Mass. TE McGee Commits To JMU
James Madison is beginning to build an unlikely, but productive pipeline to the Bay State.
St. John’s Prep (Danvers, Mass.) tight end Gus McGee committed to the Dukes late Wednesday, joining the program’s 2021 recruiting class to mark the second straight cycle JMU has picked up a prospect from Massachusetts.
“One of my friends that I workout with, Sam Malignaggi, he goes there,” McGee said. “And he’s just spoken so highly of it, and there isn’t one bad thing he’s said about it.”
Malignaggi, a defensive back, signed with JMU as part of the 2020 class and enrolled early this past January after starring at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge.
Beyond the bond with Malignaggi, McGee said there are many reasons why he decided on the Dukes over offers from 20 other Division I programs. He chose JMU from a final group also including FBS members Cincinnati and Massachusetts, IVY League schools Harvard and Yale and the Dukes’ Colonial Athletic Association foe Villanova.
“It’s just the atmosphere of the school,” McGee said, “and the team’s reputation itself, and the winning program. It’s what I want to be around.”
At St. John’s Prep, McGee has been part of back-to-back Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division I state titles. He said he saw similarities between the consistent success of his high school program and the perennially contending Dukes in the FCS.
“I wanted to play FBS football,” McGee said, “but at the end of the day you realize what’s best for yourself. And James Madison is better than a lot of FBS programs and you can match ‘em up against some of the lower Pac-12 schools or schools from the AAC or the Mountain West, and JMU would put a fight and win some of those games, too. So it ended up not mattering to me, as long as I’m going somewhere I’m comfortable and going to enjoy my four years.”
The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder added during his February visit to JMU that he sensed it was the right spot for him.
“When I got there, I was just like, ‘Wow,’” McGee said. “The campus is beautiful. The facilities are beautiful and when you get somewhere like that, you know it’s exactly where you need to be and where you want to be.”
He said he was lucky to get the visit in before the NCAA put in-person recruiting on hold beginning in March due to the coronavirus.
The Dukes’ lead recruiters on McGee are offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery and tight ends coach Grant Cain, McGee said. Cain showed McGee, according to the tight end, all about how JMU uses its tight ends – on the line of scrimmage, split out as a receiver and as an H-back – and McGee said it fits his skill set well.
McGee, the seventh pledge in the class, the second tight end commitment the Dukes have secured. Northside (Roanoke) tight end Zach Horton made his decision to join JMU last month.
“I like to consider myself a versatile player,” McGee said. “I do both defensive end and tight end in high school, but obviously I’m young and committed earlier than most kids, so it leaves me a lot of time to really polish up my route running, get stronger, perfect my blocking technique and those are my main goals for this year. I’ll pick up some other stuff, both that’s what I’m looking to perfect.”
McGee is the fourth three-star prospect the Dukes have secured a commitment from for this class. Horton, Battlefield (Haymarket) linebacker Matt Binkowski and Stone Bridge (Ashburn) linebacker Skylar Martin are the others.