Their motivations are different yet Jimmy Moreland and Rashad Robinson are preparing together.

The pair of former James Madison All-American cornerbacks won’t let the coronavirus crisis slow their respective plans down.

“Rashad and Jimmy are damn two peas in a pod,” said Martino ‘Savage’ Montague, the owner of The Elite Athletic Program and the private speed trainer and defensive back coach for Moreland and Robinson while they wait for the NFL to resume regular conduct.

Montague, who played at Bridgewater College, said he’s trained players from 19 different NFL teams, out of his business is in Ashburn.

“It’s left corner and right corner,” Montague said of Moreland and Robinson. “They’re out there working together like they had been in college, but they’re taking their game to the next level.”

Moreland, a seventh-round draft choice of the Washington Redskins last April, said his primary objective is to have his foot fully healed, functional and ready to roll for whenever the Redskins do reconvene. He started five times, made 41 tackles and recorded four passes defended in his rookie campaign before a foot injury forced him to the injured reserved prior to Week 16.

As for Robinson, he said he’s trying to stay in the best condition possible while waiting on his pro opportunity – the NFL Draft is still scheduled to happen as planned, albeit virtually, on April 23-25.

Robinson had taken only a week off after JMU’s loss in the FCS national championship game before he began preparation for the Dukes’ annual pro day, which was originally slated for March 19 but got canceled due to COVID-19.

“Then Jimmy just offered for me to come out and work out with him and Coach Savage again,” Robinson said. “And it’s cool. We’ve been working a couple of times a week just to make sure we stay in shape and that we’re getting our work in. But Savage has been real helpful for us and I’m appreciative of him.

“But working out again with Jimmy has been great. It’s like old times when we were playing together at JMU. We just push each other.”

Moreland, in the JMU record books, departed as the all-time leader in interceptions (18) and interceptions returned for touchdowns (six) after his consensus All-American season in 2018. Robinson was an All-American in 2017, and has the third most interceptions (13) in school history after aiding JMU back to Frisco, Texas for the title bout this past season.

Moreland said: “We’re just doing the normal things that we always do, but we know what we want to get better at. Anything that we can do to help each other, we try to put our best efforts in.”

Montague said he likes to focus on speed drills, hip work, footwork and plenty of position drills. One specific workout designed to incorporate all four is what Montague’s tabs as ‘Ashburn Beach’ – putting Moreland and Robinson through exercises in a sandpit, which raises an ordinary workout to an extremely difficult one.

“The sand is moving as you move,” Robinson said. “So you’ve got to make sure your footwork is on point and also as far as the conditioning goes that sand isn’t easy to run in. Those drills are way tougher on sand than they are on land, so the sand workouts are the hardest.”

Montague said although the sand is more taxing to train on in the moment, because it’s softer, it alleviates stress on joints and bones that a track, turf or grass couldn’t. That is beneficial for Moreland as he tries to return to form from his foot injury.

“Through the workout, [Moreland]’s forcing himself to get back in shape, keep his body low and forcing his feet to work how they’re used to working before the injury,” Montague explained. “I thought that was a good change for him.”

Moreland said he expects to be healthy for whenever it is the Redskins begin their official offseason training and that he’s looking forward to the 2020 season, which already features changes from last year.

Washington hired Ron Rivera as its new coach on Jan. 1.

“And we actually got the playbook this week,” Moreland said. “And so I’ve been looking into the playbook and trying to get to know the system great before we get back.”

Said Montague: “Jimmy has his second year coming up and some new corners are going to be on the team, there’s a new coaching staff, and new head coach. And he wants to show them who he is, so my job is to help him show them who he is and that’s even coming off the injury to show that he can play ball, move and cover, and you see in the videos (of the workouts Montague posted on Twitter) that he can. He’s got great feet and for him to have a foot injury and to look the way he does, by the end of us getting together I can already see how the hell this is going to turn out.”

Robinson drives back and forth between his home city of Richmond and Ashburn to join Moreland and Montague for the workouts, according to Montague, who said Robinson just keeps getting better.

“It’s keeping him fluid and smooth,” Montague said, “because as soon as they call, it’ll be go-time for Rashad. It’s not any excuse for him and he can’t not be ready because of the coronavirus. He’s been staying ready and he works his (tail) off.”

Robinson said him and his agent have taken calls from NFL teams inquiring for interviews or just seeking a conversation about Robinson’s injury history.

“I’ve done a few interviews with teams,” Robinson said. “… A lot of guys got hurt by not having a pro day because it was our last chance to get in front of scouts to show we’re healthy and things like that, so to have teams still reaching out, it’s a blessing and it does make you feel good.”