They’ve waited long enough.

The cancellation of spring football and the postponement of the fall season have left James Madison without an official practice since before the FCS national championship game in January.

But that hiatus ends today when the Dukes reconvene this afternoon for their first fall practice in preparation for their 2021 spring campaign.

Second-year JMU coach Curt Cignetti has said he’ll use these drills over the next month like he would during a normal spring. The Dukes can hold 15 sessions over 29 days, according to the NCAA.

Since they last practiced, plenty has changed.

The program graduated 2019 Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year Ben DiNucci, who is now the backup quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, as well as last season’s CAA Defensive Player of the Year Ron’Dell Carter. The former standout defensive end is on the Indianapolis Colts’ active roster. Other seniors from that group are gone too, like linebacker Dimitri Holloway, cornerback Rashad Robinson, defensive end John Daka, tight end Dylan Stapleton and wide receivers Riley Stapleton and Brandon Polk.

Additionally, a few who could’ve returned to the Dukes decided it wasn’t in their best interest to wait to play in the spring, so former safety D’Angelo Amos and ex-defensive tackle Adeeb Atariwa opted to transfer to the University of Virginia where they’re playing this fall.

So there are numerous storylines to watch, including these three below, as JMU starts readying for the most unorthodox season in its history.

At this point, it’s clear who the favorites are – fifth-year senior Cole Johnson and fourth-year junior Gage Moloney.

Ever since the end of last season, those two have been assumed to be in prime position to take over for DiNucci.

Johnson was the primary backup for the last four seasons, to both DiNucci and former signal-caller Bryan Schor. Moloney was heavily sought after out of Northwestern High School where he was named the 2016 Mr. Football Award winner in South Carolina. Originally a verbal commitment to Ohio University, Moloney flipped his pledge to the Dukes and signed with them over Appalachian State, Colorado State and East Carolina in addition to Ohio.

Johnson has appeared in 22 games during his career and Moloney has played in eight.

Redshirt junior Patrick Bentley could factor into the mix, too, having earned respect from teammates and staff as the scout-team quarterback in each of the last two seasons. He was the Doug West Scout Team MVP in 2018 and 2019.

There’s also Kyle Adams, a true freshman, who offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery targeted and landed during the last recruiting cycle. Adams was an All-State choice at West Lafayette High School (Ind.).

The Dukes did lose a pair of important players to the transfer portal, but they also gained eight transfers who will practice with them for the first time this month.

Duke import wide receiver Scott Bracey, Minnesota transfer defensive end Abi N-Okonji and Massachusetts import safety Joe Joe Norwood have already impressed during strength and conditioning workouts as well as individual instructional drills, according to Cignetti.

Bracey, a graduate transfer, could be a player at his position that the staff views much like they did Polk last year when he joined the team after four seasons with Penn State.

Former Connecticut center Stanley Hubbard will have the opportunity to win a job on the interior of JMU’s offensive line and ex-North Carolina tight end Noah Turner will be asked to bolster that position.

Other transfers in the fold for the Dukes are safety Jebril Murray (Navy), linebacker Liam Kauthen (VMI) and kicker Connor Madden (Bridgewater).

If there’s one necessary trait for the program to display over the next calendar year, it’s depth.

JMU, of course, will play its fall 2020 season this coming spring, but it’s planning for a normal fall 2021 season, too. That means the Dukes will play two campaigns in one calendar year.

“I’ve heard some coaches kind of say that it’s going be hard,” Cignetti said. “I don’t buy any of that. That’s BS. You’ve got to be smart as a coach with the way you manage your football team and how you practice ‘em. You’re going to play the game and you’ll get a good break between your last game in the spring and your first game in the fall, so I’m really not concerned about that.”

Cignetti strives to build depth anyway, and fall practices could have an emphasis on it since he’s well aware of the big-picture outlook for his team.

Where the Dukes already know they’re deep is at running back with seniors Percy Agyei-Obese and Jawon Hamilton as well as sophomores Latrele Palmer and Solomon Vanhorse, who all saw meaningful reps last season. Where they’re searching for depth is most notably at cornerback.