HARRISONBURG — Heading into last year there wasn’t another position with more unknowns than the safety spot.

After all, James Madison was replacing two former FCS All-Americans — Raven Greene and Jordan Brown — who rarely came off the field during the previous two seasons while helping the Dukes win a national title and get back to the championship game.

But both D’Angelo Amos and Adam Smith quickly adapted to starting roles in 2018, improved as the year went on and Smith earned All-Colonial Athletic Association first-team honors in the end.

Considering both Amos and Smith have a year of starting experience each, JMU doesn’t have the same worries now that it had last season with its safeties. The only personnel issue it must explore is how Wayne Davis mixes in the secondary with Amos and Smith.

Here’s a closer look at Amos, Smith, Davis and the rest of the position group for the Dukes ahead of next month’s training camp:

Returning Starters: senior Adam Smith, r-junior Wayne Davis, r-junior D’Angelo Amos

Other Returners On Roster: r-junior Quint Boyd, junior MJ Hampton, r-sophomore Sam Kidd, r-sophomore Michael Johnson, r-freshman Que Reid, r-freshman Chris Chukwuneke, r-freshman Reggie McNeill, r-freshman Francis Meehan

Newcomers: freshman Jordan White

Storyline: It’s been a little more than a year since Davis arrived in Harrisonburg from Ohio State.

And one thing hasn’t changed — it’s still impossible to define a position for Davis.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder played cornerback for the Buckeyes. He was listed last fall on JMU’s depth chart as a linebacker, but used more frequently as a hybrid nickel cornerback-outside linebacker. Now, Davis is tagged as a safety on the Dukes’ roster.

Former coach Mike Houston always said he believed Davis could play all five secondary positions if he had to and liked his flexibility. But this coming August, it’ll be first-year defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s turn to figure out the best way Davis fits within his system.

Hetherman nor safeties coach Ryan Smith had the opportunity to do that during the spring since Davis missed all of it with injury.

Davis had 45 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack, two interceptions and six pass breakups last season.

Learning how Hetherman wants to deploy Davis will reveal how much of his versatility he’ll have to use from snap-to-snap and how the rest of the safeties fit in, because not every safety on the roster possesses the same skill set as Davis.

Adam Smith was also out this past spring, allowing Que Reid and Chris Chukwuneke to gain reps alongside Amos at the position. As the spring concluded, Reid said he felt like he improved by using his eyes more often to the recognize routes opposing receivers were running. Chukwuneke had a few tackles during the Dukes’ spring game.

It’s clear if Chukwuneke and Reid continue to develop, they’ll be in line to backup Amos and Smith.

Amos tallied 64 tackles and two fumble recoveries last year while Smith racked up 68 tackles to go along with three interceptions and a sack.