HARRISONBURG — Darrious Carter is a source of stability for those new to the James Madison football program.

“I don’t like to say I’m a mentor, but I definitely want to and like to be helpful,” Carter said.

Entering his junior season, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound defensive end is just one year removed from transferring to JMU from the University of Virginia. He arrived last summer, which meant the Dukes coaching staff only had a month of training camp to work with him before the start of the regular season.

But by the end of the year, and maybe when it mattered most, Carter became valuable. He registered a sack in the FCS national semifinal at North Dakota State and another in title game against Youngstown State.

He’s projected to start at defensive end when JMU opens at East Carolina next Saturday, but throughout August camp he battled Rutgers transfer Ron’Dell Carter for the job. The two were also paired to room together for the duration of camp.

And despite competing with Ron’Dell Carter for the role, Darrious Carter never lost sight of the larger goal.

“I was literally in the same exact position as him last year, so I remember guys tried to help me out with the calls,” Darrious Carter said. “But I was rooming with a defensive tackle, so he really didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing at defensive end. I had to learn it on my own.

“Now that I’m a year into the process, I’m almost ahead of the game. And when [Ron’Dell Carter] came in, he was immediately like, ‘What does this mean?’ or ‘What does that mean?’ For me, that stuff was first nature. So I could spit it out to him and then even give him some tips on the field to help him out with certain reads or certain rushes.

“We’re competitive and we’re competing for a starting spot, but I want to succeed as a team.”

Ron’Dell Carter has adapted nicely to his new squad and will be one of four defensive ends to play regularly.

Darrious Carter and preseason STATS FCS All-American Andrew Ankrah will start while Ron’Dell Carter and David Ezeagwu will play in reserve roles.

“Luckily, the guy who is my roommate is Darrious Carter,” Ron’Dell Carter said. “He plays my position, so Darrious Carter, he’s helping me out a lot.

“Anything I need help on, he’s eager to help me. He’s always asking me, do I need help with anything? So Darrious is a big part of it because he plays my position, he’s my roommate during camp and he’s helping me come along. I’m glad he’s my roommate.”

Beyond his own position group, Darrious Carter has reached out to the other recent transfers.

JMU has brought in seven FBS transfers since winning the championship in January.

Those transfers include ex-Cavaliers linebacker Landan Word and wide receiver David Eldridge, who will play right away.

“I didn’t get to know Landan as much at U.Va., but I knew David,” Carter said. “David was there when I was there, so they came here and I obviously knew them, so they hit me up. We met up. I showed them around the campus and tried to show them the ropes.

“I told them that if they need anything, I’ve only been here a year, but that I’ve been through the same thing, so I’ll try to help them out to make them feel comfortable.”

Carter said when he was at Indiana Senior High School in Indiana, Pa., he committed to Temple as a sophomore before eventually flipping his pledge to Virginia.

His teammate in high school was Riley Stapleton, who ended up going to JMU. Stapleton should start at receiver for the Dukes this year.

When Carter decided to move on from Virginia, Stapleton encouraged him to join JMU.

“When you come to a different program, and it’s a different team, you get different coaches and they teach you new things,” Carter said. “Whether it’s better or worse, but usually it’s better. And I think, as you grow older, you get smarter and you’re more in-tune with the game, so transferring here to JMU was one of the best decisions I made in my life.

“That’s nothing against U.Va., but I made a great decision to come here and I think the success speaks for itself.”