Position Outlook: Offensive Line

“I think what we did last year was great,” Dukes All-American right tackle Liam Fornadel said earlier this offseason. “We were all on the same page a lot of the time when plays were going on. We had a good understanding of the system and scheme, and what plays we were running. And then I think we just went out there and executed it.”

JMU’s offensive line pushed the path for the offense to run for 242.9 yards per game, the 10th best rate in all of FCS last year, while also providing enough for protection for former quarterback Ben DiNucci to become the Offensive Player of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Fornadel is the anchor of the group second-year coach Curt Cignetti and his staff can count on as they prepare for a season unlike any other, with JMU planning to play this fall as an independent after the CAA decided not to hold league competition.

Here’s a closer look at Fornadel and what to expect from the rest of the position unit this coming season.

Returning Starters: r-senior Ray Gillespie, r-senior Truvell Wilson, senior Liam Fornadel

Other Returners On Roster: r-senior Zaire Bethea, r-senior J.T. Timming, r-junior Will Clevinger, r-junior Jake Glavin, r-sophomore Nick Kidwell, r-sophomore Sammy Junco, r-sophomore Henry Schroeder, r-sophomore Kyle Smith, r-freshman Tanner Morris

Newcomers: r-junior Stanley Hubbard (Connecticut), freshman Cole Potts, freshman Tyler Stephens, freshman Tyshawn Wyatt

Position Coach: Damian Wroblewski (second season)

Synopsis: The unit got a boost in the spring when Ray Gillespie opted to return for a fifth year with the program.

According to Cignetti, after last season Gillespie was unsure whether or not he would come back since he had graduated, but then ultimately decided to do so. That gives JMU three returning starters on the offensive line and another, Zaire Bethea, who was a full-time starter two years ago.

Throughout their careers, Fornadel, Gillespie, Bethea and Truvell Wilson have combined to make 88 starts. Fornadel leads the way with 31 under his belt.

And he’s likely to stay put at right tackle, and the same goes for Gillespie at left tackle and Wilson, who earned third team All-CAA honors last fall, at left guard. Bethea has played left tackle and left guard at various points in his career, but is versatile enough to switch over to the right side and contend to fill the void of the departed former starter Jahee Jackson. Bethea was used as the team’s first lineman off the bench last fall and filled in to make three starts at left tackle.

Don’t discount the value of offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski staying put either. In addition to aiding the development of the above mentioned four, he’s the first offensive line coach at JMU to hold the position for consecutive years since former assistant Jamal Powell did it in 2015 and 2016.

With four seasoned players likely to maintain or regain starting roles and the same position coach in his job, whoever earns first-time starts at center should be helped out by the experience around him.

Mac Patrick, a staple for JMU in the middle of its offensive line, has graduated, which means the unit will have to break in a new starter there. Connecticut transfer Stanley Hubbard played in four games and started once at the position for the Huskies last year, so he’ll be in the mix as will J.T. Timming, Patrick’s understudy for the past three years.

Others who could vie for playing time include redshirt sophomore Nick Kidwell and redshirt junior Jake Glavin. It’s possible one of those two could create a competition with Bethea for the role at right guard. Before the coronavirus halted sports, both teammates and coaches of Kidwell pointed out how strong he appeared during winter strength and conditioning drills.

Incoming freshman Tyler Stephens of Ocean Lakes High School (Virginia Beach) was highly recruited and a two-star prospect by Rivals.com, earning offers from 26 different programs ahead of eventually choosing JMU over Appalachian State, East Carolina and Liberty. But it’s always hard for true freshmen to push for immediate snaps on the offensive front, and probably even more difficult to do so with the late summer start due to the pandemic.