{"id":9358,"date":"2017-04-10T09:18:51","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T13:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=9358"},"modified":"2017-04-10T09:18:51","modified_gmt":"2017-04-10T13:18:51","slug":"2017-jmusb-spring-game-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=9358","title":{"rendered":"2017 JMUSB Spring Game Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-attachment-id=\"9360\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?attachment_id=9360\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Brown-Interception.png?fit=594%2C347&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"594,347\" 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=\"brown-interception\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Brown-Interception.png?fit=300%2C175&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Brown-Interception.png?fit=594%2C347&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-9360\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Brown-Interception.png?resize=300%2C175\" alt=\"Jordan Brown Returns Interception for TD\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Brown-Interception.png?resize=300%2C175&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Brown-Interception.png?w=594&amp;ssl=1 594w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><em>You&#8217;re darn right we&#8217;ve got spring game coverage this year. That&#8217;s what another title and a beautiful Saturday in the Valley get you &#8211; a legit tailgate and crowd at your spring game. And thankfully for us, our #1 staffer and friend of the pod (just sounds better than friend of JMUSB and maybe saying it will motivate us) Mike Evangelista (@Michael_2Clutch) was kind enough to break it down for us with editorial flair we might add. Huge thank you Michael! Enjoy:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The annual spring game is often a confusing time for the casual spectator: \u201cWho is JMU playing?\u201d \u201cI thought football season is in the fall?\u201d \u201cDidn\u2019t the season end in like November?\u201d For others like us, it\u2019s a teaser for next season\u2019s campaign; a time to be overly critical and read into every inaccurate pass, missed block or tackle. Let\u2019s all admit, nobody predicted the Bryan Schor we saw last spring was going to morph into the best quarterback in the country, capable of orchestrating a game winning drive to take down the Bison at the Fargodome.<\/p>\n<p>Coming off a historic 14-1 campaign that ended with a national championship, the buzz is \u201creal\u201d in Harrisonburg and fans all over the world are certainly drinking the kool-aid; just take a peak in the \u201cJMU Nation\u201d group on Facebook\u2026if you can get in. On a beautiful 65-degree Saturday afternoon, the fans certainly came out in full force; packing Godwin Field to tailgate, to enjoy a picturesque JMU afternoon and more importantly, to support the Dukes.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few of my thoughts on the game:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><u>Elite Defense<\/u><\/strong><strong> \u2013 <\/strong>Mike Houston\u2019s hire of former Richmond Defensive Coordinator \/ Rocco staffer, Bob Trott, has paid massive dividends for the Dukes. His defense looked fast, physical, sound, and dominant during the spring game. Notably, the defensive line was stout and the safeties filled the run lanes with reckless abandon. The defense had 3 interceptions (D\u2019Angelo Amos, Adam Smith and Jordan Brown), a blocked field goal returned for a TD (Jordan Brown), and 4 sacks from a number of defenders. Moreover, key players like Dimitri Holloway, Darrious Carter, and Raven Greene were all inactive which made the performance even more impressive. Additionally, it was refreshing to see Andrew Ankrah in a true 3-point stance all game rather than in that awkward 2-point stance you\u2019d often catch him in. Coming off the tremendous momentum during the playoffs, Trott\u2019s gang will be even better for 2017 and should be one of the top units in the country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><u>Physicality <\/u><\/strong>\u2013 While it\u2019s difficult to put much weight on a glorified practice session, the level of physicality and competitiveness was evident. On defense, players like Maryland transfer linebacker Gus Little and senior safety Jordan Brown seemed to be in on every defensive stop and newbies like freshman safety Reggie Collins, freshman defensive end Marcus Hawkins, freshman safety D\u2019Angelo Amos and freshman defensive tackle Rondre Knowles-Tener made their presence known. On offense, the size of sophomore wide receiver Riley Stapleton and freshman Braxton Westfield were difficult to contain on the outside while back-up sophomore tight end Nick Carlton made some noise down the seem versus the linebackers. While outmanned without their starting offensive tackles (Aaron Stinnie and Tyree Chavious), sophomore Mac Patrick looks to be a future all-conference player and sophomore left tackle Jahee Jackson showed potential on the blindside.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><u>Bad Special Teams<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 JMU\u2019s specialists struggled during the afternoon with shanked punts, blocked field goals, and even when the field goals did go in, the procedure wasn\u2019t pretty. All of us held our breath before each kick. In one particular play near the end, Jeremiah McBride finally got his foot on the ball just right resulting in a booming punt; some of us even stood up and gave a nice encouraging golf clap to end the day. The good news is our starting kicker, Tyler Gray, was inactive, we have an Aussie punter coming in that\u2019s supposed to be pretty darn good, and we had John Miller and Jimmy Moreland line up as returners. The JMU special teams unit has a long way to go but has plenty of time to improve under the tutelage of John Bowers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_9361\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9361\" data-attachment-id=\"9361\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?attachment_id=9361\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.06.37-PM.png?fit=757%2C492&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"757,492\" 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=\"screen-shot-2017-04-09-at-8-06-37-pm\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Can&#8217;t wait to watch this guy&#8230;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.06.37-PM.png?fit=300%2C195&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.06.37-PM.png?fit=757%2C492&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9361\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.06.37-PM.png?resize=300%2C195\" alt=\"Can't wait to watch this guy...\" width=\"300\" height=\"195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.06.37-PM.png?resize=300%2C195&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.06.37-PM.png?w=757&amp;ssl=1 757w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-9361\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Can&#8217;t wait to watch this guy&#8230;<\/p><\/div>\n<p>All in all, it was a successful day for the Dukes. The fan support was outstanding and there was plenty to be excited about. Cole Johnson aka \u201cBaby Giraffe\u201d got banged up a bit but definitely looked the part as the future quarterback of JMU, Georgia Tech transfer Marcus Marshall\u2019s strength and speed will be a difference maker in the fall, and JMU should be even better on the offensive and defensive lines given the returning talent. Last but not least, there were a number of offers given out to a few highly touted recruits and\u2026there may have even been a little rumor of a P5 transfer joining the program in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Hope you enjoyed this year\u2019s recap and Go Dukes!!!<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Notable Prospect Offers: <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>LB Mateo Jackson<\/strong>, Hermitage HS (VA): 6\u20192 220, offers include Navy, Army and Richmond<\/p>\n<p><strong>RB Cole Beck<\/strong>, Blacksburg HS (VA): 6\u20191 185, offers include Western Michigan, Marshall, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Appalachian State, East Carolina, Delaware State, Kentucky Christian and Massachusetts<\/p>\n<p><strong>LB Jamar Darboe<\/strong>, Christchurch School (SC): 6\u20191 230, offers include Maryland, East Carolina, Liberty, Howard, East Tennessee State<\/p>\n<p><strong>OL Henry Chibueze<\/strong>, Woodbridge High School (VA): 6\u20192 330, offers include East Carolina, Liberty, North Carolina<\/p>\n<p><strong>RB \/ FS Rakeem Davis<\/strong>, Charlottesville High School (VA): 5\u20199 165, younger brother of WR Rashard Davis<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_9362\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9362\" data-attachment-id=\"9362\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?attachment_id=9362\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.10.52-PM.png?fit=616%2C452&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"616,452\" 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=\"screen-shot-2017-04-09-at-8-10-52-pm\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;but don&#8217;t forget about this guy!&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.10.52-PM.png?fit=300%2C220&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.10.52-PM.png?fit=616%2C452&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9362\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.10.52-PM.png?resize=300%2C220\" alt=\"but don't forget about this guy!\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.10.52-PM.png?resize=300%2C220&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Screen-Shot-2017-04-09-at-8.10.52-PM.png?w=616&amp;ssl=1 616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-9362\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">but don&#8217;t forget about this guy!<\/p><\/div>\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fjmusportsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D9358&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>You&#8217;re darn right we&#8217;ve got spring game coverage this year. That&#8217;s what another title and a beautiful Saturday in the Valley get you &#8211; a legit tailgate and crowd at your spring game. And thankfully for us, our #1 staffer and friend of the pod (just sounds better than friend of JMUSB and maybe saying [&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":10230,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10230","url_meta":{"origin":9358,"position":0},"title":"JMUSB Pod: Spring Game Preview &#038; Dad Moves","date":"April 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest episode of the JMUSB Podcast is available for your listening pleasure commute. In it we briefly chat about lax, baseball, and softball before diving into this weekend's spring football game. We wrap things up with a discussion of infamous dad moves made by our own fathers. As always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Podcasts&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10239,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10239","url_meta":{"origin":9358,"position":1},"title":"Talking JMU Football Spring Game with Greg Madia","date":"April 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Good gracious people. The latest episode of the JMUSB Podcast was an incredible nuisance to produce. Do us a solid and give it listen to make the effort worth it. Without going into great detail, let's jus say that the new app we use to record is a hot pile\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7634,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7634","url_meta":{"origin":9358,"position":2},"title":"Spring Game Tailgating, Coaches Caravan","date":"March 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Everything you need to know about Spring Football can be found here at JMU Sports. But the best thing is that \"they\" have finally gotten around to opening up Godwin Field to tailgating for the Spring Game. If tailgating the Spring Game doesn't signal FBS then nothing does (settle down,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/534c955129e79.image_-300x253.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10365,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10365","url_meta":{"origin":9358,"position":3},"title":"JMUSB Pod: 19 Days Untill Kickoff","date":"August 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Todd is back from vacation, so the entire band is back together for the latest episode of the JMUSB Podcast. In it, we chat about JMU Football's spring game and start to see what we can glean from summer camp so far. Based on early reports, we're starting to get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Podcasts&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10233,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10233","url_meta":{"origin":9358,"position":4},"title":"JMU Spring Football Game Preview","date":"April 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been 96 days since the JMU Dukes last played a football game. And we've missed them. A lot. Sure we've been able to see some reasons for optimism with hoops and enjoyed some stellar play from lacrosse and softball, but we miss football. Thankfully, our boys are back in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/5871777dd91de.image_-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10289,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10289","url_meta":{"origin":9358,"position":5},"title":"JMUSB Pod: Lax is Final Four Bound","date":"May 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Good morning Dukes fans. We've got a brand new episode of the JMUSB Podcast available just in time for your morning commute (or trip to Long Island). Friend of the pod, and recent JMU grad, Bennett Conlin sat in as co-host for this one. Give it a listen to hear\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Podcasts&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9358"}],"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=9358"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9363,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9358\/revisions\/9363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}