More Of The Same With Dukes Offense
OC Kirkpatrick Doesn't Expect It To Change Much No Matter Who's QB
HARRISONBURG — With four James Madison quarterbacks splitting snaps this spring, it’s been difficult for one to separate and get ahead of the competition.
But just because the Dukes aren’t ready to declare their starter for the fall just yet doesn’t mean third-year coach Mike Houston and offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick haven’t learned anything about how each individual — junior Cole Johnson, junior Ben DiNucci, freshman Gage Moloney or senior Hunter Etheridge — would shape the team should they win the job.
“Now the offense isn’t going to change drastically no matter who it is,” Kirkpatrick said. “But they do bring different things. Cole is different from Ben, and Gage is different from them; so whoever is in, maybe you draw from different parts of the playbook, but not any of them are so different that it’d have to be a different offense.”
That helps with continuity for the rest of the unit as the battle for the starting quarterback job drags on, and it could linger well into August training camp. Since the four signal-callers are similar enough, it means the offensive line wouldn’t have to waste time adjusting and practicing three blocking schemes, nor would wide receivers have to run different routes based on the thrower’s strengths.
For the most part, as Kirkpatrick pointed out, JMU’s offense will stay much like its been over the past two years — a version of the spread built on a powerful offensive line and rushing attack, which allows the quarterback to succeed off run-pass option and play action.
Graduated starter Bryan Schor thrived in it, throwing for more than 3,000 yards in both 2016 and 2017 while tossing 55 touchdowns during his two full seasons in the offense.
“Ben is more like Bryan than Cole and Gage are for sure,” Kirkpatrick said. “He is more of that type of player. He’s a good athlete.
“In fact, he’s probably quicker and faster than Bryan, but Bryan was just a gamer and a winner, and we’ll see if Ben’s that way. We hope he is and we think he can be, but he is more like Bryan.”
Houston said he noticed the skill-set similarity between the Pittsburgh transfer, DiNucci, and the ex-JMU quarterback, Schor, too.
“You see him when the play breaks down that he’s got the feet to make some plays with his legs,” Houston said. “You saw right there with the naked boot that he made a nice little throw to [tight end] Mack [Cullen] on the run for a first down. That’s a tough play, so certainly I think he has some of the same intangibles that Bryan had.”
Of the contenders, Moloney is the lone lefty, which in some offenses would force the staff to make significant adjustments and almost flip every play within the scheme toward the opposite side.
But with Moloney, Kirkpatrick said, it’s not necessary.
“There are some things in your play calling that are different because, obviously, if you’re on the move, the quarterback throws better going toward the side of their hand a little bit,” Kirkpatrick said. “It probably though puts more on the lefty because he has to adapt, but Gage has had that his whole life.
“He’s been the only lefty on his teams every time, so he’s learned to play more right-handed than our right-handed quarterbacks have learned to play left-handed.
“But we’re not going to move left tackle to right tackle, so that the blindside guy changes. We’ll just make Gage adapt.”
Houston said he’s happy how all his quarterback are competing through six practices.
“All three have made some plays, and I think certainly there is one or two making more positive plays than others,” Houston said. “But I like the way the three are competing and leading our offense. It’s still going to be a process.”
Quarterback isn’t the only position battle ongoing at the team’s spring practices. Here is how a few others are tracking:
Safety
The first crack to replace former All-Americans Jordan Brown and Raven Greene have been given to junior Adam Smith and sophomore D’Angelo Amos.
Smith and Amos have earned first-team reps, but senior Grant Westbrook and sophomore MJ Hampton are also in the mix.
“We’ve got a lot of experience we’ve got to replace right there,” Houston said. “But we’ve got a couple of guys that have been in the system.”
Amos was a backup to Brown and Greene last fall, and also excelled on special teams as a punt returner, registering 15.7 yards per return on 18 tries after taking the full-time role from graduated senior John Miller.
“He’s going to be a special player for us,” Houston said of Amos, “and we kind of have a deal with how much we play guys on special teams based on how many snaps they play. So certainly if he’s going to play more of an expanded role, that may adjust his special teams as well.”
Houston said once all of his corners return to practice, it’s possible that the staff opts to move one of them inside to safety. Seniors Rashad Robinson and Curtis Oliver as well as junior Charles Tutt have yet to suit up as a result of lingering injuries from this past fall.
Kicker
Both senior Tyler Gray and sophomore Ethan Ratke have made some of the most important field goals in JMU history.
Gray’s 45-yarder in the 2016 national semifinal at North Dakota State gave the Dukes a fourth-quarter lead they wouldn’t look back from. Ratke drilled a 46-yard game-winner as time expired in the 2017 FCS quarterfinals against Weber State to send JMU onto the semifinals.
Now they’re in competition for the place-kicking job and the kickoff-specialist role.
“I could see us having a place kicker and then a kickoff guy,” Houston said. “I think that would benefit our team because that way you’re not putting everything on the same guy’s leg every game, but I think you’ve got a pretty good competition going on right now with the place-kicking situation because you have two guys with a tremendous amount of experience.”