HARRISONBURG – There’s still 170 days to go until James Madison opens its football season at West Virginia.

But over the next five weeks, the Dukes are scheduled to practice 14 times – beginning today with its first workout – and will give a glimpse at what they’ll look like with new coach Curt Cignetti in charge.

Although JMU returns nine starters on offense, 10 starters on defense and all three starting specialists from last season’s squad, Cignetti said spring football begins with ‘a clean slate’ for everyone on the roster in order for the new staff to make its own evaluations.

Madison finished 9-4 and was eliminated from the second round of the FCS playoffs with a loss at Colgate this past season, but as the Dukes get set to take the field again, here are a few questions that will at least start to be answered.

Upon his hiring this past December, Cignetti pointed to the, ‘Alabama blueprint’ he picked up while working as an assistant for Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and then used as a head coach to succeed during his time at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania and FCS Elon.

This past week ahead of spring ball, the coach said his Dukes would practice like the Tide does.

“What you really want to accomplish is teaching the way that you practice,” Cignetti said. “Our practices are up tempo, fast and physical. They’re not real long in length, and they’re quick, up-tempo practices.

“I thought that was our edge at Alabama was the way we practiced. We’ll practice similar, just not quite as long.”

Cignetti along with offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery, defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman and special teams coordinator Grant Cain all have systems, schemes and plays to install, but the headman said he wants players to prioritize strong effort and executing fundamentals in each session through the Dukes’ spring game on April 13.

The three-man race for the quarterback job has restarted with incumbent starter Ben DiNucci set to battle career backup Cole Johnson and redshirt sophomore Gage Moloney for the role.

Given the nature of the position, that will stay a storyline throughout the spring and probably into the summer, but there are other competitions carrying intrigue and importance as JMU begins practice.

At defensive tackle, senior Paris Black and juniors Mike Greene and Adeeb Atariwa, have all started in the past and now are three players for two starting spots.

Black, who transferred from Wake Forest to JMU last spring, started five times and made 26 tackles to go along with six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in his first season with the program last year. Greene started all 13 games in 2018 and racked up 41 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks while Atariwa earned eight starts and recorded 31 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

Greene was one of the most impressive players during winter workouts, according to defensive end and team captain Ron’Dell Carter.

“He’s completely changed his mindset,” Carter said of Greene. “I think Mike realizes he just has two years left and he’s got to put his head down and go to work for real now.

“I think everyone has known his potential, but I don’t think Mike knew his potential … but I honestly expect Mike to have a great season this year.”

On offense, JMU has three tight ends – Dylan Stapleton, Clayton Cheatham and Nick Carlton – with starting experience vying for one job.

Cignetti said not only do players and their new coaches have to mesh, but the staff must gel together, too.

Cignetti brings offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski, linebackers coach Bryant Haines, running backs coach Matt Merritt and wide receivers coach Ryan Smith with him from Elon. But the coordinators all have joined JMU from different programs as Montgomery left Charlotte, Hetherman left Maine and Cain left Mercer. Additionally, cornerbacks coach Matt Birkett followed Hetherman from Maine and defensive tackles coach Andrew Jackson arrived off of Mississippi State’s staff.

“It’s new coaches, especially on the offensive side of the ball, who haven’t worked with one another,” Cignetti said. “So we just want to be very detailed so we do a good job of teaching and give our guys the best opportunity to execute out there.”

Gone from JMU’s roster is the trio of veteran running backs – Cardon Johnson, Marcus Marshall and Trai Sharp – that provided the program stability and depth at the position last year.

So Cignetti, who has said he wants Madison to be committed to the rushing game on offense, will have to do it with less experienced rushers.

The only two scholarship running backs on the roster for the spring are juniors Percy Agyei-Obese and Jawon Hamilton, and how Cignetti divides the carries might indicate how he wants to utilize the pair.

In his time at Elon, Cignetti went with a primary back when standout Malcolm Summers was healthy. Summers even carried 40 times for 294 yards in a 2017 win for the Phoenix over Richmond, but when he wasn’t on the field or needed to share carries, Elon used a few different backs like Jaylan Thomas, De’Sean McNair and Brelynd Cyphers.

Agyei-Obese has 66 carries for 441 yards and two scores for his career. Hamilton, a former starter at Central Florida, only took nine handoffs during his first season with JMU last year, but was a third-team All-Colonial Athletic Association kick returner for 417 return yards and 93-yard kickoff return touchdown at Richmond.