HARRISONBURG — Reinforcements are on the way.

James Madison senior cornerback Curtis Oliver and junior cornerback Charles Tutt returned to practice Tuesday with no restrictions.

“Today is the first day they’ve been released to practice,” Dukes coach Mike Houston said. “We’ll see how they feel tomorrow, but I don’t want to play them before they’re ready. But certainly glad to have ‘em back out on the field.”

Houston said he didn’t know yet if either defensive back would play this week against Norfolk State.

Both Oliver and Tutt missed JMU’s opener Saturday at N.C. State with injuries.

Tutt was limited throughout last month’s training camp while working to return from an ACL tear he suffered during the 2017 preseason. Oliver practiced at full strength through the first week of August before he was sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

Oliver has started at nickel cornerback in each of the last two seasons, but practiced at traditional corner alongside Tutt during the team period Tuesday.

In his career, Oliver has 144 tackles and four interceptions. Tutt has 48 tackles, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries.

Oliver and Tutt were two of the five key defenders the Dukes were without in their 24-13 loss to the Wolfpack.

Senior All-American cornerback Rashad Robinson is out for the year after undergoing season-ending surgery last week. Junior linebacker Landan Word is still sidelined with an upper-extremity injury and senior defensive end Darrious Carter remains suspended.

JMU’s lone returning starter to play in the opener was senior cornerback Jimmy Moreland. The only other defender with starting experience was junior linebacker Dimitri Holloway, but he missed most of 2017 with a foot injury.

Houston said it’s extremely difficult to break-in nine first-time starters on defense at once. The Dukes also have two receivers on offense that are first-year starters.

“We did so much mental prep for N.C. State,” Houston said. “Now all of a sudden it’s accelerated because they’ve got to switch gears for Norfolk State, and it’s just such a fast turnaround.

“It starts that whole thing of ‘That’s the way the season is.’ … Last Saturday doesn’t matter, it’s over and done with, and we had some young guys that had a good day last Saturday, but they’ve got to prove themselves every Saturday.”