Guest blogger Sean Petrizzi is here to summarize an exciting transfer season for JMU football. Here he breaks down the Dukes 3 big transfers from FBS programs. You can follow Sean on Twitter at @SeanPetrizzi.
Everett Withers has been reaching into the FBS-to-FCS transfer pool big time since arriving in Harrisonburg. While I personally prefer having a guy be brought up with through JMU and developed into a star, there is no denying that an influx of top tier talent can always help an FCS school. All three big time transfers are on the offensive side of the ball, skill position players that are eligible next season. Here is an amateur’s take on the 3 players we can look forward to seeing this fall.
- Vad Lee QB from Georgia Tech- Rivals 3 star recruit in class of 2011
Lee decided to transfer from Georgia Tech because “the triple option was never really his thing.” That tells me two things about recruiting. 1) Many players commit to schools for many different reasons (often bad ones) and 2) Coaches lie to the recruits. Why would you go play for Paul Johnson if the triple option wasn’t your thing? Anyways, Lee was touted as the guy that could take Johnson’s offense to the next level with his ability to throw as well as be the standard running QB the triple option needs. The results were mixed at best with 11 throwing touchdown, 8 rushing but 10 interceptions while leading the Yellow Jackets to a 7-6 record. I still think the Durham native is a huge talent that can thrive at the FCS level even though FCS defenses are better than FBS will give us credit for. Lee will need to play well as he is now the default starter with Birdsong transferring. Ironically, I think Lee would have been the quintessential Mickey Matthews QB with his ability to make plays with his feet. I will be interested to see how Withers will use him and with two years of eligibility at JMU, I am very excited to see what Lee can do. read more…
This video captures some of the highlights of graduation week for the JMU Class of 2014. It’s filled with all of your graduation standards and classic moments such as new grads decked in out in their caps and gowns walking, new grads decked out in caps and gowns accepting their diplomas, and new grads in caps and gowns celebrating with friends and family. And it captures all of it in super duper slow motion. A lot of super duper slow motion. We’re talking slow motion usage that exceeds even NFL Films’ standards. And the highlight is definitely the streamer throwing. So because this is in the internet and nothing is ever understated, let’s just say you should skip ahead to the 1:54 mark so slow motion streamer throwing can restore your faith in humanity.
Seriously. It turns out that watching an entire class of college graduates celebrate by launching streamers is cool. Really cool. And it’s absolutely amazing in extra super duper slow motion. At least to me it is.
Hats off to all of the grads in the JMU Class of 2014 for taking the streamer throwing tradition to a new place. And thank you to the production crew for capturing it in super slow motion for us all to see. My hope is that this is just the beginning and one day we’ll have all of JMU’s classic experiences from the d-hall dash, to the walk of shame, to Saturday football games preserved in extreme slow motion video. Be the change people. Be the change.
The women of JMU softball dropped a pair of one run games in the NCAA Tournament Lexington Regional yesterday, bringing their stellar 2014 season to an end. After cruising to a 6-1 victory over Depaul in their tourney opener on Friday, the Dukes lost a 2-1 nail biter to Kentucky in the winners bracket on Saturday. The loss to the Wildcats set JMU up for a rematch with Depaul in an elimination game. Unfortunately for the Dukes, Depaul avenged their Friday night loss with a 4-3 win to end JMU’s season. The Dukes finished the season with a 45-15 record and a CAA Championship.
While Saturday’s loss was no doubt disappointing, the ladies have nothing to be ashamed of. They ended Hofstra’s two year reign atop the CAA, made it back to the NCAA tourney for the second straight year, and earned a Top 25 ranking. Plus they had arguably the most impressive win for any JMU sports team this past year when they defeated Oregon, currently the #1 team in the nation, in March. That win over Oregon took place during an extended road trip in Honolulu, Hawaii by the way. So there’s that. Our only real issue with the program is it’s desire to claim “JMUSB” for its own.
Hat’s off to Head Coach Mickey Dean and the entire JMU softball program. Under Coach Dean’s leadership, there really is no limit to how high the program can go. With all due respect to the rest of JMU’s fine coaches, Dean and women’s hoops coach Kenny Brooks are pretty much lapping the field. The softball and women’s hoops programs are both consistently knocking off teams from power conferences and read to become consistent players on the national stage. The way things have gone lately, a small part of me wonders if the ladies couldn’t defeat their JMU male counterparts in basketball and basketball.
Photo courtesy of jmusports.com’s awesome photo gallery (love those helmets)
JMU Softball, fresh off their CAA title last week and fully clear of the vengeful clutches of Tom Yeager, opens play in the NCAA tourney today against DePaul in Lexington, Kentucky at 5 p.m. For the record, this subregional looks very winnable as the Dukes have already beaten DePaul this year and with Ohio as the minnow in the group and Kentucky as a favorite-but-not-a-beast, a trip to LA for the Regional looks like a real possibility. Here’s a great preview from ESPN with a lot of love and respect for the Dukes. Nice to see someone finally took the time to actually look at the Dukes body of work.
For JMU Baseball, the last spring sport that hasn’t been finished their season or CAA play, it’s come down to one game. After [unsurprisingly] getting drubbed by Delaware in a doubleheader yesterday, the Diamond Dukes need to beat Delaware in the series finale Saturday to even clinch a spot in the CAA tournament that starts next Wednesday. At 16-34, this has been a way-less-than-mediocre year for the squad and it certainly looks like the program is in dire need of a major overhaul, but honestly, we don’t really have any knowledge about what the hell’s going on there. Lose tomorrow, and in the EXTREMELY UNLIKELY event a conference invite is out there, the Dukes are free to immediately accept without fear of retaliation from Yeager and his band of no-name schools. Win tomorrow, and I guess we’ll have to wait another two weeks. In any case, chances are about the same as:
When JMU will be moving up!
Alden Hill announced his intention to transfer from the University of Tennessee on April 22. Reports now say that he’s headed to JMU to join Everett Withers and the Dukes.
After redshirting in 2012, Hill saw limited action this past season. He rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He was also selected to the All SEC Academic Honor Roll two times in his two years at Tennessee. Per NCAA regulations, Hill will have three years of eligibility remaining with the Dukes.
Hill was rated as a 3-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout coming out of Marlington High School in Ohio. He set his school’s all time rushing mark, running for 4,745 yards. He’s a big back, listed at 6’2″ and 221 lbs. And he reportedly runs in the 4.5 range for the 40 yard dash. Hill is a big fast back, who should combine with Khalid Abdullah to give JMU a potent rushing attack. And by all accounts he’s a good student and solid teammate. This is another good get for Coach Withers.
Good news on a couple fronts in JMU Sportsland this weekend. First and foremost, a huge congratulations to JMU Softball for taking down the CAA title (is it too much to dream this is the last ever CAA title in any sport? Don’t answer that, of course it is)! The ladies, led by all-everything badass pitcher Jailyn Ford and senior Shortstop and tourney MOP Caitlin Sandy, didn’t even need the “double” in the double-elimination format, simply steamrolling through the CAA tourney undefeated. The Dukes found out late last night during the Softball Selection Show that they’ll be headed to the Lexington, KY subregional to face DePaul in their first game. Dukes got some love on the show (“impressive schedule, don’t sleep on the Dukes who’ve taken down some big names this season” – it’s almost like the anti-Bourne of scheduling) and have to like that only 14th ranked Kentucky stands as the “favorite” in this group and stands between them and a trip to LA for the regional.
Second, while nary a Duke was drafted this year, at least three Dukes have been signed as undrafted free agents or invited to NFL camps. OLinemen Josh Wells (he of the great potential and infinite holding penalties) is headed for Jacksonville to try and earn a spot protecting Blake Bortles, DLineman Jordan Stanton was nabbed by the Packers, and RB/KR Dae’Quan Scott was invited to rookie camp by the Baltimore Ravens. Hoping to hear of an opportunity for JMU all-timer Stephon Robertson (and maybe oft-injured Kicker Cam Starke) sometime soon. Good luck to all of the former Dukes as they attempt to join Akeem Jordan (Skins), Arthur Moats (Steelers), Earl Watford (Cardinals), and Mike Caussin (Bills) in the league.
Lastly, for anyone still wondering, baseball plays it’s last few games this week and remains in position to sneak into the CAA tourney next weekend. Once that tourney’s under way, there will be one last week of hope for those rootin’ fer a conference move.
Pro Football Hall of Fame RB Emmitt Smith has a luxury box in Bridgeforth Stadium. His wife is a JMU alum #JMUfacts pic.twitter.com/KsGOklc2b6 — JMU Facts (@JMU_Facts) May 6, 2014
Emmitt Smith is the NFL’s all time rushing king. The former Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinal running back rushed for a record 18,355 yards in his 15 year career. He’s also married to a JMU alum and apparently a die-hard Dukes fan. And by die-hard Dukes fan, we mean that he has a luxury box at Bridgeforth Stadium. Or at least that’s what we read on Twitter. And it’s a Wednesday in May, and we have nothing else to discuss, so let’s just go with it. This particular little nugget comes to us via @JMU_Facts. Obviously we did nothing to verify the claim because that would be hard. We can vouch for the fact that @JMU_Facts tweets things that are usually interesting and funny. A few of them might even be true. If this one isn’t and we get debacled for spreading it, so be it. We can at least vouch for the fact that Emmitt Smith has been spotted in Bridgeforth and around the ‘burg on JMU gamedays. We even have a great story about a friend of ours asking Emmitt a rather odd question about Moose Johnston’s, um, locker room presence. It’s completely inappropriate and un-bloggable, but ask us about it at a tailgate and we’ll tell you over a beer. In any case, if nothing else this entire post really serves to remind us all about one very important fact, that the Cowboys suck.
Great season Dukes!
For the second year in a row, JMU’s women’s lacrosse team fell in the CAA Championship to top-seeded Towson. This time it was in truly heartbreaking fashion as the Tigers scored the game-winner with 34 seconds left in OT to prevail 12-11. As expected, the CAA was deemed unworthy of an at-large bid, though to be fair there wasn’t a single team you’d consider a mid-major (at least not in lax) from anywhere selected as an at-large. Really crummy luck for the Dukes, but a fantastic season from the women and hopefully they’re proud. We sure were.
Only softball, baseball, and a little track still playing till the JMU athletic year is over, though of course not to worry – there will be big CAA action against big rivals like Elon and Stony Brook and Winthrop to look forward to for years to come!
As we mentioned before, we are old. Not ridiculously old to the point of senility, but we’re getting up there in years. So we’ll understand if you think we’re losing it and our minds are just playing tricks on us. But we swear we’re not making this up. One day way back when we were students, they showed porn on the campus cable station. In fact, I think it was on Valentine’s Day. Or maybe it was just a regular Tuesday. I’m not really sure. Let’s just go with Valentine’s Day. Because it’s much more romantic that way.
Obviously, it wasn’t intentional. Sure, the quality was closer to the picture above than today’s HD broadcasts. But without going into detail, there was still no doubt it was explicit. It was an pre-internet, old fashioned, adult movie. Complete with a jazzed up elevator music soundtrack and poorly groomed “actors.” Rumor had it that some kids from the computer science or ISAT department (although I’m not even sure ISAT fully existed) hacked the system and created the pirate broadcast. “Hacked” is probably over-selling it. Security wasn’t exactly at the forefront of anyone’s mind back then. Some smart kids probably cut an exposed wire outside a dorm and hooked up a VCR or something. Regardless, it was a pretty epic prank.
If memory serves, word quickly spread via the most popular social media platform of the time, which of course was people sticking their heads out of their dorm rooms and screaming down the hall. And within minutes practically the entire campus was watching.
It might not sound like a big deal now, but it was pretty damn scandalous back then. Because it was a long time ago. Porn wasn’t easily accessible via every internet enabled device back then. Hell, the internet wasn’t even easily accessible via every internet enabled device back then. It was a much simpler time. Unless you were a pervert of course. It was probably a more difficult time to be a pervert. But I digress.
Anyway, it definitely happened. On one Valentine’s Day way back in the day, the JMU community joined together to watch semi-scrambled porn on campus cable for about 15 minutes. Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. And we all went back to working out in Godwin, checking email on the VAX, drinking dime drafts at JM’s, or doing whatever else we were doing. But I swear it happened.
Apparently the gates in the transfer department were full this weekend. One now former Duke passed another incoming one this weekend and ultimately, we’re fairly pleased with the news on both fronts. On the departure front, it appears Michael Birdsong is officially headed to Marshall as he tweeted an emphatic “We Are Marshall” after his official visit this weekend. Personally we’re just glad it wasn’t ODU or Liberty where we’d have to hear about it the next three years. Marshall has a stud senior QB in Cato, but the GingerNinja will have to sit out this year anyways so it appears he’ll have a chance to compete after that. Probably a little nerve-wracking for Withers as the Doc Holliday laser show, also known as the Thundering Herd’s offense, can realllyy make a QB look great, but overall seems like a good result for Birdsong and a CUSA team we likely won’t see during his last three years.
But waaayy more exciting news came out today from the arrivals gate. Three-point gunner and JUCO transfer Winston Grays committed to Matt Brady and JMU. Needless to say, this could fill an enormous need. And for what it’s worth, Cincinnati State probably transfers just fine to the current CAA – sure worked out for the Dukes last time with Rayshawn Goins. Brady’s building a little pipeline there and we’ll take it.
