The Sports Network released its official 2010 FCS Football Preseason Poll and the JMU Dukes find themselves at number 15. I don’t want to make too much of this, because the polls really don’t concern me. Especially preseason polls. Obviously, it’s where you finish, blah, blah, blah. In all seriousness though, I’m really more focused on how JMU matches up against the rest of the CAA. If history is any indicator, teams that can compete with the CAA elites and finish near the top of the league, go to the playoffs. Plain and simple.
There is a reason why folks call the CAA the “SEC of the FCS.” A CAA team has played in the championship game in each of the last 4 years and in 6 of the last 7. With a track record like that, maybe the SEC should be known as the “CAA of the BCS.” You’ve basically been able to count on CAA teams being in the running for the National Championship year in and year out.
This doesn’t appear to be the year that is going to break the mold. At least according to the voters that is. In addition to the Dukes landing at #15 in the poll, there are 5 other CAA teams ranked. Defending CAA and FCS champ, Villanova topped the poll. I wish I could argue with that, but I can’t. William & Mary is #4, Richmond #6, New Hampshire #10, and Delaware #16. I can argue with several of those, but I’ll save that for another day. Although I should point out that we’re 17 days from W&M’s opener and Laycock still hasn’t settled on a QB. I’m just saying.
Jackson tackling Nova's Chris Whitney.
We finished our 9th team preview in our 2010 CAA Football Preview series last week. We’ll still probably tackle ODU and Georgia State, who aren’t full fledged CAA members, but will be in the coming season. That means we’re down to the Dukes for the 2010 CAA teams. Todd and I haven’t really figured out how we’re going to tackle it, so in the meantime I thought I’d profile one of my personal favorite Dukes, Jakarie Jackson.
Jackson is a 5’11”, 185 pound free safety. He’s a sophomore who played on last year’s team as a true freshman. For any of you who don’t pay attention to these sorts of things, trust me when I tell you that is highly unusual. The overwhelming majority of JMU players redshirt. Transitioning from high school to college football is really tough for most players, so the coaches give them a year to adjust. Jackson was thrown on the field immediately however and from day one he showed that he belonged.
Mickey Matthews was quoted in the Richmond Times Dispatch last week saying that Jakarie “is a star in the making.” I couldn’t agree more. Any Dukes fan who actually sat through the train-wreck of a football game against William & Mary last year, probably walked away thinking three things. 1.) What the %@#! is up with the offense? 2.) Arthur Moats > Adrian Tracy and 3.) Jakarie Jackson is going to be a stud. For those of you who erased that game from your memories, it was awful. The Dukes’ D was on the field the whole game. Jackson played great though and had 10 total tackles, including 8 solo.
Jakarie finished the year with 41 tackles and 3 interceptions. He’s not the biggest guy on the field, but he is an amazing athlete. Check out these highlights from his high school days. The kid is just sick. He played QB, receiver, and safety and was honored as the 2008 Baltimore Touchdown Club MVP and Offensive Player of the Year prior to becoming a Duke. We already saw what he could do when he focused on just playing defense in year one. There’s no telling how good he’s going to be over the next three seasons.
Three former JMU Dukes got their first taste of live action in the NFL pre-season last night. Scotty McGee and Mike Caussin suited up for the Jags as they faced off with the Eagles, and Arthur Moats and the Bills played the Redskins at Fed Ex. All three players put forth solid efforts.
The Jaguars-Eagles clash featured three former Dukes. Along with McGee and Caussin, 4th-year linebacker Akeem Jordan played for the Eagles. McGee was drafted primarily for his special teams abilities and the Jags are giving him a shot to win the punt return job. He showed flashes of what made him so exciting at JMU, racking up over 100 returning yards on the night, including a 46 yarder! He also got some reps at corner. Caussin, who signed with the Jags as undrafted free agent, had two receptions for 25 yards.
Not to be outdone, the Redskins-Bills clash featured multiple Dukes on the field as well. Of course only Arthur Moats was playing, but Lindsey Czarniak was reporting from the field and she’s an alum, so I”m counting her. Several Buffalo linebackers were held out of last night’s game, so Moats got a lot of playing time. After playing on the line throughout college, Moats handled his first game as a linebacker pretty well. He had 4 tackles on the night and certainly appeared to do enough to show the Bills coaches he’s got real potential at linebacker.
The wait is over. JMU officially began camp today with the first football practice of the 2010 season. Ninety players showed up to camp including one who’s a bit of surprise. Wide Receiver Quintin Hunter reported to practice and according to Mickey Matthews is officially a member of the Dukes. Hunter is a transfer from UVA who was admitted to JMU late last week.
It would hypocritical of me to imply that a transfer from a BCS transfer is a guaranteed success. However, Hunter is a versatile athlete who could become a weapon for Drew Dudzik and the Dukes. He played QB and was also a two time all state defensive back in high school. He was considered a four star recruit by Rivals. After playing wide receiver for the Cavs as a true freshman last season, he then took reps at QB during spring practices before leaving the team. He says he wants to play receiver for JMU and has 3 seasons of eligibility remaining.
One interesting twist to the story is the fact that according to this report by The Daily Progress, Hunter told his former teammates he was going to JMU to try to play basketball. He averaged 20 points a game as a senior in high school and led Orange High School to the Virginia Group AA state tournament. According to Mike Barber’s twitter though, Matt Brady had never heard of Hunter, so his former teammates seem to be misinformed.
I’m feeling pretty good about Coach Brady’s recruiting class and the make-up of the hoops roster. The Dukes receiver situation has me slightly less enthused, and this sounds like a big upgrade at the position.
The Disappoint of the 2009 Season: Richmond won the National Championship in 2008, yet some fans would probably tell you last year’s team was even better. They might be right. The Spiders rattled off 8 straight wins to start the 2009 season, before narrowly losing to eventual National Champ, Villanova 21-20 for their only loss of the regular season. Even with the loss Richmond entered the playoffs as a legit contender to repeat. However, Richmond’s dreams of repeating ended abruptly on December 5 when App State knocked them out of the playoffs with a 35-31 win.
The Devastation of the Offseason: With the loss to App State coming on a Saturday, Richmond fans had all day Sunday to cry in their sweater vests and begin the grieving process. Just when they started to feel better, they woke up on Monday, December 7 and had to face the fact that Head Coach Mike London was shuffling down Rt 64 to Coach the Cavaliers. It was almost enough to make even the most ardent Richmond hater feel bad for the fans. Almost.
The Savior Arrives: Richmond moved on. Fan opinion was divided over the hiring of Latrell Scott to succeed London however. Some fans liked Richmond hiring a young guy who’d embrace his first head coaching job with enthusiasm (like London did), while others saw the move as a sign of the program’s return to mediocrity. But then from the West came a real, honest to goodness, blue-chip QB ready to take the reigns of the Spider offense. The one and only Aaron Corp announced he was transferring from USC to Richmond. Spider fans rejoiced.
Whoa! Who the %^@# Leaves USC for Richmond? Apparently Aaron Corp does. I don’t get it either. One minute you’re one of the top high school recruits in the nation signing on to play with the mighty Trojans and then in the blink of an eye you’re moving 3,000 miles away to play for a first year head coach at Richmond. I guess it wasn’t really in the blink of an eye. It was more like 2 years of not being able to ascend to the top of the depth chart or even solidify yourself as the back-up. Still though, it’s kind of crazy. I mean USC players get houses and stuff.
So What Does This Mean? Look, I have no clue if this kid with the terrible website and the golden arm will be any good at all. I know he was one of the top recruits in the country a few years ago, but he really looks more like a QB from a bad teen angst movie than, you know, a real college QB. Seriously. Check out these pictures. He’s legitimately talented, but the CAA is no cakewalk and blue-chip BCS QB transfers don’t always equate to team success. Just ask Delaware.
The Skinny: The loss of London is tough, but we don’t know what Latrell Scott can do. London was only there 2 years, so it’s not as if Scott is following Joe Paterno. The more pressing concern for the Spiders might be the fact that they’re losing 7 starters on offense and 7 starters on defense from last year’s team. And the brunt of those losses will be on the lines, with 4 O-lineman and 3 D-Lineman graduating. That’s tough. On the plus side, the hyper-talented WR Kevin Grayson returns for his senior year and is no doubt eager to take the field with the California QB. Plus this Satchmo guy says that “there is nothing like an angry Spider underdog.” So they got that going for them.
JMUSB Prediction: If the Spiders get solid play in the trenches, they really could be dangerous. That’s a huge if though. I think they’ll be competitive, but don’t see them challenging for the CAA title. I’m saying the Spiders finish .500 plus or minus one game.
Scotty Mcgee in Jaguars' camp.
Yeah, we used to call these little round-ups “weekly” links, but it’s been 4 months. My bad. Anyway, check out the JMU week that was on the web.
The Virginia Pilot checks in on CAA Media Day, providing your standard overview of all things Villanova (we get it, they’re returning champs), and sharing the details about the CAA’s 29 televised games. It also includes this little nugget from Mickey about the new Bridgeforth, “When it’s done, you just might be able to see Virginia Beach if you look East from the top of it.”
Do not like. Former Duke J.D. Skolnitsky, got dropped by the Colts. Luckily it’s still early and he could have a shot to sign with another team.
Jacksonville.com chats with Scotty McGee about life in training camp. If you thought the adjustment from college to your first job was tough, consider this, Scotty had to learn 7 base coverages in college and has had 21 thrown at him in the first week of camp!
Rising redshirt sophomore, Casey Ancarrow and 3 former Dukes get selected to the U.S. Lacrosse Women’s National Team. Also, head coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcome got an extension.
This Virginia Tech blog provides a sneak preview of the Hokies clash with JMU including providing the CAA Media Day video chats with a number of Dukes. And yes, I did just link to a VA Tech blog that apparently did a much better job covering CAA Media Day than we did.
Finally, JMU is one of the Best 373 Colleges according to the Princeton Review. Madison was ranked #3 for Best Campus Food and #18 in School Runs Like Butter. The Off-Campus Riot rankings have not yet been published.
Our buddy Frank, better known as the JMUSB Special Hoops Correspondent, was vacationing in lovely Wrightsville Beach, NC last week. For those of you not up on your Cape Fear geography, Wrightsville is a great little town next to Wilmington, a fantastic town in its own right and home to fellow CAA school, UNC-Wilmington. Anyway, Frank texted me to let me know about a good CAA hoops article he read in the local paper while down there. Before I even checked out the article, I was 99% sure it was written by Brian Mull. Which brings me to this, if you are a CAA hoops fan, you should be reading Brian’s work.
Before we go any further, do yourself a favor and go bookmark Brian’s UNCW Hoops blog. Go ahead, I’ll wait. And don’t stop there, make a point to read Brian’s work for the Star News Online on a regular basis. Given that it’s a Wilmington outlet, a lot of his coverage is obviously focused on the Seahawks. His coverage of the CAA in general though, is second to none in my opinion. He actually covers the league in full, instead of just focusing on one team and sprinkling in random highlights from around the league. His CAA Summer Reports are well thought out, objective, and extremely informative. Oh, and he also shares JMUSB’s opinion, that Denzel and the Dukes could make some real noise this year. For his outstanding coverage of CAA basketball, Brian earns himself a endorsement from this blog. That’s probably worth next to nothing for him, but reading his blog will definitely help you as a CAA fan.
Last of the Mohicans, or at least the feathers.
Hey William & Mary readers, and we know you’re out there, enjoy those two lil’ feathers while you’ve got the chance cause they’re now collectors items. But JMUSB has a very special treat for you today as my brother Tim, himself a proud W&M alum, has proven once and for all who has the real talent in our family. At least the talent to leave the type of blistering rants and Griswoldesque bits of trivia our friends and family have come to expect (and hate, make fun of, and sometimes even learn to love). So our featherless friends, this long-assed, but humorous post is for you.
Griffin, yes, the Griffin
Coach Matthews at CAA Media Day
The CAA preseason poll and all conference teams were officially announced at CAA Media Day. The league’s coaches and media picked JMU to finish fourth. Before anybody freaks out, let’s remember that the CAA is no longer a 2 division league so if the Dukes actually finish fourth, they’d be in prime position for a playoff spot. Especially with the FCS playoffs expanding to 20 teams. Defending FCS National Champion Villanova is picked to be CAA Champ. Seems logical.
While we’re not ready to reveal the “Official JMUSB” predictions for how the CAA will shake out, this is about where I thought voters would position JMU in the preseason poll. To be precise, I said the coaches and media would slot the Dukes for fifth. I was wrong about the media picking the Blue Hens to finish above the Dukes, but at least one voter stayed true to my “the media will over-rate Delaware prediction” by lobbing a first place vote in their direction.
The official preseason predicted order of finish is below. The links are to the JMUSB CAA Football Previews when applicable. We’ll knock out previews for the remaining teams before the season kicks off. The number of first place votes are in parentheses. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments.
1. Villanova (17)
2. William & Mary
3. New Hampshire (2)
4. James Madison
5. Delaware (1)
6. Richmond
7. Maine
8. Massachusets
9. Rhode Island
10. Towson
OK, so July 28 probably isn’t a day that many of you had circled on your calendars, but it is the day of the Colonial Athletic Association Football Media Day. Even I won’t attempt to argue that this is too important in the grand scheme of things, but it does mean that we’re one step closer to football season. Therefore it also means that Todd and I are one step closer to actually having real JMU sporting events to blog about. I mean, I love the Dukes and love blogging about them, but I have to admit that a small part of me was envious of all the Drexel sports bloggers out there (if there are any) when I read about the basketball team’s offseason “activities”. That’s blogging gold. I’m kidding of course. Kind of.
Anyway, CAA Media Day will take place in lovely Baltimore, Maryland at M&T Bank Stadium from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. SEC Media Day it is not. However, it will draw a much larger media contingent than in the past and be more accessible to fans. Two radio outlets will be broadcasting/streaming live from the event, including the Rob Long Show on Fox Sports Radio 1370 in Baltimore and HerbFM on Live365. Plus ESPN 950 in Richmond will record the event to broadcast from 4:00 to 7:00. Fans can also check out CAA Media Day Central on CAAsports.com, which will be updated throughout the day.
There will probably be new faces covering the event, but I don’t expect too many surprises. Until someone proves otherwise, I’ll assume that the media will pretty much pick the top teams from last season to finish strong again like they always do. And they’ll over-rate Delaware which they always do. My best guess is that they’re going to pick the Dukes to finish somewhere around 5th in the conference, looking up at the aforementioned Blue Hens, William & Mary, Richmond, and Villanova. It means nothing, but I’m curious to see if I’m right. Honestly, I’m really just looking forward to hearing Mickey’s always colorful opinions and to getting the season going.
