JMU Signs Top Class in the FCS Nation!

Well, it’s a day full of bullshit and we’ve always tried to avoid getting into recruiting discussions.  It’s just slimy.  But the longer we’ve done this and the more college sports types we’ve followed on Twitter, the more we have to admit that National Signing Day is actually pretty damn exciting.  And when your hoops team is lost in the wilderness like this year’s Dukes squad, it really is a beacon of hope in the long, not-so-cold winter.  Plus Rob’s signing day posts seemed to be a hit the last couple of years so here we go.

Today’s signing day from a JMU standpoint was like none other we can remember in recent years!  First of all, Craig Haley and The Sports Network immediately rated JMU as the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation at the FCS level!  That’s pretty damn cool regardless of accuracy and actual meaning.  It’s even cooler when you consider that a)  JMU lost three total recruits, and two of their highest rated, to FBS-bound and possibly felonious UMass at the last minute (is the Victor Cruz effect that  big on these NY kids?) and b) Craig Haley and the Sports Network usually hate on JMU like nobody’s business.  We realize most of you can be grateful for having lives and leave the uberdork business to us, but trust us when we say that the national FCS sites (Sports Network and Any Given Saturday) almost always save favorite son status on rankings like these for the golden children in Boone, Missoula, Statesboro, and – gag – Newark.

Here’s the JMU Sports story on the class and a link to Mickey’s presser.  Apparently, when talking to the print media, he barely made an effort to hide his disdain and suspicion for the Minutemen.  As usual, he did not disappoint in the quote department today: (credit to @MikeABarber and @CurtDudley for these – love you guys):

– Recruiting is like shaving, if you don’t do it every day, you look like a bum

– I heard a coach say a kid’s not committing anymore, he’s makin’ a reservation

– There has been more late offers and negative recruiting than anytime I can remember.  Totally stunning to us, UMass took three kids away from us at the end.  They had all been committed to us for a long time.

– We really needed to make sure we got a good QB out of this group, if not two.  That’s why we took three.

As for the recruits we got, here’s what we know:

3 QB’s signed.  One of them, Taylor Reynolds of one Newark, Delaware, had started to look like he might choose the hometown Blue Chicks, but apparently decided competition doesn’t scare him.  MM says he reminds him of Rodney.  This means the Dukes will have at least 5 QB’s on board next year, but with Thorpe being a senior, the rest will presumably all get their shot to prove themselves soon.

The thing that likely puts this class in the upper echelon nationally is unquestionably the enormous assist from Randy Edsall!  The Titus Till (Safety) and Jeremiah Wilson (CB) transfers from Maryland seriously fill the one true hole the Dukes might have had going into next season.

Another nice thing this year is the Dukes signed a number of D Linemen, arguably one of the biggest weaknesses this past season.  Unfortunately they’re all DE’s but hopefully a few of them will discover Dave’s Express delivery next year and bulk up for a move inside.

Our one real concern was that only one OL signed, but with another couple of scholarships still available after the UMass defections, a late signee or two seems possible.  Not to mention, the youngest spot on the team last year was along the line, where nearly every underclassmen in the program got serious playing time and development last year after all the injuries.  With so much experience coming back, cracking that starting group may be a tough order for a couple of seasons.

Who knows what it all means, but I know our expectations for 2012 remain sky-high and it’s hard to deny New Bridgeforth has given the Dukes quite a bit more leverage in the recruiting circus.