{"id":8512,"date":"2016-04-28T23:50:34","date_gmt":"2016-04-29T03:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8512"},"modified":"2016-04-28T23:50:34","modified_gmt":"2016-04-29T03:50:34","slug":"dukes-nfl-hopefuls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8512","title":{"rendered":"Dukes NFL Hopefuls"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-attachment-id=\"7416\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?attachment_id=7416\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/091314-sfu-jmu-ftb3-mr.jpg?fit=700%2C478&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"700,478\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Michael Reilly&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D700&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;(9\\\/13\\\/14) - (Harrisonburg) ------- St. Francis vs James Madison football action. ----- JMU quarterback Vad Lee cuts back as St. Francis defenders move in for the tackle on a run in the second quarter Saturday.(Michael Reilly\\\/Daily News-Record)&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1410646514&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Daily News-Record&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;300&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;SFU-JMU FTB&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Vad running\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;(9\/13\/14) &#8211; (Harrisonburg) &#8212;&#8212;- St. Francis vs James Madison football action. &#8212;&#8211; JMU quarterback Vad Lee cuts back as St. Francis defenders move in for the tackle on a run in the second quarter Saturday.(Michael Reilly\/Daily News-Record)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/091314-sfu-jmu-ftb3-mr.jpg?fit=300%2C204&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/091314-sfu-jmu-ftb3-mr.jpg?fit=700%2C478&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-7416\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/091314-sfu-jmu-ftb3-mr.jpg?resize=700%2C478\" alt=\"Vad running\" width=\"700\" height=\"478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/091314-sfu-jmu-ftb3-mr.jpg?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/091314-sfu-jmu-ftb3-mr.jpg?resize=300%2C204&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>As the NFL draft kicked off tonight, we thought we&#8217;d touch on this year&#8217;s small class of Dukes with realistic hopes of playing at the next level. With no disrespect intended towards any other JMU players that may be working their butts off, there really only appear to be two guys with a shot at being picked up by Sunday evening &#8211; QB Vad Lee and OL Dominick Richards. Neither player seems likely to actually be drafted, but as we say every year, being signed as an undrafted free agent (UFA) by a team with a need that actually wants to bring you in is WAY preferable to being snagged late by a team that may not have a spot. If you&#8217;re looking for examples you need only go back to last year when Dean Marlowe was signed as an UFA by the Panthers and went all the way to the Super Bowl and Daniel Brown was brought in by the Ravens and after bouncing around a bit, got a real shot late in the season when the depleted Ravens&#8217; WR corps had a need for a guy that had learned the system back in camp. It&#8217;s also nice to know that Richards and Lee are two of the best all-around Dukes we&#8217;ve seen in years and will be just fine no matter what happens. Check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tnonline.com\/2016\/feb\/06\/center-attention\">this article<\/a> on Richards and this great piece by WHSV on Vad&#8217;s comeback from injury and hopes for this weekend and beyond:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.whsv.com\/content\/sports\/Vad-Lee-The-Comeback-377364911.html\">http:\/\/www.whsv.com\/content\/sports\/Vad-Lee-The-Comeback-377364911.html<\/a><\/p>\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fjmusportsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D8512&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>As the NFL draft kicked off tonight, we thought we&#8217;d touch on this year&#8217;s small class of Dukes with realistic hopes of playing at the next level. With no disrespect intended towards any other JMU players that may be working their butts off, there really only appear to be two guys with a shot at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3864,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=3864","url_meta":{"origin":8512,"position":0},"title":"Bryant and Allen Sign NFL Deals","date":"April 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"All three days of the NFL draft came and went without any JMU Dukes getting picked this year. Two players were fortunate to sign deals as free-agents though. D.J. Bryant signed with the Houston Texans and Mike Allen signed with the Cleveland Browns. Contrary to some reports, Kerby Long has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9385,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=9385","url_meta":{"origin":8512,"position":1},"title":"Dukes Heading to the NFL","date":"April 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a bittersweet weekend for a bunch of Dukes considered NFL Prospects. It was not all that surprising, or disappointing, that no Dukes players were selected in the actual draft and as players and their agents have learned over the years, it's often better to be signed as an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/55f041bb06c3e.image_-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8518,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8518","url_meta":{"origin":8512,"position":2},"title":"He Has No Connection to JMU, But Man Are We Pulling for Eric Striker","date":"May 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Eric Striker has absolutely no connection to JMU football. He played linebacker for the Oklahoma Sooners and was good enough to earn All Big 12 and All America honors. Like many college players, he hoped to hear his name called during the NFL draft. But he didn't. After the final\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7692,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7692","url_meta":{"origin":8512,"position":3},"title":"Four More Dukes to Get a Shot at the NFL","date":"May 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The NFL Draft came and went this year without any JMU players being drafted. Free Safety Dean Marlowe had an outside shot after participating in the NFL Scouting Combine, but his name was never called. That's not too surprising, seeing as how about 320 players participated in the combine and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Maine James Madison Football","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/100811-jmu-um-ftb3-mr.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5352,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=5352","url_meta":{"origin":8512,"position":4},"title":"Prime Time Dukes","date":"April 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Oddly slow weekend on the JMU Sports calendar for exams before the last of the spring sports wrap up, hopefully with good things for Lax and Softball in particular! \u00a0And while we're thrilled to hear Matt Brady is back and hoping for a conference announcement soon, we're both headed out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Chelsea.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1173,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=1173","url_meta":{"origin":8512,"position":5},"title":"Trio of Solid Debuts for the Dukes","date":"August 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/64369_Jaguars_Camp_Football-292x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8512"}],"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\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8512"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8517,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8512\/revisions\/8517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}