted he had already let JMU coaches know he was going to commit.
He held other offers from Fordham and Norfolk State.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “I worked really hard for that and they gave me an opportunity, they blessed me and I’m going to make the best of it, so when I do get to JMU, just expect nothing but hard work.”
As a sophomore at Lake Taylor in 2019, Tucker was a Virginia High School League second-team all-state selection and an All-Eastern district first-team choice for racking up 87 tackles and 14 sacks. He transferred to Life Christian Academy before this past school year, when LCA only played a five-game road schedule against opponents from all over the country like IMG Academy in Florida and Steele High School in Texas.
JMU currently has two Lake Taylor alums – Tucker-Dorsey and safety Wayne Davis – and one Life Christian Academy product, cornerback Antonio Webb, on its roster.
Tucker-Dorsey is a redshirt junior now and will be a redshirt senior when Tucker arrives.
“He’s a great role model, so that will help a lot,” Tucker said.
In recent years, siblings Ron'Dell and Robert Carter, and Dylan and Riley Stapleton helped the Dukes play for multiple national championships.
Tucker is the third commitment in the recruiting class of 2022 for the Dukes, joining Grimsley (N.C.) quarterback Alonza Barnett III and Australian punter Hugo Nash. He’s the first defensive player and first Virginia native to commit as part of the group, though.