Stinnie Keeping Dream Alive

HARRISONBURG — Durability and versatility are the two attributes Aaron Stinnie hopes NFL scouts value ahead of next month’s draft.

The former James Madison left tackle started 42 straight games on the offensive line as a member of the Dukes and said he’s open to playing any position across the front that a general manager or coach views as his best fit.

“Some people say tackle. Some people say guard,” Stinnie said this past Friday after JMU’s pro day at Bridgeforth Stadium. “I’ve been training for both. I’ve been working both left tackle, left guard, right guard and right tackle, so honestly, wherever anybody wants me, that’s what I’m ready to go out and do.”

NFLDraftScout.com lists Stinnie as the 23rd best tackle prospect in the 2018 class and projects him as a seventh-round pick or undrafted free agent. NFLDraftBible.com has Stinnie as the 42nd best guard prospect.

No stranger to adaptability, Stinnie became a two-time All-American offensive tackle only after being recruited as a defensive lineman out of St. Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville. As a redshirt freshman in 2014, he played in 12 games on the defensive front, recording 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Following that season, he transitioned to the other side of the ball, where the 6-foot-5, 309-pounder became a mainstay for JMU.

He was part of an offensive line that helped pave the way for the 2016 national championship squad to set program and Colonial Athletic Association single-season records for rushing offense (4,125 yards). This past fall he was a team captain.

“Durability, that’s a good thing with a guy that’s not getting hurt all the time,” Stinnie said. “Being able to start these past three years and only have the one ankle deal, which came during the [last] spring and wasn’t really something that was wrong with my body but was more of a freak accident, and then being able to come back and show the toughness throughout the season that I was able to play every single game and not miss anything because of it, that definitely helps out a lot.”

Stinnie said he thought his pro day workout was a success. He was spotted speaking with an Arizona Cardinals scout afterward.

“I think everyone was pleased with the way I did things,” Stinnie said. “A lot of scouts told me they liked the way I worked out, so that was good to hear. And they also said they liked my film, so that’s another good thing to hear.”

Leading up to the pro day, Stinnie worked out at The Applied Science and Performance Institute in Tampa, Fla., alongside former Dukes safety and teammate Jordan Brown.

Stinnie said drills in preparation for the pro day were much different than the ones he went through readying for any of his five football seasons in Harrisonburg.

“It’s completely different because when you’re training for something like this, you’re training as a track athlete rather than a football athlete,” he said. “You’re working on your running form and driving your hips through when you’re running. The drills for L-cone, 5-10-5, and things like that, you’re working on those every day with shifting positions, body movement and stopping and going.”

With pro day behind Stinnie, he’s now waiting on invites from NFL teams to schedule individual workouts or visits before the draft, which takes place April 26-28 in Arlington, Texas.

“I’ll continue to train with cardio, strength and things like that,” Stinnie said. “Hopefully, I’ll get some calls to go do some different workouts and if that comes, that’s a good sign right there. But I’ll continue training up until camp.”

One source said Stinnie or defensive end Andrew Ankrah has the best chance to be drafted out of the 13 former Dukes that worked out for scouts from 23 different NFL teams last week.