Stinnie 'Definitely Inspiring' JMU's Fornadel

“It’s definitely inspiring, especially with a guy that I know like Stinnie,” Fornadel said. “It hits home a lot more than just ‘there’s this opportunity and this chance.’”

Stinnie will start at right guard for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

But it was only three seasons ago Stinnie and Fornadel each manned spots on the same offensive line with the Dukes. Stinnie was a senior All-American left tackle in 2017 when Fornadel was a freshman right guard who made the first two starts of his college career in the FCS national semifinals and championship game that year.

Now, Fornadel is the senior All-American tackle with NFL aspirations.

“I see I can play at the next level and go out and do what Stinnie is doing,” Fornadel said.

Stinnie is one of three ex-JMU offensive linemen with Tampa Bay. Backup tackle Josh Wells is on the active roster like Stinnie, and Earl Watford is on the practice squad.

“It’s really awesome that we don’t just have one guy, but we have three,” Fornadel said.

DraftScout.com lists Fornadel as JMU’s best prospect and the 25th-best offensive guard prospect for the 2022 NFL Draft, which would come on the heels of the Dukes’ consecutive spring and fall seasons. If JMU reaches the postseason in both campaigns, Fornadel could add as many as 28 more starts to his college career and provide NFL scouts and decisions makers with extra game film to evaluate.

He said while that could help him achieve his goal of playing in the league, he’s simply eager to compete again at JMU after there was no fall season. Fornadel’s 31 career starts are the most on the Dukes’ roster, and he said over the next 12 months he plans to help younger offensive linemen similarly to how Stinnie assisted him.

“What we all had in common as freshmen is that we’re not complacent,” Fornadel said. “If we’re not doing what we’re supposed to be doing, we’re trying to improve ourselves and I think that’s what this group [of freshmen linemen] is trying to do. Obviously, a lot of it is complicated and it’s new and some guys have never thought of hearing some of the stuff that [offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski] comes up with as far as technique and that sort of stuff, so it’s just trying to pay attention and keep up to date with everything that we’re doing.

“And I think going back to my freshman year, I had a bunch of really great older guys – Stinnie, A.J. Bolden and even Mac [Patrick] who was only a year older than me, Jahee [Jackson] – a lot of those guys really helped me out and they helped me through everything really. … And I think I’m trying to emulate that as well for them, be there for them and do what I can to really help them out.”

Fornadel, a two-time All-Colonial Athletic Association pick, said he always was impressed with how Stinnie went about his business as a senior.

“Really just the way he composed himself, I’d say,” Fornadel said. “He handled himself in such a different way than I expected and it was the way he treated everybody else. Everybody was friends to him or somebody he’d known forever. He tried to make everybody feel at home, feel welcomed and that was just him as a person.

“As a football player, it was how hard he worked at just the little things and trying to get better every single day with little techniques and nuances of what we were doing. He helped guide me to what you need to do to be really successful.”

Throughout his Dukes career, Stinnie transformed and improved from a very small, partial scholarship defensive lineman to a standout full scholarship offensive lineman. After Stinnie’s college career ended, he signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent only to leave for Tampa Bay late in the 2019 season.

He made the first start of his NFL career earlier this postseason in the NFC Divisional Playoff against the New Orleans Saints and then started again in the NFC Championship Game in the Bucs’ win over the Green Bay Packers.

“The NFL definitely wasn’t in the thought process at that point,” Stinnie said ahead of his first start to the DN-R about his early days with the Dukes. “When I was first moving over [to the offensive line], I was thinking about trying to figure out how to stay at D-Line and trying to figure out the best route to do that. And then switching over, when I first switched over, the NFL wasn’t even really in my thought process, but I was just trying to figure out this new position and basically how to walk again. But honestly, it’s a blessing. It’s an amazing story that is even amazing myself as it continues to be written.”