No. 2 Dukes Welcome Improved RMU To Bridgeforth

Over the past half decade, the Dukes have ascended to the status of powerhouse in the FCS and they’ve developed a standing goal within the program to win the national championship. While doing so, their players and coaches have typically stayed clear of speaking about the postseason before reaching that point in the campaign.

So, this past Tuesday when senior safety MJ Hampton brought up the playoffs during a video conference with reporters, he provided clarity in regard to the team’s aspirations and how those hopes should keep the Dukes on track throughout their spring slate.

JMU thumped non-scholarship Morehead State, 52-0, in its opener last Saturday, and today the No. 2 Dukes seek to continue their full-throttle momentum when they host Big South member Robert Morris for a noon kickoff in non-conference action at Bridgeforth Stadium.

“You’ve always got to come back down to earth and it’s, ‘go 1-0 this week,’” Hampton said. “And to be honest, if we lose at all in this [Colonial Athletic Association South] division – with how they set up the divisions – we’re not going to the playoffs. So, if we think we’re going to come in and whoop up on everybody, then we’ll lose and we’re out of the playoffs, so that’s how we’ve got to go about things.”

League play, which begins next week for JMU, features six contests against the same three regional opponents – Elon, Richmond and William & Mary – and none of those teams are expected to contend for the divisional or conference crown like the Dukes are.

JMU will be heavy favorites in those games, similarly to last week and today, and Hampton’s honest assessment of the schedule shows exactly the mentality he and his teammates will attempt to maintain in order to avoid any complacency.

“You’ve got to prepare like you prepare for every game,” Dukes senior tight end Clayton Cheatham said. “The level of opponent doesn’t change your level of preparation. It’s the same preparation every week.”

The Dukes (1-0) know this foe, Robert Morris (0-0), fairly well. The Colonials visited Harrisonburg in 2018 and JMU won running away, 73-7, but second-year JMU coach Curt Cignetti has said Robert Morris is much better now than it was then.

Robert Morris, led by coach Bernard Clark Jr., won six of its last seven contests in 2019 and finished as the runner-up in the Northeast Conference. The school has since transitioned to the Big South and landed transfers from the FBS to bolster a solid core of returning players for this spring.

“When we down there a few years ago, I think our team was a lot different,” Colonials quarterback George Martin said. “We had guys who were switching positions and maybe didn’t quite know how they were fitting in the offense or the defense at the time, and we didn’t know how to compete against [JMU]. We didn’t know what kind of level, what kind of intensity, what kind of hard work it would take to stack up against a team like that.

“But now, after a few years and a couple more big games under our belt and coming off a better season, I think we’re much more prepared.”

Martin played in that lopsided meeting three years ago and so did standout running back Alijah Jackon, who tallied 971 rushing yards and four scores on the ground last season. Robert Morris also returns four of five starters on the offensive line, defensive tackle Izon Pulley and linebacker Aniello Buzzacco, who racked up a team-best 131 tackles last season.

Add in Rutgers transfer receiver Daevon Robinson, McNeese State transfer receiver D’Andre Hicks and Florida State transfer defensive end Ricardo Watson, and the Colonials appear better equipped to play against the Dukes.

“We’re not going to go in and say, ‘Hey, let’s jump all over James Madison,’” Clark said. “We’re going in with a game plan that these guys believe in and we’re going to do our best to compete and play hard against [JMU] and see what the outcome is. We’re not trying to do this or do that, but our guys believe in themselves.

“We’ve got a few more veterans and we’ve got guys that understand a James Madison game, because they’ve played against James Madison. They’ve played against Buffalo. They’ve played against Youngstown State. They understand the big-game atmosphere whereas before they weren’t playing in those types of games.”

Said Cignetti: “This is not the same outfit in any way, shape or form that came in here three years ago. This is a legitimate football team.”

The Coaches: Clark, who actually began his coaching career with two years at JMU in 1998 and 1999, has turned Robert Morris’ program around. After the Colonials dropped their first three games in 2019, they won six of their last seven to finish second in the NEC. Clark is 9-14 in his post entering today, which marks the start of the season for Robert Morris.

Clark’s offensive coordinator is Gabe Luvara, a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. There, Luvara played for Cignetti’s dad, Frank Cignetti Sr., at IUP.

Cignetti is 82-28 as a head coach and 15-2 in his role at the helm of the Dukes.

The Quarterbacks: Martin completed 52 percent of his throws for 1,348 yards and 11 touchdowns to go along with seven interceptions last season.

“They’ve got a little more motion [on offense],” Hampton said, “and a quarterback who has an arm, so we’ve got to respect it. He’s not the most accurate kid, but he’ll definitely put it out there.”

In his first game as JMU’s No. 1 quarterback, Cole Johnson was 10-of-14 for 147 yards and a touchdown to help the Dukes beat Morehead State last week.

Series History: The 73-7 rout a few years ago is the only previous meeting between the two schools, and that contest was actually moved from a Saturday up to a Thursday because of the impending landfall of Hurricane Florence.

In the JMU win, former Dukes quarterback Ben DiNucci threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more.

Ex-Teammates Meet: When JMU gives the ball to bruising sophomore running back Latrele Palmer, there’s a chance he could encounter a former high school teammate. Palmer and Robert Morris’ Pulley both went to Good Counsel in Olney, Md.

“I know him pretty well,” Pulley said of Palmer. “We’re from the same area in Maryland as well, so we played in the same youth league.”

Pulley had 39 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss last year. Palmer rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns last Saturday.

Pulley said there will be some friendly trash talk between the two throughout the game.

“Before, during and all of that,” Pulley said with a laugh. “He’ll hear me that game. I promise.”

Always Had Good RBs: Palmer, fellow sophomore Solomon Vanhorse and seniors Percy Agyei-Obese and Jawon Hamilton combine to create, perhaps, the deepest group of running backs in all of FCS.

The Dukes rushed for 369 yards last week, but it’s no surprise to Clark. He said he always has thought of JMU as a school that produces good running backs.

“I know when I was there, back in ’98 and ’99,” Clark recalled, “we had Curtis Keaton. Curtis Keaton was a fourth-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals and Curtis ran a 4.23 [40-yard dash]. So we had an outstanding back then and we also had Delvin Joyce. Curtis played in the NFL. Delvin played in the NFL. They’ve always had good running backs, so it’s nothing new that James Madison has outstanding running backs.”

Will Miss Kidd: For the rest of the spring the Dukes will be without junior safety Sam Kidd, who started last week, but injured his shoulder in the game.

Kidd missed the second half of last season with the same shoulder injury, so Hampton said it was difficult to see Kidd suffer another setback.

“That hurts me,” Hampton said. “I’m not going to lie. That kid, he deserves the world. That’s one of my favorite [teammates]. I love that kid to death. I talk to him every day and I try to check on him, and I know he’s going through it now.”

Que Reid will start in Kidd’s place. Sophomore Chris Chukwuneke could also see some action at safety.

Don’t Be Surprised If: JMU continues to sub players in and out across its defensive line today. Cignetti said he liked how that plan worked last Saturday.

“It’s a start,” Cignetti said. “We’ve got to continue to develop, though, because every week will be a tougher challenge.”

Aside from preseason All-American defensive end Mike Greene, who did stay on the field with the first-team defense, JMU was breaking in new starters at the other three positions on the defensive front.