Bob Chesney loves a productive “lower-level” transfer. He loves them so much, in fact, he’s willing to pin the hopes of the 2025 season largely on the play of D3, D2, FCS, and G5 transfers.

JMU’s head football coach has been active in the transfer portal this offseason, which isn’t a surprise for any coach in today’s college football landscape. His program lost a few stars, including Eric O’Neill (Rutgers) and Yamir Knight (SMU), to Power Four programs. Coupled with graduations, the Dukes needed more talent via the portal.

Chesney decided to mostly target guys with experience outside the FBS level. In fact, 23 of JMU’s 32 (and counting?) offseason transfer additions have playing experience at the D3, D2 or FCS levels. Just four of the Dukes’ 32 transfers have only played for a P4 program.

JMU’s coach placed an offseason emphasis on previous production rather than adding ex-P4 players with elite physical traits. 

At quarterback, Chesney is banking that a former FCS signal-caller will lead the Dukes to wins. Matthew Sluka (Holy Cross/UNLV) and Camden Coleman (Richmond) are the top two quarterbacks on the roster with Alonza Barnett recovering from a serious knee injury. Sluka is a former Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year under current JMU offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy, while Coleman has multiple years of playing experience for the Spiders as he enters his junior season.

At wide receiver, the Dukes’ offseason portal haul includes two Richmond stars, a solid Villanova slot receiver and a Division II standout from Tusculum. Along the offensive line, the most notable portal additions are tackles Cam McNair (Holy Cross) and center/guard Zach Greenberg (Muhlenberg/North Carolina). JMU even added Holy Cross running back Jordan Fuller, who has 44 career rushing TDs at the FCS level, to its crowded running back room. 

The defensive line additions include Xavier Holmes (Maine), Turner Schmidt (Robert Morris), William Robinson (Holy Cross) and Andrew Taddeo (Colgate). At linebacker, JMU added D2 star JT Koumane-Yao and Holy Cross’ Drew Spinogatti (71 tackles last fall as a sophomore starter). The secondary features St. Francis transfer cornerback Mekhi Rodgers, cornerback Chantz Harley (Villanova/Maryland) and fellow cornerback Elijah Culp (Austin Peay/Troy/Charlotte). Safety T.J. McGill (William & Mary) is also a promising young addition in the defensive backfield, and Curtis Harris-Lopez (Holy Cross) is a likely starter alongside Jacob Thomas.

Some of the Dukes’ portal newcomers have FBS connections, as Sluka, WR Nick DeGennaro (Maryland/Richmond), Greenberg and Harley all played at the FBS level. They’ve also added guys like WR Isaiah Alston (Army/Iowa State) and DE Aiden Gobaira (Notre Dame) who haven’t been at the FCS level, but Chesney’s theme this offseason is adding productive guys with lower-level ties.

The Dukes have essentially supplemented their returning roster with a D3/D2/FCS/G5 All-Star team.

The move comes after some of JMU football’s most prominent P4 additions in 2024 didn’t become G5 stars. Mississippi State wide receiver Nakai Poole didn’t stick with the team past spring ball, and Washington quarterback Dylan Morris lost the quarterback battle to Barnett while dealing with injuries. Linebacker Ray Scott (USC/Fresno State) and defensive end Lloyd Summerall (Florida/USF) were rotational contributors, but FCS transfers (Holy Cross LB Jacob Dobbs and LIU DE Eric O’Neill) were the team’s stars at those positions. That’s not to say any of the former P4 players were poor additions or that JMU will avoid P4 prospects in the future. Running back George Pettaway was a home-run recruit from UNC, but it’s impossible to ignore that many of the Dukes’ best transfers — O’Neill (LIU), Khairi Manns (Maine), Dobbs (Holy Cross), Terrence Spence (Holy Cross), Patrick McMurtrie (Holy Cross) and Chris Fitzgerald (Youngstown State) — had FCS experience before joining the Dukes. 

There’s value to adding players who have shown they can produce, even if it’s not at the FBS level. Chesney found that targeting production over potential led to significant success in 2024, and he’s leaned into that philosophy this offseason. Outside of Gobaira, a former four-star recruit before injuries derailed his Notre Dame career, the Dukes really haven’t added players without proven production at a previous stop.  

Recruiting D3/D2/FCS stars might be the best path forward for JMU in the current era of college sports, too. It’s likely P4 teams will continue to poach G5 stars given the current lack of transfer restrictions. There’s not much JMU can do to prevent Big Ten and SEC schools from raiding their roster. On the flipside, there’s not much a team like St. Francis can do to keep JMU from raiding its roster. JMU is an ideal landing spot for FCS or D3/D2 guys looking to move up, especially if they aren’t generating a ton of P4 buzz.

Until college sports include collective bargaining and contractual obligations, rosters will face massive annual upheaval. JMU will always lose players to the P4 because the Dukes don’t have the money to compete with high-end ACC/Big 12 programs and most Big Ten and SEC schools. Bringing talent to Harrisonburg from the FCS ranks might be the program’s best path forward, as the Dukes can trust that previous production can translate up a level.

We’ll learn in 2025 just how well the plan works, but the Dukes’ offseason philosophy has been clear: Add players who have shown they can produce on a college football field, regardless of the name on the front of their jersey.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications