Article and photo from Jack Fitzpatrick

Edited Thursday, August 8 at 7:50 PM 

JMU football began day seven of fall camp with tropical storm Debby bearing down on Harrisonburg. Some players seemingly enjoyed the reprieve from heat, saying that the AC was on as they took the field. 

The Dukes begin their season on Aug. 31 down in Charlotte, North Carolina, against the Charlotte 49ers. As that date quickly approaches, there are notable position battles occurring. 

Mychal McMullin Could Be a Starter Week 1 

Folks, you might want to buy some Mychal McMullin stock now. 

Or jump on the bandwagon before it fills up. 

Whichever cliche you prefer, the redshirt freshman defensive lineman seems to be right in the mix to start on the interior of the defensive line. Not only have his coaches and teammates been raving about him, but he received increased reps during day seven. 

McMullin played on the defensive line alongside Eric O’Neill and Immanuel Bush today during practice. With a vacancy alongside Bush, it appears that defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill is seeing what McMullin’s got and giving him a chance to prove himself. 

Developing Position Battle at Safety 

Heading into this offseason the secondary was the biggest question mark around not only the defense, but the entire team. Well, head coach Bob Chesney and his staff addressed that in the spring window of the transfer portal. 

With a lot of new faces out there, it makes sense that there’s competition for who will be the Week 1 starting safety duo. During Day 7, we saw Kye Holmes (R-Jr), Jacob Thomas (Jr), Terrence Spence (Sr), Ray Williams (R-Sr), KJ Flowe (Fr) and Chris Shearin (R-Sr) got some action.  

Holmes is a name that’s starting to pick up steam as camp rolls on and could be in a position to take a starting safety role. The redshirt junior has played in 24 career games and made 27 tackles, primarily as a special teams player. 

“I know [Kye Holmes] has been injured the last few years,” Thomas said. “He’s going to make a statement this year and I’m really happy he’s by my side.” 

Notes

• Jordan Taylor looks the part to be a good starting corner alongside incumbent Chauncey Logan. The DII transfer from Tusculum has impressed his teammates, with Jacob Thomas calling Taylor “a really athletic, physical corner.” 
• Jacob Dobbs is locked in as one of the starting linebackers to my eye. The second linebacker appears to be leaning toward junior Trent Hendrick, who has led team warmups a few times this camp and has been getting more reps. 
• The backfield starters look to be set if you ask me. Dylan Morris has the arm talent and ability all around to be QB1 and Ayo Adeyi will be the primary back with his explosiveness.
• Explosiveness is a point of emphasis for the running back room this season. Something the JMU rushing attack has lacked the last year or so. Adeyi stated in post-practice availability that this running back room will look more explosive due to the new offense as well as offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy’s ability to cater plays to the players’ skill sets. 
• Interesting note, Terrence Spence saw reps across the defense. 
• RB Wayne Knight saw a solid amount of reps both receiving and rushing  
• TE Taylor Thompson led the team warmups as practice started. 
• Sophomore Max Moss is making a name for himself, getting reps alongside Taji Hudson and Cam Ross at the WR position.
• UConn transfer Noe Ruelas is the starting kicker if his pre practice warm ups mean anything.
• CB Justin Eaglin had an interception (and dropped another interception) of Alonza Barnett 
• The team plans to scrimmage Saturday