LIVE BLOG: National Signing Day
James Madison is officially adding to its football roster this morning.
Verbal commitments from the Dukes’ 2020 recruiting class are becoming signees, and this page will keep an up-to-the-minute track at which Letters of Intent have made it to the offices inside JMU’s Athletic Performance Center.
The first LOI is in at 7:09 a.m., and it's from St. Francis Desales (Columbus, Ohio) offensive lineman Cole Potts.
It isn’t often JMU dips into Ohio, but offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski and running backs coach Matt Merritt had to enter Mid-American Conference territory to land the commitment of Cole Potts, an offensive lineman who earned every accolade he could. He started on both the offensive and defensive fronts for St. Francis Desales, which finished 9-3 and reached the regional semifinals of the Ohio High School Athletic Association postseason. Potts was a Division II first-team All-Ohio choice and a Columbus Dispatch first-team All-Metro selection in addition to earning first-team all-district and first-team all-league honors. Potts had other offers from Air Force, Akron, Bowling Green, Brown, Buffalo, Colgate, Elon, Fordham, Furman, Holy Cross, Kent State, Navy, Robert Morris and Youngstown State.
Read more on Potts here: Dukes Dip Into MAC Country To Land Potts
LOI in at: 7:13 a.m.
The Mater Dei Prep standout, Khurram Simpson, racked up 56 tackles, 20 sacks and 26 tackles for loss in his senior campaign for the parochial program that finished 8-4 in 2019. He had offers from Bryant, Maine and Wagner before he decided on JMU because of the relationship he built with his future defensive coordinator and position coach, Corey Hetherman. The bond started when Hetherman met Simpson during a camp over the summer at Rutgers and continued when Simpson took a visit to Harrisonburg.
Read more on Simpson here: Dukes Land N.J. Defensive End
LOI in at 7:20 a.m.
A two-way star for Buckingham Browne & Nichols, Sam Malignaggi played running back and defensive back for the school to earn All-New England Preparation School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class A honorable mention honors. A target of cornerbacks coach Matt Birkett, Malignaggi had other offers from Army, Bryant, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Howard, Merrimack College, New Hampshire, Old Dominion, Rhode Island, Sacred Heart and William & Mary. He is two-star prospect who could play either safety or cornerback in college.
Read more on Malignaggi here: Dukes Stretch Footprint To Land Malignaggi
Tyler Negron played guard, tight end and defensive end during his time with Patriot High School, but will play on the defensive line once he arrives in Harrisonburg. An All-Cedar Run District first-team pick at defensive end, he compiled 61 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, seven sacks and forced four fumbles for a 10-2 squad that got as far as the Virginia High School League Class 6B regional semifinals. A target of Dukes defensive tackles coach Andrew Jackson, Negron earned 18 offers on top the one he got from JMU. Other schools to offer Negron were Army, Buffalo, Charlotte, Duquesne, Georgetown, Harvard, Kent State, Lehigh, Monmouth, Old Dominion, Penn, Princeton, Richmond, Temple, Towson, Villanova, William & Mary and Yale.
Read more on Negron here: Dukes Add Patriot's Negron To 2020 Class
LOI in at: 7:25 a.m.
Tyler Stephens narrowed down his list of 10 scholarship offers to four finalists – Appalachian State, East Carolina, JMU and Liberty – before committing to the Dukes in July. The offensive lineman was a target of JMU cornerbacks coach Matt Birkett and offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski. Earlier this week Stephens said he was excited to join an offensive line like the Dukes have. “You see the rushing yards and barely any sacks,” he said. Stephens was a first-team All-Beach District selection while helping Ocean Lakes to the Virginia School League Class 6A regional semifinals.
Read more on Stephens here: Stephens Felt The Fit At JMU
LOI in at: 7:36 a.m.
A 6-foot cornerback, Xavier Cokley, made the most of the position change his high school team needed him to make. Prior to his junior season Cokley had exclusively played wide receiver, but when he made the switch he did it with ease and earned scholarship offers from Fordham, Howard, Maine, Morgan State and New Hampshire in addition the one he accepted from JMU while Army, Connecticut, Delaware and Temple all had showed strong interest before he committed to the Dukes. As a senior, Cokley racked up four interceptions and 20 pass deflections while leading Franklin to a 9-3 mark. His lead recruiter was offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski.
Read more on Cokley here: Cokley Part Of DB Group To Headline Early Signing Day
LOI in at: 7:40 a.m.
Before Kelly Mitchell made his decision to commit to JMU earlier this month, the 6-foot-4, 222-pound tight end, was torn on the scholarship offers he had from the Dukes and Elon. “But I always wanted to go to JMU,” he said, so the in-state school won out so did his lead recruiters tight ends coach Grant Cain and offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery. As a senior, Mitchell made 35 catches for 414 yards and seven touchdowns to help the Titans reach the Virginia High School League Class 3B regional semifinals.
Read more on Mitchell here: Hidden Valley TE Pledges To Dukes
LOI in at: 7:45 a.m.
The decision to spend a fall at Fork Union Military Academy to improve his GPA and SAT scores was a wise one for wide receiver Antwane Wells, who gained even more interest from college coaches after this season than he did following his senior year at Highland Springs High School. Maine, Merrimack College and Robert Morris all offered the 6-foot-1, 195-pound post-graduate pass-catcher prior to the Dukes doing so. Wells will enroll early at JMU. Dukes wide receivers coach Mike Shanahan and safeties coach Ryan Smith were Wells’ lead recruiters.
Read more on Wells here: FUMA WR Pledges To JMU
LOI in at: 7:52 a.m.
With 15 sacks and 34 tackles for loss, it was a no-brainer for Mikail Kamara to be named the Virginia High School League Region 5C Defensive Player of the Year after leading Stone Bridge to the Class 5 state championship game. Kamara, the first verbal commit for the Dukes’ 2020 recruiting class, will also be one of the first to arrive as he’ll enroll in January and participate in spring practice come March. He had offers from Charlotte, Delaware, Furman, Howard, Kent State, Lafayette, Morgan State, Richmond and Towson. His lead recruiter was wide receivers coach Mike Shanahan.
Read more: Kamara Is Dukes' First For 2020
LOI in at: 7:55 a.m.
Formerly committed to Virginia, Life Christian Academy cornerback AJ Webb became one of the headliners in the class when he pledged in June. With offers from Appalachian State, Florida Atlantic, Liberty, Massachusetts, Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Southern Miss and Virginia, the Dukes had to hold off FBS programs to keep Webb. Earlier this week he said Appalachian State, Old Dominion and Rutgers all made a last-minute push while trying to convince to flip his commitment. Webb’s lead recruiters were safeties coach Ryan Smith and cornerbacks coach Matt Birkett.
Read more on Webb here: 3-Star CB Webb Commits To JMU
The 6-foot-3, 293-pound Connecticut transfer offensive lineman will fit at either guard or center for the Dukes’ offensive front when he arrives in January ahead of spring practice. Recruited by defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski and coach Curt Cignetti, Hubbard didn’t have any hesitation about how he’d mesh with the Dukes. He said, “There was just a mutual interest from the start” between him and the JMU coaching staff. Hubbard started once and appeared in 10 games over three seasons with the Huskies. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
Read more on Hubbard here: Mutual Interest Brought Hubbard, JMU Together
Kyle Adams is the first prep quarterback JMU has signed in its last three recruiting classes. A star from the Hoosier state, Adams topped his record-setting junior year with a strong senior campaign. This fall, Adams completed 73 percent of his throws for 3,940 yards and 55 touchdowns to lead the Red Devils to a 9-3 mark after guiding the team to a 15-0 finish and a state title the year before. Recruited to JMU by offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery, Adams was named an Indiana Football Coaches Association Top 50 All-State Team selection. He had others offers from Bryant, Eastern Kentucky, Furman, Indiana State, Morehead State, Southeastern Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois and Wofford.
Read more on Adams here: JMU Lands Indiana All-State QB
Patience paid off for the Dukes in their pursuit of running back Kaelon Black, who garnered offers from East Carolina, Howard, Sacred Heart, Toledo, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and William & Mary before JMU offered him a scholarship last month. Black said, “I respected the fact they waited late to offer,” after he committed last week. Dukes cornerbacks coach Matt Birkett and running backs coach Matt Merritt were the lead recruiters on Black, the Beach District Offensive Player of the Year and All-Beach District first-team running back selection. He rushed for 1,732 yards as a senior while leading Salem to a 12-1 record and an appearance in the Virginia High School Class 5A regional final.
Read more on Black here: Salem RB Black Pledges To JMU
LOI in at: 11:26 a.m.
Having already established himself at the college level, the Massachusetts transfer Joseph Norwood, will try to provide immediate impact in the defensive backfield for the Dukes. During his time with the Minutemen, Norwood played in 12 games, started twice and tallied 46 tackles to go along with two tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries in his true freshman season. He’ll have three seasons of eligibility remaining.
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11:41 a.m. update: JMU entered Wednesday expecting to sign 14 and did. Dukes coach Curt Cignetti will be available after the team's practice this afternoon to speak about the recruiting class, so check back later today for more details about the group.