JMU football’s quarterback competition is officially a two-man race between JC Evans and Camden Coleman.

“Camden and JC, in particular, stand out at this point,” coach Billy Napier said Tuesday.

JMU’s new coach likes their leadership, knowledge, and talent. One of the two will start Week 1 against Liberty, which we expected after the spring, but it makes it official that Memphis transfer Arrington Maiden is the projected QB3.

With less than a month until the Dukes open their season against Liberty, they’ll need to make a QB decision soon. Here’s the case for and against each potential starter.

Camden Coleman

Case for Coleman to start: Experience. Coleman went 13-1 as Richmond’s starter over two seasons, throwing for 3,192 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He has 399 career pass attempts, while Evans has three.

Sure, his experience is against FCS competition, but it’s invaluable. He has by far the most in-game college reps of the two guys in this QB battle. Plus, his career completion percentage of 65.2% suggests he’d be the perfect point guard for an offense stacked with receiving talent.

He’s also a better rusher and bigger body than many realize. He rushed for 338 yards and six touchdowns in 2024, and he’s listed at 6’3 and 225 lbs. He’s not small, and he can run a similar offense to Evans, albeit with a likely reduction in designed quarterback runs.

He was one of the team’s captains at the spring game, suggesting he’s highly respected in the locker room.

The case against Coleman starting: Does he have a lower ceiling than Evans? Coleman does a lot of things really, really well. He’s a proven winner with a good arm and accuracy. He can make plays with his legs, too. He has every attribute needed to win a lot of games in the Sun Belt.

There aren’t obvious concerns with Coleman on paper, other than the fact that he’s competing against a top-level athlete with high upside.

If Evans shows he has a higher ceiling, the Dukes might feel more confident with a high-floor leader like Coleman being the perfect backup. This isn’t to say Coleman’s ceiling isn’t high, but Alonza Barnett beat out a talented Jordan McCloud to begin the 2023 season because Curt Cignetti loved the ceiling. McCloud won Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year in 2023, and we finally saw Barnett’s JMU ceiling in 2025 when he took him conference POTY honors himself.

Sometimes, QB rooms have multiple really good players capable of winning games. And unless you’re Bob Chesney against Louisville, you have to pick just one to be the guy.

JC Evans

Case for Evans to start: He’s an athletic freak with an improving arm.

If the Dukes think Evans makes them more dynamic than the offense with Coleman, he’ll be the guy. He’s only thrown three passes at JMU, but one was a short touchdown in the Boca Raton Bowl win in 2024. He’s made strides as a passer behind the scenes.

He also has 21 career rushes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. He’s capable of running for more than 1,000 yards in a season if JMU leans heavily into the QB running game, which a JMU quarterback hasn’t done since Rodney Landers in 2008. At the very least, he feels like a lock to run for 500 or more yards if he starts all 12 games.

Evans’ passing is probably underrated by most fans, but that makes sense. He can really run, which warrants major attention. If he wins the job, his speed and running ability will be a big reason why. He’s explosive and could make JMU’s offense one of the most dangerous in the G6.

And like Coleman, Evans is also considered a good teammate and leader.

Case against Evans starting: He’s still developing as a passer, and Napier admitted as much early this summer.

“We’re still searching for some consistency there in terms of arm slot, accuracy, playing on time, playing with a base, but in general, he’s operating at a much higher rate [than the spring],” Napier said in recent days.

Given JMU’s talent at wide receiver that includes Corey Scott, Jeremiah Harrison, and Braeden Wisloski, the Dukes can’t afford an inconsistent quarterback missing those guys when they’re open. Whoever wins the job will have to prove to the coaching staff that they can take the layups when the defense loses track of the Dukes’ loaded group of receivers.

The Dukes don’t need their QB to be a superstar, but they do need someone who can efficiently spread the ball to talented skill guys.

Louisiana thrived under Napier behind quarterback Levi Lewis, who never ran for more than 350 yards in a season. He was mobile, but Lewis was primarily a passing threat, eclipsing at least 2,200 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The Cajuns went 34-5 over those three seasons. In the two full seasons not impacted by COVID in 2019 and 2021, he threw for at least 2,900 passing yards and 20 TDs.

Can Evans be a 2,500-yard passer? What about a 3,000-yard passer? If he can, give him the keys to the offense. If he can’t, Coleman’s consistency at Richmond is impossible to ignore.

The verdict

So who wins the starting job?

Without seeing Evans’ every pass at practices, it’s a tough question for fans and media to answer. If he’s developed enough as a passer, he has a path to winning the job and ranking among the most exciting G6 signal-callers. If the staff has questions about his arm, Coleman is a trustworthy, safe pick with obvious SBC Player of the Year upside in Aiken’s system.

The Dukes should feel confident with their two options. Now it’s time to settle on one.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications