{"id":10336,"date":"2018-07-18T21:46:51","date_gmt":"2018-07-19T01:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10336"},"modified":"2018-07-18T22:32:33","modified_gmt":"2018-07-19T02:32:33","slug":"the-one-jmu-football-player-i-am-most-excited-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10336","title":{"rendered":"The One JMU Football Player I Am Most Excited About"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-attachment-id=\"10337\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?attachment_id=10337\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/5a2f0db789d71.image_.jpg?fit=1200%2C898&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,898\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Riley SDSU\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/5a2f0db789d71.image_.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/5a2f0db789d71.image_.jpg?fit=1024%2C766&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10337\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/5a2f0db789d71.image_.jpg?resize=599%2C448\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/5a2f0db789d71.image_.jpg?resize=1024%2C766&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/5a2f0db789d71.image_.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/5a2f0db789d71.image_.jpg?resize=768%2C575&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/5a2f0db789d71.image_.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>I can\u2019t wait for JMU football season. We&#8217;re talking full on counting the days, watching old Youtube highlights, and pouring over stats excited. But there is one particular player who I am most excited about. To be clear, there are lots of players I\u2019m looking forward to seeing suit up on on Saturdays this Fall. The offensive line is young, but experienced. And I am pretty stoked to see Liam Fornadel after he earned valuable reps as a true freshmen last year. I\u2019m tempted to say he\u2019s the guy because it would probably make me seem more knowledgeable and like a real football guy. It\u2019s not him though.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, I could choose any of the talented guys in the trenches on either sides of the ball, like Tyree Chavious on offense, or Darrious Carter or Ron\u2019Dell Carter on the defense. And goodness, even football fans who don&#8217;t root for Dukes must be anxious to watch the Dukes\u2019 loaded secondary. Jimmy Effin Moreland, Rashad Robinson, and OSU transfer Wayne Davis? Yes, please. The running back position is similarly stacked, with so many studs that I can\u2019t possibly single one out. It\u2019s an embarrassment of riches for JMU fans, with talent all over the field. But there\u2019s one player who has me more excited than any other. That player is Riley Stapleton.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Last season was Stapleton\u2019s coming out party. As a redshirt sophomore, the wide receiver elevated his game and helped fill the void left by the departure of guys like Brandon Ravanel and Domo Taylor. Buzz started building for Stapleton in the preseason, with reports of him catching everything in site. After the rushing game was the story in JMU\u2019s season opening victory at ECU, Stapleton announced his presence to the world with a 8 catch and 2 TD performance the following weekend against East Tennessee State. That was just a glimpse of things to come.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/core\/video\/iframe?id=21714740&amp;endcard=false\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nStapleton had a solid regular season, but come playoff times he really stepped up and showed JMU fans what a game changer he could be. He was the deep threat against Stony Brook averaging over 20 yards a catch on a day when 8 Dukes caught passes. The next game against Weber State was his wow moment though. In that classic game, Stapleton went off to the tune of 8 catches for 189 yards and one very, very big TD. For those who forgot, the TD was a 40 yard catch with 2:08 to go that pulled JMU to within 2 points, before Trai Sharp tied it on the conversion. It was one of the biggest catches in JMU football history. He followed it up with a 2 TD performance the following week in the 51-16 blowout over South Dakota State. Finally, while the championship game against North Dakota State will be a game many JMU fans remember for some key dropped passes, Stapleton was terrific (<em>ed. note: that was NOT a fumble<\/em>). Uncoverable is the only word to describe him that day. He torched an outstanding NDSU defense for 107 yards on 7 catches.<\/p>\n<p>Stapleton\u2019s numbers last year were great. He showed flashes during the season, but demonstrated some All America type play in the postseason. He ran good routes and consistently used his body to outmuscle and out-position smaller defenders. And the guy makes all the tough catches. With the confidence of his playoff performance, the sky is the limit for him. And there might not be a more perfect partner for him than fellow receiver David Eldridge. He had a great first season with JMU after transferring from UVA. He racked up 42 catches for over 533 yards. He\u2019s the consummate \u201cmove the chains\u201d receiver, always picking up the yards needed to convert and keep drives going. He\u2019ll keep the safety\u2019s honest which will open things up for Stapleton to go over the top. And Stapleton stretching the field, will give Eldridge space to work. It\u2019s a match made in heaven.<\/p>\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fjmusportsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D10336&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=true&amp;width=450&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=80\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:80px;\" allowTransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I can\u2019t wait for JMU football season. We&#8217;re talking full on counting the days, watching old Youtube highlights, and pouring over stats excited. But there is one particular player who I am most excited about. To be clear, there are lots of players I\u2019m looking forward to seeing suit up on on Saturdays this Fall. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":89,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=89","url_meta":{"origin":10336,"position":0},"title":"Moats Brings Home the Hardware","date":"December 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"JMU Senior defensive end Arthur Moats has officially won the 2009 Buck Buchanan Award. The award goes to the top defensive player in FCS football. Moats ran away with the award, finishing 110 points ahead of second place finisher, Eastern Washington linebacker J.C. Sherritt. The 110 point margin was the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Your 2009 Buck Buchanan Award Winner","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/moats.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11392,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=11392","url_meta":{"origin":10336,"position":1},"title":"FCS Championship Preview: JMU vs. NDSU","date":"January 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Basics Matchup: #2 JMU Dukes (14-1, 8-0 CAA) vs. #1 NDSU Biso (15-0, 8-0 MVC) Kickoff: 12 noon ET. Saturday 11 January 2020. Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX Weather: High of 44 with rain overnight, expected to clear by kickoff. Broadcast: Nationally televised on ABC and streaming via ESPN.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Carter_Ron_Dell_092918_Richmond.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4193,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=4193","url_meta":{"origin":10336,"position":2},"title":"Actual Football News! (22 days till kickoff)","date":"August 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, we're happy to report that after the thoroughly underwhelming news that the Great Danes and a school confused for a yogurt-maker are being added to the conference for football only earlier this week, at least we've had actual news to follow this week. \u00a0Huge credit to the Daily News\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7857,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7857","url_meta":{"origin":10336,"position":3},"title":"JMU Football is Finally Back","date":"August 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It's all happening.\u00a0 JMU football is back in swing. Players reported back to campus today and the Road to Frisco begins tomorrow. That's right, the first practice of the 2015 season is Monday. This means real games will be here soon. We're excited a little bit. OK, a lot.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6345,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6345","url_meta":{"origin":10336,"position":4},"title":"Stephon Robertson Loses Buchanan, But Wins More Prestigious Award","date":"December 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The winner of the 2013 Buck Buchanan Award was announced today. Unfortunately, JMU's own Stephon Robertson did not win and had to settle for second place. The award instead was given to Montana State defensive end Brad Daly. Daly had a heck of a year, sharing the defensive player of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"TBDUSA","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/TBDUSA.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11463,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=11463","url_meta":{"origin":10336,"position":5},"title":"Why We Like the Mark Byington Hire","date":"March 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Mark Byington was hired to replace Louis Rowe as the Head Coach for JMU Basketball. Byington has coached Georgia Southern since 2013 and led the Eagles to a record of 131-97. He's a Virginia native who won a state championship as a player in Salem, before moving on to UNCW\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Byington_M_1920MBB_RADFORD_AJH_5_web.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10336"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10336"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10340,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10336\/revisions\/10340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}