CFF Offseason Targets - JMU Dukes
The James Madison Dukes unit that torched the FBS last year is largely moving on, that presents opportunity for new names to step in. Let's take a look at the names to know for 2023.
The James Madison Dukes (JMU) had a terrific debut to their FBS tenure in 2022. Longtime stalwarts of the FCS, the Dukes transitioned seamlessly to the higher ranks going 8-3 while executing a very productive offence in 2022. However, the main components of the offence are for the most part, all moving on. That’s actually good news if you’re a CFF manager, there’s a lot of opportunity here for new names to step in, and some of them could go under the radar this offseason. So let’s take a deep dive into the JMU offence for 2023, shall we?
Coaching
You know the drill, first things first in CFF we need to look at the system. Head coach Curt Cignetti, JMU head coach since 2019, returns for his 5th season at the helm. That’s good news for us. JMU has been a steady operation under his watch and he’s demonstrated he can field successful teams across several different groups of players, which includes a pretty decent track record of WR production. Perhaps more importantly though, OC Mike Shanahan returns for his third season. Under Shanahan this offence set single-season JMU passing records in yardage (3868) and passing TDs (43) in 2022, and has seen three 1000 yard receivers in the last two seasons.
This situation could set up to be a perfect storm, as the architects of a strong CFF system remain in place on staff, while virtually all of the skill personnel change. I feel pretty confident that while Cignetti and Shanahan are here there will be at least one CFF asset to invest in, so let’s get into personnel.
QB
Jordan McCloud, Billy Atkins, Alonzae Barnett III and Brett Griffis
Transfer QB “Toddy Touchdown” Todd Centeio had the most productive season of his career in 2022 throwing for 2607 yards and 25 TDs to 5 INTs. Centeio also did damage along the ground, rushing for 393 yards and 7 TDs. It should be noted as well that Centeio did this in essentially 9 games (in their game vs Louisville Centeio threw only 4 passes and ran 5 times for 11 yards).
Centeio’s not the first QB to find success in this system. His predecessor Cole Johnson, put up a prolific season in 2021 within the FCS ranks, throwing for 3779 yards and a staggering 41 TDs to 4 INTs. He also rushed for 236 yards and 6 TDs. I don’t know about you but I am starting to see a pattern here with dual threat QBs.
The FCS ranks were disrupted quite a bit in the COVID year, so we’ll ignore 2020, however the trend of high output QBs does continue in 2019, with all-name team Ben DiNucci running and gunning his way to 36 total TDs to 6 INTs. This QB system is clearly an effective one from the CFF perspective.
So, enough with the small talk, who do we need to know for 2023?
Jordan McCloud - 6’1, 195
I mentioned in a previous article that one name that intrigues me is Jordan McCloud.
Like Centeio, McCloud is a journeymen who started his career at USF in 2019 before transferring to Tuscon, AZ to play for the Arizona Wildcats in 2021. His time in Arizona was probably not what he was hoping for as he completed only 43 passes on 73 attempts and posted a 2-5 TD-INT ratio in 2021, before not playing at all in 2022. He did demonstrate that he still had his rushing ability though, rushing 18 times for 75 yards in the 2021 season. His most productive season thus far was his true freshman season in 2019, where he passed for 1429 yards with a 12-8 TD-INT ratio and ran 105 times for 283 yards and 4 scores. Clearly he has dual threat ability, the question is whether he can hone in his passing enough to be effective in both aspects of the game the way previous JMU QBs have been.
Yes, McCloud’s track record so far is not great, however neither was Centeio’s prior to joining JMU. Personally I would like to see what McCloud could do in this system and my guess as of February is that he’ll be the starter come August if eligible. It also wouldn’t surprise me if the staff brought in another QB via the portal in the spring though, if that happens whoever that player is should probably be considered the favourite to win the job.
Note on McCloud’s eligibility. Admittedly I do not know how the transfer portal rules work anymore, and getting into who’s eligible immediately vs. not makes my head spin. This is McCloud’s second transfer, so keep an eye out on whether he is ruled ineligible this season, as he may be forced to sit out a year.
Billy Atkins - 6’2, 205
Sophomore Billy Atkins spelled Centeio last year when he went down with injury, however he did not see the same level of success. In the single game that he started he completed 13 passes on 35 attempts for 164 yards and threw 1 TD to 4 INTs. Not great. His stats outside of that are minimal. So that’s the bad news on Atkins.
The good news is that he has a good build at 6’2, 205 and will be familiar with the system and coaches, as he enters his third year at JMU. You have to imagine the staff went out and brought in a few transfers at QB for a reason though…
The other two QBs on the roster have little to no production thus far in their careers, so I will not go in depth on them, as little is known at this point on both. Those QBs are Alonza Barnett III and Wake Forest transfer Brett Griffis.
RB
Latrele Palmer, Kaelon Black, and Ty Son Lawton
In 2022, RB Percy Agyei-Obese led the Dukes in rushing, carrying the rock 159 times for 908 yards and 8 TDs. His production as RB1 was cannibalized by fellow rusher Latrele Palmer (101-398-5) and the QB Centeio (94-393-7). Not to mention RB3 Kaelon Black getting into the mix as well (69-333-3). Obese moves on but Palmer and Black return. Additionally, the Dukes brought in FCS Stony Brook transfer Ty Son Lawton, who has been highly productive in the FCS ranks, but had a season ending injury three games into the season in 2022.
Outside of 2019, there hasn’t really been a high-volume/high-output RB to come through this system. Obese put up some big numbers in 2019, rushing 259 times for 1216 yards and 19(!) TDs. However, on average (excluding 2020) the RB1 in this offence carried the rock 201 times per season between 2019 and 2022, and only once in those three seasons has there been a 1000 yard rusher. So, long story short I am not really that interested in the RB room for 2023. I think all three runners will be involved, and if the recent track record is any indication, the QB will be vulturing TDs near the goal line too. One thing to watch out for is whether a non-duel threat QB wins the starting role. In that case there could be some value in the RB room. I’ll leave that as TBD for now though.
WR
Omarion Dollison, Elijah Sarratt, Phoenix Sproles and Reggie Brown
The WR room is where the money’s at, in my opinion. JMU brought in three separate transfer WRs in the offseason. Sarratt and Sproles join from the FCS ranks, while Dollison transfers from USF. With the exception of Reggie Brown, the other returning WRs in the room have minimal production thus far in their careers and I am taking the addition of three transfers as a sign that these will probably be the guys on the field most of the time.
As I mentioned in my article highlighting Sarratt, in the last four seasons, excluding the shortened Covid year, JMU has had at least one 1000 yard receiver and in 2021 JMU had two 1000 yard receivers in Kris Thornton and South Carolina transfer Antwane ‘juice’ Wells.
In 2019, 5’9 175 pound slot receiver Brandon Polk led JMU in receiving with a 73-1159-11 stat line. Thornton is the latest to do it in 2022, catching 59 passes for 1015 yards and 7 TDs. This is a receiver friendly system and there is a definite type of player that tends to see large production under Cignetti.
Omarion Dollison - 5’9, 183
Dollison began his CFB career at USF in 2020, where he caught 21 passes for 272 yards and a score. In 2021 and 2022 he posted stat lines of 27-218-0 and 12-176-0, respectively. Of note, he is now reuniting with his former USF teammate QB Jordan McCloud at JMU. If McCloud wins the starting role I really like where Dollison stands in this offence. I mentioned that I highlighted fellow JMU WR Sarratt in a previous article, I think the optimistic model I am looking at is Sarratt playing the Antwane Wells Jr. role while Dollison plays the Kris Thornton role from 2021. As you can see above, both players had productive campaigns that year.
Dollison fits the mold of some of the productive WRs to come through JMU recently. At 5’9, 183 pounds he would likely be playing in the slot if he locks down a starting role in 2023. Both Thornton and Polk occupied that slot receiver role in the offence when they led JMU in receiving. In the last four seasons, three of the four 1000 yard receiving seasons at JMU have come through the slot (Polk in 2019, Thornton in 2021 and 2022). So there’s a history of production here. I’ll be watching reports on Dollison closely in the spring and summer.
Elijah Sarrett - 6’2, 205
I’ve covered Sarratt in depth here. In short, I like how productive he’s been so far and I think he has the opportunity to do big things in this offence. He would likely occupy the Wells role on the boundary if he starts.
Phoenix Sproles - 6’1, 188
Phoenix Sproles transferred to JMU by way of FCS North Dakota. He is entering his 6th season of CFB. Sproles’ best season came in 2019, where he posted a stat line of 33-541-2.
Given his frame, Sproles would likely occupy a boundary position should he win a starting role on this offence in 2023. I like Sarratt more however, as he has already been more productive in his freshmen season. Watch for spring reports to see if Sproles makes some noise. Tough to say how productive he can be at this level, as he did not have elite production at the FCS level and he is already entering his 6th season.
Reggie Brown - 6’1, 190
Reggie Brown is the most productive returning receiver. In 2022 he posted a stat line of 24-401-4. He will be squarely in the mix for the boundary role (and maybe even the slot too) and his familiarity with the system should give him a leg up on the transfers early. I am highly interested in Brown, as well as Sarrett and I think both have a good shot at being the primary boundary receiver. The fear here is that there may be too many mouths to feed. Again, you have to take the JMU staff bringing in multiple WRs as a sign for how they feel about the room. But I’m a believer in Brown’s ability. I actually acquired him for a short period of time off the wire in 2022, and had Centeio in the same league, so I saw a lot of his play. He was taken off the field frequently in 2022 on a down by down basis, which hampered his production. I expect that he’ll be running a lot more routes in 2023.
Final verdict: I like Brown, Sarratt and Dollison at WR quite a bit as of writing this article. Hard to tell whether one guy will emerge and who that would be at this point, look out for who locks down the slot position in particular. McCloud intrigues me at QB, but I will need to see more information come out as spring ball progresses. I am avoiding the RBs for now. I am not interested in the TEs currently, but will take another look at that position group at a later time.